Drew Hallett from Michigan blog Maize n Brew joins us this week for a Q&A about this week's contest between the Knights and the Wolverines. You can follow Drew on Twitter @DrewCHallet.
Our answers to Drew's questions about UCF are over here at Maize n Brew.
1. This Michigan team absolutely steamrolled Hawaii last week. Who are the most dangerous playmakers the Knights should be wary of?
It's difficult to narrow down whom Michigan's most dangerous
playmakers are. The Wolverines are in a fortunate position where they
possess a pack of experienced, NFL-ready talent -- CBS Sports listed Michigan at #4 in its top-25 NFL Draft rankings
-- and just landed a heralded class of true freshmen with endless
potential that already are contributing on the field. However, if I
must, I will list three playmakers each on Michigan's offense and
Michigan's defense.
Offensively,
Michigan arguably has the nation's best receiving tight end and
definitely has the tight end with the most (in)appropriate name in Jake
Butt. He caught 51 passes for 654 yards and three touchdowns in 2015
and is on his way to rewriting the tight end section of Michigan's
record book. At 6-foot-6, Butt has the prototypical frame of a tight
end, but what makes him special is his ability to run crisp routes that
shake defenders and high point the football in what Michigan fans like
to call the "Butt Zone." He was an All-American last season and should contend for the Mackey Award this season before becoming a top-50 draft pick.
While Butt is Michigan's weapon in the middle of the field, wide receiver Jehu Chesson has become Michigan's weapon on the outside. For much of his career, Chesson
was a raw speedster, being used more on end-arounds and jet sweeps
because he had not developed his route-running or ability to adjust to
the ball in the air. However, in the final six games of 2015, something
finally clicked for him because, in that span, he caught 33 passes for
574 yards and nine touchdowns. Suddenly, he was Michigan's
deep-threat, #1 receiver and torching future first-round cornerbacks like Florida's Vernon Hargreaves.
Now,
as a senior, Chesson has a chance to put it all together for one
memorable season. If he does, some scouts have claimed he could be the
first receiver off the NFL Draft board.
As for Michigan's third offensive playmaker, I will go out on a limb and say true freshman Chris Evans
despite that he's worn the winged helmet for one game. Evans was a
former four-star athlete that wasn't pegged for a certain position.
Some thought he would be an H-back or slot on offense, while others
liked him better in the defensive backfield. However, Jim Harbaugh put
him at running back, and Evans dazzled in his college debut against
Hawaii, toting the ball eight times for 112 yards and two scores.
Although Evans currently is only Michigan's #3 running back behind
DeVeon Smith and Ty Isaac,
Evans brings something to the table that the other two don't:
decisiveness and explosiveness. He had a 43-yard touchdown sprint that
saw him burst through a hole that would have closed on Smith --
Michigan's bruiser and current starter -- after 12 yards. Evans won't
be the running back that UCF sees first, and he won't be the back that
they will see most. But, if the Knights leave him in open space, they
will regret it the most.
Defensively,
the first two playmakers are obvious because they have been plastered
over All-American lists for the past year. The first is cornerback Jourdan Lewis, who was arguably the best cover corner in the country last season. Lewis
tallied 37 tackles, 3.5 TFL, a sack, a forced fumble, two
interceptions, and a whopping 20 PBUs. That his interceptions were on
the low side likely cost him his shot at the Thorpe Award, but here is
the stat that matters: quarterbacks targeted Lewis an absurd 90 times, yet completed only 33 of those passes (36.7%) for 416 yards (4.6 YPA).
Simply, Lewis thrived in press man coverage and shut down one half of
the field. Lewis missed the 2016 opener with a minor injury, but Jim
Harbaugh said it was a precautionary measure. Expect Lewis to be on the
field.
The other obvious defensive playmaker is do-it-all Jabrill Peppers.
The former five-star utilizes his world-class athleticism at safety,
corner, nickel, linebacker, slot receiver, H-back, running back,
Wildcat QB, and returner. However, do not expect him to appear on the
offensive side of the ball in this one. Peppers will be on defense in a
SAM/nickel role where his versatility allows Michigan to adapt to
various offensive schemes without changing its personnel. Though
Peppers' coverage in the slot can be shaky at times, he is a violent
force near the line of scrimmage and in the flats because he bursts
past blockers in those areas to blow up screens and create tackles for
loss. This was on display against Hawaii when he racked up eight
tackles, two TFL, and a sack. Peppers is the quintessential
hybrid-space player, and he likely will be a first-round selection in
the spring.
The
third defensive playmaker is not one that stands out on the stat sheet
but on the game film: nose tackle Ryan Glasgow. The former walk-on
doesn't receive the attention that his linemates do, but he is the glue
that holds together what some pundits believe is the nation's best
defensive line. Glasgow is impressive against both the run and the pass.
He knows how to hold up against double teams, and he has become so
proficient at shedding offensive linemen with an explosive first step or
with his hands. It wasn't a surprise when Michigan's defensive line
began to get shredded by run-heavy spread offenses in the final weeks of
last season after Glasgow suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
Now, Glasgow is back, and, given how he tore Hawaii's interior line to
pieces, he is fully healthy again.
2.
Michigan replaced an outstanding DC in D.J. Durkin with another
outstanding DC in Don Brown. Is his defense much different than
Durkin's, and if so - how?
There are
many similarities between the defenses of D.J. Durkin and Don Brown,
but Don Brown's defenses seems to be more aggressive and complicated.
There was no secret to Durkin's defense last season. Michigan would run
a 4-3 with a press man Cover 1 or 3 behind it, daring the opponent's
offensive linemen to win their assignments against Michigan's defensive
line and the opponent's receivers to beat Michigan's corners one on
one. Most times, Michigan won those battles.
On the
other hand, while Michigan still is running a 4-3, Brown's defense has a
lot more variation to it and more blitzes. In terms of alignment,
Michigan might be in a typical 4-3 on one snap. Then, on the next snap,
Michigan could be in a 4-2-5 where the defensive linemen will be in
wide splits that allow Michigan's two inside linebackers to sandwich
its defensive tackle at the line and crash the B gaps. Jabrill Peppers
is being moved around from nickel to linebacker to safety every play,
which alters Michigan's scheme and tries to keep offenses guessing
about what is coming next. Plus, Michigan no longer is exclusively
relying on press man coverage. Brown has installed some trap and robber
coverages, which will be disguised and should lead to more
interceptions for the Wolverines. In fact, they had two pick-sixes
against Hawaii, one of which was the result of the Warriors'
quarterback not seeing Michigan's Delano Hill
in a robber zone underneath. It will be interesting to see if Brown
has installed too much to the point that Michigan is more prone to
mental mistakes. But the defense looked very stout versus Hawaii.
3. Speight had a great debut at QB. Do you think he's as good as his three touchdown performance against Hawaii suggests?
No. There was much talk about who would replace Jake Rudock
as Michigan's starting quarterback this season, but Wolverine fans
were not as worried about it because Jim Harbaugh has an excellent
track record with quarterbacks and has shown himself to be a guru of
sorts. Nonetheless, when it was rumored that Wilton Speight had beaten out John O'Korn
for the gig, it was understood that Harbaugh was making this move
because Speight had more control of the offense and could move the
chains without making many mistakes. Of course, Speight just happened
to have his first throw of the season picked off due to a poor
decision, but he bounced back by completing 10-of-13 throws for 145
yards, three touchdowns, and just the one interception. However, it was
not as if Speight was throwing darts around the field. He had a couple
of nice throws, but most of his passes were easy because Michigan was
ahead on down and distance all game and Hawaii's secondary was just not
good. Speight likely fits the mold of a game manager, and it still
remains to be seen if he can pick apart great defenses.
4.
Michigan is deservedly a heavy favorite. Knowing the strengths and
weaknesses of this team as you do, what scenario exists in which you can
see a UCF upset?
The only
scenarios that exist in which UCF can upset Michigan is if the
Wolverines get an extreme case of turnover-itis or their defensive line
goes down in a flurry of injuries. Offensively, Michigan likely will
replicate the gameplan it had against Hawaii and keep the ball on the
ground (39 runs to 20 passes). UCF's defensive front struggled to stop
the run last season (95th in YPC and 105th in S&P+), so it's
difficult to predict that the Knights will win that battle in the trench
given they have a dearth of defensive ends. Michigan will use an array
of tight ends and H-backs to blow them off the line, so, unless
Michigan's running backs start fumbling or Wilton Speight gets the yips, Michigan should move the ball.
Defensively,
Michigan was vulnerable to uptempo spread-to-run offenses at the end
of 2015 after it had lost three defensive linemen to season-ending
injuries. The Wolverines no longer had the depth it desired to keep a
full rotation of talented linemen, and, as they pace quickened, they
became exhausted as they were trapped on the field, unable to sub. The
good news for UCF is that Scott Frost has brought an uptempo spread
offense with him from Oregon to Orlando. The bad news for UCF, though,
is that the Knights likely do not yet have the proper personnel to
execute it well -- 3.58 YPC vs. South Carolina State in the opener is
alarming -- and Michigan's depth at defensive line remains somewhat
intact for the moment. Nose tackle Bryan Mone and defensive end Taco Charlton are expected to miss Saturday's
game, but Michigan also will be getting back defensive tackle Maurice
Hurst, Jr. If the defensive line stays healthy, it is hard to imagine
that UCF will be able to run effectively through the Wolverines' front.
And I don't think Justin Holman will have much fun against Michigan's secondary either way.
5. Off
the field - What do you recommend for Knights fans visiting Ann Arbor?
Any restaurants, bars, non-game activities that are not to be missed?
I reside
in Los Angeles and actually haven't been back to Ann Arbor since 2012,
which is crazy to me as I type it out. So I'm not entirely sure what
has changed in the past four years. Nonetheless, when people ask me for
Ann Arbor restaurant and bar recommendations, I always direct them to this guide constructed by MGoBlog's Brian Cook.
It wonderfully breaks down your options based on the type of meal you
want or the bar you want to frequent.However, I do think Brian is too
harsh on the restaurants on Main Street, such as Chop House. They are
pricey, but I do not find them as overrated as he does. And Brian omits
my favorite "spot" in Ann Arbor: Mr. Spots. It is located on State and
Hill and known for its Philly cheesesteaks. But their hot wings are the best I have ever had.
Oh, and if
you want to try the ever-popular Zingerman's Delicatessen, call in
your order ahead of time and pick it up. Otherwise, have fun standing
in a line around the corner for 30 minutes to an hour. Or just go to
Maize & Blue Deli. It's better.
To those of you making the trip to Ann Arbor, have a wonderful time!
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