This is my post spring college fantasy write up on them, FWIW:
Michigan Wolverines
Old OC: N/A
New OC: Josh Gattis (Hired Jan. 10)
MGOBlog has been a great source for me getting up to speed on the new Michigan offense. Some of what I include below will be a credit to their site.
"Tempo: yes. Under center snaps: no. Huddles: no. Passes under 30 yards in length: yes. Harbaugh talked the talk about handing the keys to Josh Gattis upon his hire, and so far the walk is being walked.
The overall effect wasn't quite Moorhead-era Penn State, though it was reasonably close. The recent football experience Michigan's spring offense brought to mind was, in fact, the Frost-era UCF team that Michigan played shortly before that program ignited.
UCF spent the whole game running this split action where outside runs are threatened to both field and boundary. I hated it. Every play felt like one mistake from a touchdown. Several mistakes were made and UCF got chunk plays on them because half the defense was busy running the other way.
That UCF team was coming off a legendary 0-12 season and Frost did well to get that group of bunglers to 6-7, but that was largely about the defense. His offense that year was 120th because it was all smoke and mirrors trying to cover up for a dearth of talent. The next year: 6th.
Gattis did this a ton. Michigan had an extensive jet package that was paired with action the other way, often QB run action. McCaffrey's rushing touchdown has a touch of this, with McCaffrey waiting a split second, attempting to sell some flare or crossing action the other way before bursting into a gap:
Other plays were more explicitly about threatening both edges of the field simultaneously. In between Michigan hammered inside zone. The quarterback run game was frequent and diverse—that bit did remind me of Penn State—and baked into the structure of the offense that last year's arc keepers were not. Those arc keepers were really effective but seemed to have no connection to the passing game, because Pep and Warinner were coordinating different offenses. Now there will be one.
Michigan added speed option, and added the IZ-to-speed option look that the D struggled with from time to time last year. They have OZ opposite jet motion. They've got a bunch of short passing looks, and every play someone's trying to take the top off. Spring games can only be so encouraging; this was maximally so."
Gattis doesn’t have play-calling experience, so detailing what this offense has done in the past is a futile exercise. That being said, I think we can assess the current talent on the roster and draw inspiration from his offensive influencers and attempt to paint a picture of what 2019 will look like for the Wolverines.
This feels weird to say, but I actually like Shea Patterson in CFF this year. Gattis has been tied to Trace McSorley and Tua Tagovailoa over the past few seasons. I guess it’s safe to provide the floor as well, Christian Hackenberg. His college numbers don’t show it, but Shea’s a very capable runner. In fact, his rushing numbers are shocking relative to the ability I believe he possesses. I don’t feel comfortable calling for the specifics of where I think he may end up amongst CFF QBs this season, but I do have some regret that I didn’t get any 100/1 action down on his Heisman odds this spring!
At RB, they are impossibly thin. Christian Turner, Tru Wilson, and incoming freshman Zach Charbonnet are going to be the three primary backs in 2019. I’ll get right to it, Zach Charbonnet may be a freshman, but I think he’s ready to lead this offense right away. Unfortunately, he had his knee scoped this spring (planned for months) so he didn’t get the full benefit of camp. He’s one of the most valuable backs in the country in dynasty formats. Looking at Gattis’ recent backs, we’ve got 147, 182, 272, 217, and 160 carries from the RB1. That’s a wide range, and three of those years are Saquon Barkley, but there’s plenty there to be excited about. Four OL return from last year and whoever wins the job should have a solid OL to run behind. Turner and Charbonnet are my guesses for the top two backs this year and my guess is their best years are ahead.
Nico Collins, Donovan Peoples-Jones, and Tarik Black are the top trio at WR. DPJ has been injured for a while now, Collins has missed some time this spring, and Black is finally healthy. As a result, this is a talented group but one with both questions and concerns. If those three aren’t fully ready, I believe that freshman Mike Sainristil and Oliver Martin could be more significant contributors. Sainristil could be used similarly to KJ Hamler or Jaylen Waddle and he’s a guy that I’m excited to watch for the next few years. I’m not sure which WR I feel most confident about this year. If I could turn injuries off, Black would be my choice with overwhelming conviction, but he’s been injured non-stop. He and Collins would still be my top two for 2019, but remaining with my theme, 2019 is a bit up in the air, with the understanding the overall arrow is pointed way up across the board.
There is data that supports we could have a big time TE in this offense. Mike Gesicki and Irv Smith are the most recent examples. Michigan has several nice options at the position but they are going to be led by Nick Eubanks and Sean McKeon. MGOBlog seems to think Eubanks is the best bet to be TE1, but I’ll wait and see if we get clarity this summer. Overall, it’s not unreasonable to expect we see a relevant player at every position for Michigan in 2019. What a difference a year (and Josh Gattis) makes!
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