The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 8, 2021 — 9
A public lecture and reception; you may attend in person or virtually. For more info,
including the Zoom link, visit events.umich.edu/event/84260 or call 734.615.6667.
KEN KOLLMAN
Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor
Professor of Political Science
Why You Should
and Should Not
be Worried About
AMERICAN
DEMOCRACY
Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | 4:00 p.m.
| Weiser Hall, 10th Floor
LSA LECTURE
The last time Cade McNa-
mara took the field in Michigan
Stadium, little went according to
plan.
Facing Penn State in his first
collegiate start last November,
McNamara finished just 12-of-
25 through the air for 91 yards
before leaving the game early
with a shoulder injury. Unable
to muster any offense, Michigan
slogged through a 10-point loss.
Saturday told a different story.
In
the
Wolverines’
2021
season-opener,
McNamara
flourished, going 9-of-11 with
136 passing yards and a pair of
touchdowns, leading Michigan
to a 47-14 victory. By the time he
departed with 5:48 minutes left
in the third quarter, the Wolver-
ines had a comfortable 26-point
lead with McNamara having
engineered
four
touchdown
drives.
“He moves our team,” Michi-
gan coach Jim Harbaugh said
after the game. “All the drives
he’s been in — we score points
when he’s out there.”
Entering the season, some
anticipated a quarterback com-
petition would unfold between
McNamara, prized 5-star fresh-
man J.J. McCarthy and Texas
Tech transfer Alan Bowman.
Instead, the Michigan coaching
staff handed the reins to McNa-
mara without much of a contest.
One game in, the returns are
undeniably positive.
McNamara’s
performance
against the Broncos was not
flawless, but growing pains are
to be expected from a first-time
full-time starting quarterback.
A pair of McNamara’s passes
were batted down at the line of
scrimmage, perhaps a product of
poor pass protection; on a sepa-
rate series, McNamara missed
a wide-open Roman Wilson for
a would-be touchdown, instead
electing to dump the ball off in
the flat. After the game, McNa-
mara noted that the offense
had one communication mishap
which he took fault for.
For now, Michigan has no
choice but to ride out McNama-
ra’s learning curve. The miscues
are certainly palatable when
accompanied by the consistent
production that McNamara pro-
vided on Saturday.
From the onset, McNamara
appeared comfortable. On Mich-
igan’s first drive, the Wolverines
set the game’s tone, steamrolling
their way 75 yards down the
field in 3:51 minutes. McNama-
ra completed his only two pass
attempts, ran the offense with
tempo and helped complete a
fourth down conversion.
As the Wolverines continue
to place an emphasis on the run
game — which multiple play-
ers have labeled as the team’s
offensive identity — McNama-
ra’s opportunities to sling the
ball downfield may be limited.
Yet, when called to do so against
Western Michigan, he execut-
ed with precision, a trait that
plagued his predecessor, Joe
Milton.
Early in the second quarter,
McNamara dropped in a beau-
tiful pass down the sideline for
senior receiver Ronnie Bell,
who made a tremendous catch
that was called back due to a
dubious offensive pass interfer-
ence call. On the very next pos-
session, McNamara found Bell
again, floating in a perfectly
placed spiral that Bell took the
distance for a 76-yard touch-
down.
“They were showing us a few
different things that we were
expecting,” McNamara said. “I
was able to recognize it and was
able to see the 1-on-1 with Ron-
nie. He made a great route, and
all I had to do was put it out front
for him.”
McNamara makes it sound
simple, but for a Michigan
offense hoping to assert itself in
the running game, he may not be
asked to do much more. In the
second half, McNamara attempt-
ed just two passes on two total
drives. Still, one of those drives
resulted in a touchdown follow-
ing a 74-yard jet sweep to sopho-
more receiver A.J. Henning.
If McNamara can continue to
complete passes like the one to
Bell on a consistent basis, Michi-
gan would appear to be in good
hands.
“I think whatever the game-
plan sees fit will determine our
run-to-pass ratio,” McNamara
said. “I don’t mind — I thought
the calling today was perfect.
We got the job done. Running
the ball a little bit more, I don’t
mind that, it makes my job a lit-
tle bit easier.”
McNamara’s
difficulty
is
only amplified from this point
forward. A primetime matchup
against No. 20 Washington on
Saturday, Sept. 11, and with
Bell’s status suddenly precari-
ous following a right leg injury,
he may be without his most-
dependable option for the long
haul.
But for one game, at least,
McNamara gave the Wolverines
all they could have asked for.
In season opener, McNamara
performs as hoped
JARED GREENSPAN
Daily Sports Editor
At first, it looked as if noth-
ing had changed.
On
Western
Michigan’s
first drive against the Michi-
gan football team on Satur-
day, it had no trouble picking
apart defensive coordinator
Mike Macdonald’s “new-look”
defense. On the first play, a
receiver found himself open on
a crossing route but dropped
the open pass. Moments later,
senior
cornerback
Gemon
Green — the team’s strongest
corner in 2020 — got beat over-
the-top for a 28-yard gain. As
the Wolverines continued to
struggle in coverage, the Bron-
cos easily marched down the
field and quickly evened the
score at seven.
But somewhere en route to
Michigan’s
47-14
thumping
of Western Michigan, those
problems
dissipated.
As
if
spurred by the possibility that
significant
struggles
could
derail the entire season, the
Wolverines’ defensive backs
glued themselves to opposing
wideouts and paralyzed the
Broncos’ initially lively pass-
ing game. Those seven points
on the first drive ended up as
their only non-garbage-time
points of the game.
“I thought (Macdonald) did
a great job mixing the coverag-
es,” Michigan coach Jim Har-
baugh said. “Right before the
second half, (he) started going
to more of a two-high shell as
we were stopping the run and
playing more coverage, which
made their quarterback hold
the ball a little bit longer, and
we were able to apply some
pressure.”
Those adjustments made an
immediate impact. After for-
feiting 89 yards and 8-for-12
passing in the first quarter,
Michigan held Western Michi-
gan to just one completion for
no gain on six attempts in the
second quarter. In total, the
Wolverines allowed 11 comple-
tions for 102 yards in the final
three quarters.
Central to that improve-
ment was junior Daxton Hill,
who played mostly as a nickel
corner after starting as a deep
safety last season. Playing
closer to the line of scrim-
mage, Hill was more regularly
involved in the pass defense
and used his athleticism not
just to disrupt passes that
went his way, but also to dis-
guise coverages and confuse
Broncos
quarterback
Kaleb
Eleby. Even when he looked
beat, Hill managed to make
plays, such as late in the third
quarter when he dove to break
up a pass over the middle near
midfield.
“That position makes a big
difference for us in the back
seven,”
senior
cornerback
Vincent Gray said. “Because
his disguises and what he
does with his disguise plays a
big role in the quarterback’s
checks. … Whether he’s blitz-
ing or whether he’s not blitz-
ing, the coverage he’s playing
or not playing, they’re pretty
much looking at him to see
what we’re in, so him moving
around and giving him differ-
ent looks is really good for us
in the back seven.”
The defensive front, too,
played a major role in Michi-
gan’s improved pass defense.
After struggling to get enough
push early on, the Wolverines’
blitzers — led by senior defen-
sive end Aidan Hutchinson
and junior defensive lineman
Mazi Smith — wore down the
offensive line and put more
pressure on Eleby as the game
wore
on.
Ultimately,
that
effort was highlighted by a
third quarter strip sack from
Hutchinson.
There were, of course, still
some
shaky
moments.
On
Western Michigan’s last drive
of the first half, Gray found
himself beat over the top by
Broncos receiver Jaylen Hall.
Hall ended up dropping the
pass, but the play still demon-
strated how, even when Michi-
gan drops into zone, opposing
offenses will find ways to get
the
one-on-one
matchups
they want. Regardless of the
scheme, the cornerbacks still
need to be able to run with
receivers, and if they can’t, the
problems of 2020 will persist.
Still, the Wolverines’ staff
seems to recognize that. The
willingness to adjust after
those first quarter struggles
marks a departure from the
defenses of years past. A win
over Western Michigan only
says so much about the team’s
overall
improvement,
but
any remaining questions will
almost certainly be answered
next week against Washing-
ton.
“We
haven’t
done
any-
thing yet,” Gray said. “We can
improve a lot. We made a lot of
mistakes that probably will go
unnoticed.”
Added
Hutchinson:
“We
haven’t done a damn thing.”
After shaky start, pass defense settles
in against Western Michigan
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor
As the offseason dwindled down
and the predictions for the 2021
season started to pour in, it didn’t
take long for the comparisons to
start.
Blake Corum — the Michigan
football team’s athletic 5-foot-8
sophomore running back — bore
a strikingly similar figure to Mike
Hart, the legendary 5-foot-9 former
rusher who returned this season
as the Wolverines’ running backs
coach. Writers, of course, happily
pointed out that similarity.
Hart, though, was quick to dis-
miss the narrative.
“He works a lot harder,” Hart
said on Aug. 19. “… He’s a lot faster
than me, a lot quicker than me. If I
was that fast, I’d probably still be in
the NFL.”
One of the main questions fac-
ing the Michigan offense enter-
ing the season was how it would
divide up carries within its talent-
ed, albeit shallow, running-backs
room. Would it rely on senior Has-
san Haskins — the program’s most
experienced runner and the leading
rusher in 2020 — as a de facto work-
horse back or use the Hart-like tal-
ents of Corum and elite athleticism
of freshman Donovan Edwards for a
more dynamic rushing attack?
Saturday’s 47-14 win over West-
ern Michigan began to answer that
question.
Corum’s performance — which
featured 111 rushing yards on 14
attempts, two receptions for 22
yards, two total touchdowns and an
electrifying 79-yard kick return —
showed just how effective he can be
when used properly. When placed
alongside Haskins’s 70 yards on 13
carries, it highlighted the coaching
staff’s intent to use the two backs as
virtual co-starters.
Even more, it showed that Corum
deserved his place in that one-two
punch.
“Both (are) standout players,”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh told
reporters Monday. “We’ve been
saying they’re both the starting
running back. Said we were gonna
lean on them and ride them. That’s
the plan.”
For Corum, that step into a
starting job marks an upgrade from
last season, where Haskins more
than doubled Corum’s workload
and production. Many of the play
designs were similar to last year —
lots of swing routes, runs around
the edge and plays designed to get
the ball into space — but Corum’s
role in the offense visibly grew in
that first game.
In that starting role, he flour-
ished. The stats communicate that
Corum had a strong game, but they
don’t even tell the full story. They
don’t show how, on his swing-pass
touchdown, Corum waited for
junior wide receiver Mike Sainris-
til’s block before bursting into the
gap. Nor do they say how — on his
30-yard rushing touchdown later
on — he knew exactly where to cut
back to find the most space.
The film doesn’t just display a
sophomore back with some excit-
ing athleticism; it tells the story of
a smart player gaining more con-
fidence in his abilities with every
rush.
“I feel like I was more patient
today,” Corum said Saturday.
“But when you’re playing, you
can’t really tell how patient you
actually are. I feel like I took what
I did in the offseason and applied
it today.”
That doesn’t take anything away
from Haskins, either. Much of the
discrepancy in yardage between
the two backs can be attributed
to how they were used. In three
different scenarios, Haskins was
brought in on third-and-one to pick
up the first down. Although one of
those plays resulted in a 22-yard
touchdown run, the use of Haskins
in third-and-short situations dem-
onstrates how the coaches see
him more as a short-yardage back
because of his physicality. Corum’s
only third-down runs, conversely,
came on third-and-five and third-
and-15.
“(Haskins), he’s a strong dude,”
Corum said. “It’s hard to tackle him,
so he might run through you. Me,
I’m more of a finesse guy, so I might
make you fall. With a one-two
punch with both of us that can make
people miss at the second level, it’s
hard to stop that.
“It’s kind of like thunder and
lightning.”
Blake Corum shows his dynamic abilities in first game of season
BRENDAN ROOSE
Daily Sports Editor
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Michigan sophomore running back Blake Corum ran for 111 yards against Western Michigan.
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Michigan junior defensive back Daxton Hill used his athleticism to impact the passing game.
MADELINE HINKLEY/Daily
Michigan junior quarterback Cade McNamara ran the offense the way it was meant to be run Saturday.