The Michigan Wolverines got their man...so what comes next?
Now that Jim Harbaugh is in Ann Arbor, the hard work begins in earnest. With the exception of 2011, Michigan has royally underachieved since Lloyd Carr retired, and Harbaugh will have to make a number of fundamental changes if he wants to get this program back on the winning track. Here are four things Michigan needs to do if they want to see results sooner rather than later...
1. Get More From The Quarterback Position
The Wolverines absolutely need to do better at the quarterback position if they want to make this a quick turnaround. A former four-star recruit, Devin Gardner never developed the way scouts projected he would, and he regressed significantly from his junior year to his senior season. While coaches can't get out there and make the throws for him, a lot of that falls on Brady Hoke's staff - Gardner went from throwing 21 TDs and 11 interceptions in his junior year to throwing 10 TDs and 15 interceptions in 2014.
Jim Harbaugh has a history of developing top quarterback talent - while he's most frequently associated with Andrew Luck and Colin Kaepernick, it's easy to forget that he brought Alex Smith back from the brink in San Francisco and actually started his post-playing career as a quarterbacks coach. Whether it's Shane Morris, Alex Malzone, or someone completely off the radar at this point, the Wolverines need a major upgrade at quarterback if they want to get back in contention for the Big 10.
2. Shore Up The Offensive Line
The Wolverines have had no shortage of talent come through their offensive line in recent years, but under Brady Hoke that never translated into an effective running game or a well-protected quarterback. Michigan's new offensive coordinator should have plenty to say about that, though - Tim Drevno is a former offensive lineman with over a decade of experience coaching lines in college and the NFL. The Wolverines return all five of the players who were starting at the tail end of 2014, and players like G Kyle Kalis, OT Erik Magnuson and G Mason Cole should start playing up to their high potential. If Michigan can finally start coaching their offensive line into an effective unit, that'll come with far-reaching benefits to the entire team.
3. Don't Bother Putting Training Wheels On Jabrill Peppers
The most hyped Michigan recruit in years, Peppers played in just three games this past season before an injury shut him down for the year. Even before that, Peppers had been limited, and fans still haven't really seen what the #1 athlete in the class of 2014 can do. There will be some who advocate bringing Peppers along slowly and not throwing him right into the fire...but that really wouldn't be Jim Harbaugh's style.
Peppers has physical tools that other players at this level just don't have, and Michigan should take advantage by using a similar approach to what UCLA is doing with phenom Myles Jack (and what Michigan did back in the day with a guy named Charles Woodson you might have heard of). Peppers can be a factor on both offense and defense, and there were plans to have him play on both sides of the ball before he got hurt and Michigan's season went south. If Peppers turns into a two-way star like Jack, the Wolverines will reap the benefits.
4. Instill A Winning Mentality
The fact is, Michigan just hasn't played up to their talent level over the past few seasons. There's absolutely no excuse for losing to a team like Maryland at home, and that falls on the coaching staff - if a team is losing to significantly less-talented squads, that comes back to motivation and preparation...and that comes back to inadequate coaching. If he's still Jim Harbaugh, Jim Harbaugh will make it clear from the outset that those results are a thing of the past, and the sloppy play and preparation errors that dogged Michigan recently will disappear with the coaching staff that enabled them.
If Michigan can play like winners, unleash Jabrill Peppers, turn their offensive line into an effective unit and find themselves a solid quarterback...well, this "rebuilding effort" might look a lot like Jim Harbaugh's debut season in San Francisco. The expectations for that 13-3, NFC Championship-winning team were also pretty low, but when Jim Harbaugh is around, expectations often go right out the window.
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