Michigan working toward stretching field in passing game, quickening offense

Through the first five games of the No. 10 Michigan football team’s season, the Wolverines have very clearly established an identity and stuck to it. Michigan has built an imposing rushing offense and has been able to consistently rely on explosive plays from the ground game. But, the Wolverines have struggled to do much else. 

There is a litany of statistics that point to the Wolverines’ struggles in the passing game. They rank 13th-lowest in the country in passing efficiency, fifth-lowest in passing yards per game and second lowest in yards per completion. But even with lackluster passing statistics, that very same offense has guided Michigan to a 4-1 record. 

In his assessment of where the Wolverines’ offense stands today, Michigan offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell emphasized that above any statistics or any focus on the Wolverines’ pace of play, designing an offense capable of winning comes first. However, at the same time, Campbell acknowledged that there is a need for growth, and that it starts with stretching the field via the passing game.

“We’ve gotta execute with more precision and detail across the board,” Campbell said Wednesday. “But then when the plays are called, we’ve got to go execute them as well. So there’s a Catch-22 there. Like yeah, we can have plays on the call sheet to be creative that everybody wants. But when you’re not executing at a high and moving the football, they’re hard to get off the call sheet.”

Part of that need for precision that Campbell alluded to refers to Michigan’s receiving corps, which has had a slow start to its season. While junior and senior quarterbacks Alex Orji and Davis Warren haven’t given their receivers tons of chances to get into a rhythm, the receivers have struggled to make themselves viable targets.

Right now, junior tight end Colston Loveland ranks as Michigan’s leading receiver with 228 yards. Behind him, in second place with a third of his yards is junior Marlin Klein — another tight end. In fact, all of the Wolverines’ wide receivers combined have amounted for only six yards more than Loveland. 

From top to bottom, from Orji to his wideouts, Michigan is looking to improve, because it knows it cannot continue with only a rushing attack that’s working. 

“The explosiveness that we mentioned earlier in the pass game needs to show up so that we can get faster drives,” Campbell said. “Do we need to score in one minute or two minutes like these air raid teams? No, that’s not what we’re asking. But it’s easier with seven or eight-play drives when you get explosive plays in the throw game. You just can’t rely on the backbone of the run game to create those explosives. … It’s not a reality that’s sustainable through the course of a season.”

Under Orji, those explosive gains in the pass game have not been present, as his longest completion to date went only 16 yards. So far, Michigan has been able to function and win like this in his two games under center. But in the second half of both the Southern California and Minnesota games, the Wolverines’ inability to garner quick, consistent completions in the pass game slowed their offense to a snail’s pace. And knowing that it cannot function in the long-term without a faster offense, Michigan still believes it can create deep threats. 

Last week against Minnesota, Orji took a step forward from the week before and managed more mid-range throws in the slot. But in tandem with his receivers, the Wolverines are looking to expand that vertical element a step further — in ways they feel they’re capable of.

“We have deep threats,” sophomore receiver Kendrick Bell said Tuesday. “We’ve just got to go out and show it. We show it all the time in practice, just being able to put it out there on Saturdays is a big part of it.”

Through five weeks of hard-nosed bully ball, Michigan has survived well enough with a passing offense that hasn’t yet found its footing. But Campbell and the Wolverines know that the two have to feed into one another. And with Orji hoping to build a rhythm with his receivers, Michigan wants to build a passing offense that can ease the offensive burden for its rushing identity.

The post Michigan working toward stretching field in passing game, quickening offense appeared first on The Michigan Daily.


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