The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/998618
Top Five Question Marks This has been the number one question for the last two years, and it remains at the top this season. Offensive line coach Ed Warinner said this spring he believes the Wolverines have the personnel to employ a solid Big Ten offensive line. On paper, it's a good crew — tied with defensive back for U-M's position group with the most former Rivals250 recruits on the roster (six) — especially on the inside. Junior left guard Ben Bredeson, sophomore center Cesar Ruiz and junior right guard Michael Onwenu provide a high-ceiling interior, and redshirt junior tackle Jon Runyan Jr. was among the most improved players in spring ball. But there are still question marks, including a big one … THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 51 Fifth-year senior Juwann Bushell-Beatty has struggled with consistency for much of his career, and he was in and out of the lineup at right tackle last year. He took the majority of the reps at left tackle this spring, and coaches and teammates say he improved, especially in pass protection. Redshirt freshman James Hudson is another option here, and he's gotten much better after moving over from the defensive line last year. Hudson has the frame and the long arms for the position, and there were some analysts who always felt he was better suited for offense. Still, he's a redshirt freshman. It wouldn't be ideal, but there's always the possibility that Bredeson slides over to tackle, too, if that's what's needed to get the best five linemen on the field. 1 Will the offensive line be good enough to allow Michigan to contend for a title? 2 Who plays left tackle? 3 Is the schedule a championship deal breaker? This team should be better than last year's 8-5 squad, but in keeping with the theme of the 1997 national championship team, it's heading 'Into Thin Air' with the schedule ahead of it. Away games at Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State will be very challenging, and the Wolverines also have to play at Northwestern, which won 10 games and finished No. 17 in the AP and coaches' polls. The home slate includes talented Wisconsin (13 wins last year) and Penn State (11 wins) teams coming off top-10 finishes, and a Nebraska squad with first-year coach Scott Frost that will only get better. This is one of the nation's toughest schedules, and if the Wolverines capture a title this year, they will have earned it. 4 Will SHEA PATTERSON be as good as advertised? There's no sugarcoating the fact that quarterback play was an issue a year ago. The offensive line struggled to protect, but there were too many missed op- portunities in the passing game as a result of the play of the signal-callers. U-M quarterbacks completed only 53.5 percent of their passes last year. Patterson is supposed to be the guy to change that. The junior Ole Miss trans- fer has averaged 313.9 passing yards per game so far in his career while playing in the SEC as an underclassman, is a former five-star prospect, has the moxie needed for the position, can make all the throws, escapes the pocket … and yet he's started only 10 games in his young career. He's got the skill set to be a difference maker and (it seems) some very good receivers to throw to. Now he just needs to perform. 5 Can this team get its special teams mojo back? The Wolverines were spoiled when Jabrill Peppers was returning punts and kicks, and Kenny Allen was booming punts inside the 20 regularly. Michigan finished 113th nationally in net punting average a year ago (35.73 yards a boot), 109th in kick return (18.61 yards a runback) and 59th in punt return (7.81 yards per attempt), too often losing that third of the game that can provide the difference between winning and losing. There are at least a half-dozen games this year in which the margin between the teams will be razor thin. Improvement here could dictate whether they're wins or losses. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY