In Ann Arbor the offense did struggle.
The interior of the line was subpar.
While the Tackles had talent. Overall, the line had serious issues.
The coordinator was replaced. The new one came in from Alabama.
A new starting tailback must be found.
The running game was already a waste land.
Okay, that’s enough writing like Ernest Hemingway. I’m not even going to attempt to do a paragraph like F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’m not in the same stratosphere of writing talent as Scott was. Michigan Wolverines tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint, a three year starter in Ann Arbor, needs to be replaced. Now he’ll try to catch on with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL, and see if the son also rises.
And of course Junior Hemingway finished his college football career in 2012. He caught a couple TD passes for the K.C. Chiefs last season. So now there’s no Fitzgerald or Hemingway Up in Michigan. A farewell to arms for these two offensive weapons. We’ll see if Doug Nussmeier can generate a moveable feast of total yardage in 2014.
On this side of paradise, the Michigan Wolverines do have the Devins. QB Devin Gardner is really really good and he comes back. And he’s got Devin Funchess to throw to. Who will not split time between tight end and receiver, it will be WR all the time. But this is about the running backs- can they write a new great American success story? Or will the running game be a valley of ashes like it was in 2013?
Last year was the third worst rushing offense in Michigan history, and as the Michigan Wolverines program will often tell you, they’ve been playing football since the 1810s, or something like that. And so they beat on boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
The offensive line as a whole was place of wide lawns and narrow minds; and it loses both tackles (Taylor Lewan and Michael Schofield) who both went within the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. I guess that tells you how the interior of line was to blocking what Hemingway and Fitzgerald were to sobriety. Even with NFL talent within, the unit still played badly.
Not saying they won’t be better at run blocking this year.
I’m just saying, like F. Scott Fitzgerald said “action is character.”
The running back job will now go to one of the two sophomores: Derrick Green or De’ Veon Smith. Green’s main concern is conditioning. The torrents of spring left the position without a true starter. With Smith it’s about handling more carries. And of course, there’s USC transfer Ty Issac, if the NCAA grants him his hardship waiver and rules him eligible for this season. Justice Hayes and Drake Johnson. New Offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier said he plans to use multiple backs as he did at Alabama, so there will be playing time all around.
Said redshirt junior Joe Kerridge FB:
“It’s been very competitive, it’s been very fun this offseason working with each other to get better and push each other, build that bond in the running backs room.”
We’ll see about that. The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them. And none of the running backs are the alpha dog yet. We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
We’ll see how Nussmeier can balance his opposing forces at the tailback position. Because the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. As he moves from one traditional college football power to another, he gets a second act in his American life. Michigan fans believe in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us.
It eluded us then, but that’s no matter–tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…. And one fine morning….
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports and Yahoo! He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world. He’s also a special contributor to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Banks has been featured in numerous media outlets including NFL.com, Forbes, Bleacher Report, Deadspin, ESPN, NBC, CBS, the History Channel and more. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)