The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/835590
12 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW MICHIGAN FOOTBALL Doug Skene: Not All Is New With Harbaugh Doug Skene proudly owns five Big Ten championship rings, from his well-placed five years at Michigan (1988-92). He enjoys much about Michigan tradition, as well as a lot of the innovation Jim Harbaugh has produced. The former Michigan offensive lineman appreciates the edge with which Harbaugh coaches, and that fact that he's not afraid to challenge anyone. He lauds Harbaugh for "taking the team out there and pressing the rules, pressing on the fences of what allows Midwest football programs to compete with the southern teams and grab the talent … taking the team on the road for spring ball, obviously to Florida last year, taking them to Rome this year." But make no mistake, Skene noted, it's not all newness and innova- tion. While Harbaugh has instituted changes that have made the entire college football world sit up and take notice — and the NCAA to react — he also remembered what he experienced at Michigan as a player in the mid-1980s, just prior to Skene's arrival. "A lot of the other things I've seen him do are nothing new," Skene said. "They're exactly what he experienced as a player under [Bo] Schembechler, and what I've had the chance to do, and my teammates to do the same thing. "Bringing back the helmet stickers, the traditional shoes, re-estab- lishing the competitive atmosphere and taking away the entitlement that existed inside that building — you will get nothing that you do not earn. "Those are not new and unique. Those are old school, and all the great programs have those." Jim Harbaugh has brought back Michigan's iconic helmet stickers. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN Most wide receivers coaches stress toughness and blocking ability, along with the finer points of catching the football. New quarterbacks and wideouts boss Pep Hamilton has been no different in that respect. His intense focus on other points the average fan might not think about has drawn the notice of his players. Michi- gan's young receivers are ad- vancing in ways that will allow them to be in position to make catches. "I love him," redshirt junior wideout Maurice Ways noted. "He definitely came in the first day and I saw a change in my game. He's very detail oriented. "He has a reason as to why he does everything, why we run the plays we run, why he teaches us the technique he teaches us. My game has improved, and I'm getting better every day." If receivers can't get off the line, they won't accomplish much. Hamilton honed in on that right away. "My release is the biggest thing," Ways said. "The first two practices, he kind of let us do our own thing. Then that meeting go- ing into the third practice, we had a whole meeting about releases and how he wants it, why we should do it that way. "I took that advice, and ever since then, I felt like I've been getting open a lot easier. My release has im- proved, and I'm becoming a better receiver." Sophomore slot receiver Eddie McDoom echoed those thoughts. "The release has been a big deal with Pep," McDoom con- firmed. "He's been teaching us new techniques, stuff we never learned before to get open off the line. It's been working so far." There's getting open, and there's also having the tim- ing with quarterbacks to make completions, Ways noted. Michigan's quarterbacks built up a rapport with the Wolver- ines' fifth-year senior wideouts last year, and it's coming along with all of the younger players now, he assured. "You don't just come in the first two weeks and start connecting throws," Ways said. "It takes time, it takes offensive work, it takes summer work. Once fall camp hits and once September comes, our chemistry will be there." Pep Hamilton Challenges Michigan Receivers Pep Hamilton has spent most of his coaching career in the NFL, but he had a successful college stint that began under Jim Harbaugh at Stan- ford from 2010-12. He has reunited with his former boss in Ann Arbor to help direct the passing attack. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN