5 Offensive Players to Watch in Michigan’s Spring Game

5 Offensive Players to Watch in Michigan’s Spring Game


April 1, 2016
Ty Isaac 805x

Ty Isaac

Yesterday I posted about what to look for from Michigan’s defensive players (LINK), and now here’s a look at the offense. The spring game is at 6:00 p.m. tonight at Michigan Stadium. Admission is free. If you’re watching on TV, it will be broadcast live on BTN from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. and on BTN2Go after that. Then it will be re-aired in its entirety at 9:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.

QB Wilton Speight

We saw Speight play a little bit last year. If we’re being honest, it was mostly bad. If not for one crunch-time, game-winning drive and a touchdown pass to beat Minnesota, it would have been downright ugly. The 6’6″, 239 lb. Speight went 9/25 (36%) for 73 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. However, the coaching staff has stated that the quarterback job is open, and Speight has reportedly inched past John O’Korn. Last Saturday at the Ford Field open practice, Speight was the first guy getting reps. He appears to be more of a game manager, but it would be nice to have a quarterback who can push the ball down the field a little bit.

Hit the jump for four more offensive players to watch.

QB John O’Korn
O’Korn will likely be going head-to-head against Speight, and he reportedly has four of the starting linemen blocking for him up front. The quarterbacks will be live, according to Jim Harbaugh, so O’Korn’s superior blocking up front will presumably keep him a little bit cleaner. He redshirted last year, but his 34-to-18 TD-to-INT rate and 56% completions as Houston’s starter in 2013-2014 dwarf the numbers Speight produced last season. Of course, receivers also make a big difference in the equation, and the Wolverines are very thin on the outside, especially when split into two separate squads. O’Korn is more of a gambler than Speight, but he has supposedly made more mistakes, too. One of these two will likely be your starter against Hawaii on September 3rd.

TE Tyrone Wheatley, Jr.
We know that starting tight end Jake Butt is All-America caliber, but Jim Harbaugh likes to use multiple tight ends, and there’s an opening for a #2 guy to step in and be a blocking tight end. One would think the 6’6″, 280 lb. Wheatley should be able to block, but that’s a bigger question mark than his receiving skills at this point. He made the play of the day in last Saturday’s practice when he made a one-handed stab of a Brandon Peters pass and scored a 75-yard TD. Will he be the heir to Butt’s throne, or will he be a complementary tight end to someone like Ian Bunting going forward?

C Mason Cole
The 6’5″, 305 lb. Cole started all 25 games at left tackle the past two seasons, but now he’s needed at center after Graham Glasgow graduated. Cole dabbled at center last spring, but that experiment didn’t last long. It seemed like the coaches might have been prepping him for the eventual move, and now that switch has come to fruition. Early reports have been positive, but Michigan needs to figure out whether he can be the long-term answer at the position.

RB Ty Isaac
Isaac did well early last season (30 carries, 205 yards, 6.8 yards/carry, 1 TD) and then spent the second half of the year in the doghouse. The 6’3″, 228 lb. runner has lost 12 lbs. since last year, talked about how much he learned, and came in for some recent praise from Jim Harbaugh for his changed attitude. That may not be enough to supplant starter De’Veon Smith, but he should at least be in the running for a significant chunk of carries as a backup. He was the most consistently impressive back in last week’s open practice and broke several long runs. He could potentially surge past Drake Johnson for the #2 slot at the position or become a third down back, but his pass protection and attitude need to improve from what we saw last year.

 

13 comments

  1. Comments: 23
    Joined: 3/14/2016
    wolfman
    Apr 01, 2016 at 8:06 AM

    One very important question my brother. When was the above photo of Issac shot? Based purely on the photo, I’d say he transcended being in shape some time ago and looks to be damn right intimidating. All I ask of any wolverine player is to give their best and although we’ve been disappointed by many, it’s the ones that have been given so much and don’t take advantage of it that hurt the worst.
    In any regard, I have to agree the chances of him overtaking Smith are small. De’Veon, and for good reason, has become one of Harbaugh’s favorites and for good reason. No matter the results of a play, he never will question the effort put forth by this young man, and Jim lets his players know, “:The staff and I do our best every week, regardless of what else is going on. All we ask is you do the same.Now that sounds like a fair exchange.” He loves to see football players, based on his definition, and due to his obsessive nature, he sets a high standard, probably why he receives such a high return.
    I honestly don’t know what Ty’s ceiling is. As a former 5*, you’d think it would be high, but that is a difficult position to judge, based on both our “consensus can’t misses,” along withe our “likely to contribute 3*s like Mike Hart.” As unlikely as it is that Ty assumes the no. 1 spot with De’Veon here, I have no doubt Jim, if he sees enough, and this applies to every position, will not afford to award them accordingly.
    I asked a question a week ago in regard to Mitchell and Perry. It is one that will be answered at some point during the season, so was interested in your take. If you get around to it, yeah would still like your opinion based on watching them both live.
    Actually, I am comfortable knowing what we can expect from Perry, given a healthy supporting cast. It has more to do with Mitchell and expectations for this year and if you have plans for articles in that regard, will gladly wait.
    Everyone have a great weekend. Be safe. Go Blue.

    H

  2. Comments: 23
    Joined: 3/14/2016
    wolfman
    Apr 01, 2016 at 8:12 AM

    And a quick proof read of the above is enough to convince me when I am just getting in from a “way too long, tequila supplemented evening, probably best to ask questions at some other time. Just a different attitude down here and clocks are purely optional.
    But most importantly, as I said. All Be safe.

  3. Comments: 71
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    umfarnn
    Apr 01, 2016 at 9:59 AM

    Interested to see if Drake Harris can shine with very little depth at WR and against a good defense.

    • Comments: 5
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      CZig
      Apr 01, 2016 at 3:09 PM

      I agree. A healthy, productive Drake Harris would really help the consistency of the offence.

  4. Comments: 134
    Joined: 9/13/2015
    AC1997
    Apr 01, 2016 at 11:05 AM

    My thoughts on players:

    1 – Mason Cole isn’t someone I’m watching. He will be fine. I’m instead going to watch Kugler and Newsome. Whichever one of those plays better has an influence on Cole.

    2 – Wheatley is an interesting footnote, but he isn’t on the top of my list. We have a ton of TEs on the roster and best-case scenario is that Wheatley takes over for AJ Williams. That’s important, but not critical with Jake Butt around and lots of bodies.

    3 – Isaac I agree 100% with. It isn’t about taking the lead from Smith, but giving Harbaugh options and flexibility in the RB role.

    4 – WR – This is a HUGE opportunity for someone to step up and show something. Even with new QBs and a tough secondary, I’d like to see how everyone does at WR not named Darboh.

    5 – FB – None of the three primary candidates at FB are natural there. Poggi was a DL, Hill was a TE, and Shallman was a RB.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 01, 2016 at 12:24 PM

      We don’t have any experienced blocking TEs. Sure, we can put Butt in that spot, but he’s far more useful running routes. The other options are all young and inexperienced. Like with the OL, it takes time to get strong enough and develop technique to block well. If Wheatley’s blocking isn’t there, you might see a walk-on (Jocz) get significant snaps.

    • Comments: 6285
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      Lanknows
      Apr 01, 2016 at 12:25 PM

      Harbaugh seems to want his FBs to be taller than the standard prototype. I think Hill may indeed be a natural, at least for what Harbaugh runs.

  5. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Apr 01, 2016 at 12:11 PM

    Ty Isaac – The Dream that will never die. LOL.

    So Thunder, you have previously argued that Isaac needed to add weight and try to get up to 235 or more. When I argued he needed to cut way down you disagreed. Does his weight loss this offseason worry you?

    Also – did we ever see a bad attitude from Isaac or was that just rumormill stuff?

    • Comments: 1364
      Joined: 8/11/2015
      WindyCityBlue
      Apr 01, 2016 at 7:12 PM

      Ty Isaac is the Kam Chatman of the football team…

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 02, 2016 at 4:51 PM

      Well, he was the best running back in last night’s game by far. So there’s a reason the “dream will never die.”

      I think my aiming point for Isaac was 235 lbs. A recent article by Nick Baumgardner said he dropped 14 lbs. to get to 228. I will admit that he looks better this spring than he did last year, but it’s hard to say how much difference it would make between 242 to 235 or to 228. For example, would he look even better by dropping to 221? Or to 214? If he was 242 lbs. last year, I would say that was too heavy. I don’t think we ever saw any bad attitude stuff from Isaac on the field. It was mainly stuff leaking out from “insiders” but where there’s smoke, there’s often fire – and there was a lot of smoke.

  6. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Apr 01, 2016 at 12:13 PM

    No questions that eyes will be on the QBs. That’s always the case but especially when the job is open.

    I think O’Korn is still the clear leader, but it’s probably good that Speight is pushing a bit. I suspect that’s somewhat manufactured competition, but whatever. I always thought Speight put good touch on the ball. I also think he had a good year last year as backup. Besides the Minnesota game (where he looked pretty good), I don’t believe he attempted more than a pass or two in competitive situations.

    • Comments: 3844
      Joined: 7/13/2015
      Apr 02, 2016 at 4:33 PM

      Maybe O’Korn isn’t the clear leader. I thought they both did a pretty good job last night, albeit in different ways. I think they feel like it’s a competition.

  7. Comments: 6285
    Joined: 8/11/2015
    Lanknows
    Apr 01, 2016 at 12:21 PM

    Butt and Darboh are going to be good. Perry’s going to be fine. 4/5s of the starting OL is established. I’m not real interested in the RBs. We have Smith starting and Isaac and Johnson are vets we’ve seen plenty from – we know what we have there. People will inevitably read way too much into their spring game production and it won’t matter a lick. Wyatt Shallman may be the leading yardage gainer again or maybe it’s that walk-on who is impressing people – who cares?

    Guys I AM looking forward to hearing about:

    Newsome: he looks the part, but how will he play against Charlton, Winovich, etc. Big things expected for our new/young starting LT.

    Kugler: still not much data here and nobody really knows who the next man in on the OL is if someone goes down.

    O’Korn: while Speight sounds like he’s progressing to be a good backup, or season is probably in O’Korn’s hands

    Hill: Jim Harbaugh likes FBs and we don’t have a proven one.

    Harris: All that talent and athletic ability, but he was immediately passed by Perry. He has an opportunity with Ways and Chesson out to show something.

    Wheatley: need someone to replace Williams and options are actually pretty limited despite all the talk about being overloaded at TE.

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