The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/80972
M Lowdown On Offensive Line Fifth-year senior Ricky Barnum has been around Schembechler Hall long enough to know the lay of the land. He certainly understands well his offensive line teammates, ones he'll go to battle with this fall. Barnum will be taking on the challenge of performing at center for the 2012 Wolverines, but he took on a different task in the months leading up to the opener against Alabama. Asked to identify which of his offensive line teammates stood out in different categories, Barnum stepped up and spoke out. Ricky Barnum Gives Here are Barnum's Best, among the blockers: Strongest — This one proved a little trickier than you'd expect. Barnum broke it down into different performers and their individual areas to shine in the strength category. "Taylor [Lewan] and Pat [Omameh] are strong at bench," Barnum noted. "Elliott [Mealer] and I are strong at squat. [Michael] Schofield is strong in pretty much everything. I would have to say it would be Patrick Omameh. It's between him and Taylor." Meanest — There was no equivocation here. Nor any surprise, for those who follow Michigan's offensive line closely. "Everybody would say Taylor," Barnum said with a grin. "He's a very physical, physical, physical, physical guy." Smartest — That one required some thought, and Barnum tum- His Receiving Corps Senior quarterback Denard Robinson took some heat last year while adapting to offen- sive coordinator Al Borges' pro-style offense, throwing 15 interceptions. He also lead the Wolverines to an 11-2 finish, getting more comfortable by year's end when Borges started employing more of the spread that had made Robinson a Heisman Trophy can- didate a year earlier. Continues To Impress Denard Robinson Taylor Lewan was cited as one of the strongest, and the meanest, offensive linemen on the Wolverines. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL bled out a number of potential No. 1s, before finally settling on a winner. Maybe this choice played a role in the rise of a previously unknown walk-on during spring practice. "Joey Burzynski is definitely the smartest," Barnum assured. Toughest — Here's one that could get an offensive linemen in trouble with his prideful fellow brute- squad crew. Barnum opted for the diplomatic approach. "All of us," Barnum contended. "All of us are tough." Date Jan. 7 Jan. 6 Jan. 5 Jan. 4 Jan. 3 Jan. 2 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Bowl BCS Title Game GoDaddy.com BBVA Compass Cotton Fiesta Sugar Orange Rose Gator Outback Capital One TicketCity Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Dec. 31 Liberty Dec. 31 Sun Dec. 31 Music City Dec. 30 Insight Dec. 29 Alamo Dec. 29 Fight Hunger Dec. 29 Armed Forces Dec. 29 Champs Sports Dec. 28 Meineke Car Care Dec. 28 Independence Dec. 27 Holiday Dec. 27 Belk Dec. 27 Military Dec. 26 Little Caesars Dec. 24 Hawaii Dec. 22 MAACO Dec. 22 R+L Carriers Dec. 21 Beef 'O' Brady's Dec. 20 Poinsettia Dec. 15 Idaho Potato Dec. 15 New Mexico TBA Pinstripe 2012-13 BOWL SCHEDULE Location TV Miami, Fl. Mobile, Ala. Birmingham, Ala. Arlington, Texas Glendale, Ariz. New Orleans, La. Miami, Fla. Pasadena, Calif. Jacksonville, Fla. Tampa, Fla. Orlando, Fla. Dallas, Texas Atlanta, Ga. Memphis, Tenn. El Paso, Texas Nashville, Tenn. Tempe, Ariz. San Antonio, Texas San Francisco, Calif. Fort Worth, Texas Orlando, Fla. Houston, Texas Shreveport, La. San Diego, Calif. Charlotte, N.C. Washington, D.C. Detroit, Mich. Honolulu, Hawaii Las Vegas, Nev. New Orleans, La. St. Petersburg, Fla. San Diego, Calif. Boise, Idaho Albuquerque, N.M. Bronx, N.Y. ESPN ESPN ESPN FOX ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN2 ABC ESPN ESPNU ESPN ESPN CBS ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN ESPN Time TBA 9 p.m. 1 p.m. 8 p.m. TBA TBA 8 p.m. 4:30 p.m. TBA 1 p.m. TBA TBA 7:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 2 p.m. 12 p.m. TBA 6:45 p.m. 3:15 p.m. 12 p.m. TBA 9 p.m. 2 p.m. 9:45 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 3 p.m. 6 p.m. 8 p.m. 3:30 p.m. 12 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 1 p.m. TBA 28 s THE WOLVERINE 2012 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Matchup BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2 Sun Belt No. 2 vs. MAC No. 2 SEC No. 8-9 vs. Big East No. 5/CUSA Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC No. 3-4 Big 12 No. 1 vs. BCS at-large SEC No. 1 vs. BCS at-large ACC No. 1 vs. BCS at-large Big Ten No. 1 vs. Pac-12 No. 1 Big Ten No. 4-5 vs. SEC No. 6 Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC No. 3 Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2 Big Ten No. 7 vs. CUSA No. 2-6 ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5 CUSA No. 1 vs. Big East No. 5/SEC ACC No. 4 vs. Pac-12 No. 4 SEC No. 7 vs. ACC No. 6 Big Ten No. 4-5 vs. Big 12 No. 4 Pac-12 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3 Navy vs. Pac-12 No. 6 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. MWC Notre Dame/Big East vs. ACC No. 3 Big Ten No. 6 vs. Big 12 No. 6 ACC No. 7 vs. SEC Pac-12 No. 3 vs. Big 12 vs. 5 ACC No. 5 vs. Big East No. 3 Army vs. ACC No. 8 Big Ten No. 8 vs. MAC No. 2 WAC vs. CUSA No. 2-6 Pac-12 No. 5 vs. MWC No. 1 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. Sun Belt No. 1 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. Big East No. 6 BYU vs. MWC No. 2 WAC vs. MAC No. 3 Pac-12 No. 7 vs. MWC No. 4-5 Big 12 No. 7 vs. Big East No. 4 The Wolverines won't abandon the pro style this year, though the lack of experienced tight ends could force Borges' hand a bit. Re- gardless, Robinson threw plenty during the spring and was much more consistent in the eyes of his receivers and their coach. "Sometimes when you struggle as a thrower, it's better in the long run," said re - ceivers coach Jeff Hecklinski, a former Illi - nois quarterback. "He struggled early. Having played the position and understanding what being a quarterback is like, sometimes you can learn more from bad throws than good throws. "We saw it last year, how he struggled early, got better and better and it started to click. It started to click with us [as receivers], too." Fifth-year senior wideout Roy Roundtree spent much of his spring on the receiving end of Robinson passes, getting a close look at the improvement. He saw a calmer, more confident quarterback in every scenario in which Borges asked him to perform. The want-to has never been a problem, Roundtree noted. "He always wants to get better, but now he's got that confidence that he knows what he's doing," he said. "This spring, he knew what he had. He was learning last year, but now he's out there making different au - dibles, seeing the defense faster, reacting faster. You can tell. "Denard really knows the offense this year, and he's actually been talking to everybody, giving the guys confidence. We had some young receivers in the huddle at times in the spring and he'd talk to them, tell them: 'You're good — you've got this.' Being a wide receiver and getting that from your quarter- back gives you confidence." Some of Robinson's struggles in the early portion of last season weren't all on him, Hecklinski added. "Remember, when you're throwing the ball, there are two ends of this," he said. "The quarterback is responsible for the throw, and we are responsible for the catch — the receivers, the running backs and the tight ends. "That's why offensive football is such an ultimate team game, because it takes us all. The quarterback can put the ball on the money, but if the wideout drops it or runs a bad route, it's still an incompletion that goes against his numbers."