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Sam Webb
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Sam Webb
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Sam Webb
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Bud Elliott
Malachi Toney, is he going to be ready?
Sam Webb
Dante Moore, he showed improvement.
Bud Elliott
Better command. What's going on, y'?
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All?
Bud Elliott
Bud Elliott here of the COVID 3 College Ball podcast. That's Sam Webb. And that means summer school is back in session. The Michigan Insider, that's the site that's also really his identity here. Same Webb does a great job covering all things Michigan for us on 247 Sports. Sam, how you been, man?
Sam Webb
I've been great, man. It's, it has been a marathon of a season from the firing of Sharon Moore to the hiring of Kyle Whittingham to Michigan basketball and Dusty May winning the national championship. So it's been one thing after the other, but not that I'm complaining.
Bud Elliott
Dude, they were so good. Like I, my, my, my boys were watching like UConn and kind of fought. They're not UConn fans. But they kind of bandwagon him a little bit during the tournament. Like yeah, I think Yukon's gonna be Michigan. Like buddy, I. That's a different level looking player. Like let's watch a couple of bits. Like oh yeah, Michigan's guys look like taller, faster, bigger Mike and their coach is good too. So it's like the, it's like oh, okay. Yeah. Reality check.
Sam Webb
Yeah, they didn't even play. It's crazy. They didn't even play particularly well in the national championship game and still won. That's just how it had been. They had been that much better than the opposition for much of the year.
Bud Elliott
So yeah, that was, that was a machine and it was. Was fun to watch like winning the natty with your B game. Stressful a little bit. So obviously you know, Stromore out Kyle Whittingham and still like a decent season last year. 9 and 4 overall. It's not like this is a, a complete rebuild. I mean certainly some, some key losses. We'll, we'll start with, with. With all the coaching changeover. How is this going to look different under Whittingham and under back and under J. Hill?
Sam Webb
Yeah. So I'll start first with Kyle Whittingham. I think that there is a. There's a comfort with the. He's just a. A ball coach who knows his way around a season, knows his way around how to prepare a team, knows his way around how to set a culture. Like the things that you wonder about whenever there's a transition. You wonder a little less about when it's a guy as seasons as Kyle Whittingham. He just, you know, a perfect example is. Has nothing to do with X's and O's. It has everything to do with him. Understanding that at Michigan getting buy in to how you want to do things is certainly important. But you recognizing that there is a long standing, well respected, really storied tradition here and welcoming that into your fabric, whatever of whatever it is you want to do, he gets that. I mean he, he has come in and fully embraced the traditions in a way that has resonated with a lot of the former guys. Guys not even on the team. So I think Michigan people have a keen sort of sense of how important that is after the Rich Rodriguez experience. Right. I mean that, that was, you know, I think Rich Rodriguez is a good coach. I think that it was fully a matter of square peg round hole culturally and no way to really marry the two. Kyle Whittingham is, is making sure that's not an Issue right away. Yeah, he's. He was very successful at Utah. He is a. This is his last hurrah as a coach. You could be a my way or the highway kind of guy, and that hasn't been him. And I think that's been refreshing, not only to the current players, but to the former ones as well.
Bud Elliott
How much of that, like, embracing the culture and embracing him is. Is the fact that, like, he. He is smash mouth and physical and stuff that, like, Michigan, you know, kind of prides itself on being.
Sam Webb
Yeah, I think that plays a. It's a great question, but I think that's a lot of it, you know, making sure that you don't deviate too much from what has been convention for it. Now, it may look different stylistically. Like, you know, he. He made his bones under Urban Meyer. Right. At the end of the day, Urban Meyer is a power spread guy.
Bud Elliott
Yeah.
Sam Webb
And a lot of those principles come over. It's smash mouth, and so it might look different in how you apply it, but it's still smash mouth to your point. And I think Michigan fans will really get with that. And you'll have a lot of the same run plays you'll run. You'll run power, you'll run counter. You'll get into some of the zone where, I mean, I think there'll be a really good zone running team with Jim Harding, the offensive line coach. So it's. It will look familiar in that regard. They won't come in and try to reinvent the wheel from. From a schematic standpoint, but I think how they deploy, it will look a little different when it comes to how much they run the quarterback.
Bud Elliott
I was going to go there next, obviously, so I've been a big fan of Jason Beck since he was on that Virginia staff. Like, I had a lot of people say, like, I. I know an eye is the oc, but like, a lot of the success here, remember when they had Brendan Armstrong, they're like, a lot of the innovations were kind of really due to Beck. And, you know, I just. I think he's just an excellent football coach. How is the offense kind of adapted to what he's trying to run? What's their learning curve here?
Sam Webb
Yeah, I think, you know, you talk to anyone who's been in practice for any stretch of time, they come out talking about two things. One is Savion Hider, who we're. I know we're going to talk about, and the other is, wow. They run the quarterback like these dudes run the quarterback a lot now, you know, there's a question as to how much of that is teaching. Like you. You gotta rep what you want to do. Are you really gonna do it that much in games? That I think remains to be seen to some extent. But I don't think there's any question they're gonna run it more than they did last year, where they gradually sort of moved into, we gotta run Bryce. We gotta run Bryce because of where he is developmentally. We got to run Bryce because of what he is as an athlete and how it helps how it taxes a defense. So you get these guys coming in and it's like you gotta. You got a really athletic quarterback back there who can also threaten with his arm. I mean, it makes it that much more enticing of what he might be able to do in the. In the QB run game. And so I think it's going to be a function of how much they run them. Going to be a function of two things. How much does he progress in terms of his growth as a passer? And then where are they. Where are they really with this offensive line?
Bud Elliott
Right.
Sam Webb
Because you know, you can help an offensive line out a ton when you got a. When you balance the equation with the QB run game. No doubt they have to do that as much. I, you know, I don't really know. I think they'll be better. How much better is the question. I think we'll have to wait till the fall in order to really see.
Bud Elliott
I usually don't get into the schedule stuff until later, but, I mean, Sam, it strikes me that they're probably six games where you might really need to lean on it and six games where maybe you just bluff it, you know, and the, the threat of it is kind of ever present. But you know that, like, you don't need to kind of mash that turbo button every single game. But it is nice to have the threat of it, you know, it kind of helps your play action stuff as well.
Sam Webb
Yeah, man. I think it's, again, another great point. I think it. It took a minute for the last staff to acclimate to. Okay, we don't. We just gotta establish him. We don't have to run him in. Because they were very reluctant first few games of the season, all the way through that Oklahoma game where they didn't run him any. And you look on the other side and they're running. John Matier is running all over the place. I mean, that John Mateer was the difference in that game with the plays that he made, not the. Within the scheme just the, what he did in terms of improv. And so for, for Michigan, where they were offensively with a more green offensive line than they had in a freshman quarterback, it's that the reason that you would run him more to balance the equation. But the philosophy early in the season was, well, if you run your quarterback, you better have two. It's like I, I just don't think you can coach scared like that. These guys are going to run the court. Like, there is no question they're going to run him. And I don't think they'll be reckless, but they aren't going to be reluctant either. And so again, how do you balance that equation is really. It's going to be one of the most intriguing aspects of the season because you got a, a receiver core that you, you like so much more because there's more talent in it. You got a running back room which I don't think will fall off. And if you, if you're calling a lot of QB runs, then you're taking the ball, you know, out of the hands of the running back. So again, they're gonna have to walk that tightrope. I just know they're gonna run it more than they ran it last year.
Bud Elliott
I mean, it also, if it creates that little bit of hesitation on the backside for from that overhang defender, you know, then hider and Marshall that. I don't know if people are, are hyping Heider enough. Like this guy might be like that good from day one. Like his high school film was ridiculous and like reading your reports at a spring camp.
Sam Webb
Yeah, man.
Bud Elliott
Seems like is he the truth?
Sam Webb
Yeah. You know, you got to be cautious about practice hype. I mean, but there's, there's a reason why I think you can read more into this. Like there was a lot of practice hype on Alex Orgy. Right. But I think you had a couple of things at play there. You had very green offensive coaches. You had a, A, a newness about it as well and a defense that wasn't really set. You got a veteran coaching staff here who's seen it before. And when they look at Savion Heider, I mean even, even a, a coach who has been around, like Fred Jackson who's been around 30 years, he said this dude is different, not just physically. And that's an important note. Yeah, physically, you, you've seen him physically. You guys come in, right? He can, yeah, he's six one, he's 215 pounds. Like one guy. He is not bringing him down. He's not going down on first contact. But look at the patience that he runs with, Sam. Like this guy doesn't have to hit the. Hit the hole, you know, right off the bat every single time. There's a patience he, he runs with. He can Leon Bell to the line, but it doesn't, but it doesn't have to be that either. Like, if he has to hit it right now, he can do that too. He has that kind of feel for running the football that you just don't see in a lot of. Lot of freshmen. And so between his physical maturity, his, his. His feel for running, running the football and in the different schemes, they are really excited. They expect, I know they expect for the run game not to fall off any. The question is, can it be even better? And given the elements around it, that should be better, passing game should be better, offensive line should be better. I think that could. That should lend itself to the running game being better too.
Bud Elliott
Is there a receiver who we should know about but don't who has like a real chance to be like a top two guy for them?
Sam Webb
Yeah, I mean, do, do people know about J.J. buchanan from.
Bud Elliott
I know about J.J. buchanan.
Sam Webb
You know about. Do the people know.
Bud Elliott
My dad loves him because his dad and my dad were both fire chiefs. So he's like, oh yeah, like, like I was like, dude, you got to watch this kid. His dad was a fire chief. Like, his testing at you at Utah are off the charts. And you know when it's like, that's going to be their move guy, I assume, like where they move them all around, right? Like, I forgot the guy's name at UVA who they had, but like, they were so deadly because it was. They could, they could run so many different formations without having to change the personnel out. Like, they could go five wide and they like kind of split them back in. I'm trying to think who the guy's name at UVA was, but Matt Buchanan real quick and I'll. I'll figure out his name because, like, when they got him, I was like, oh, shoot, that's an unlock for that offense.
Sam Webb
Yeah. I guess the surprise for us is. So you. They listed him as like a tight end at Utah. Yeah, they don't list him as a tight end at Michigan. They list him as a receiver. Now can they move him around and do different things, bring him in line some? I, I think he brings that kind of versatility, but I don't know that we'll see him a lot in that regard. They have really focused on him being an outside guy primarily and the, the physical, physical presence that he brings to the wide receiver position is different for Michigan. Like, I think one of the things they struggle with is just to have a guy who can consistently make those contested catches. Like, hey, I am just going to be bigger than you. I'm going to jump higher than you. I'm be stronger than you. J.T. buchanan can do those things. Now he, that doesn't mean that he's a stick in the mud that he can't run. I think that he'll take advantage of people who underestimate what his foot speed is. But just his presence, his ability to make, you know, contested plays on the outside, be a jump ball guy, but not just be a chain mover exclusively, but certainly be an established red zone threat, I think is a great compliment to what Andrew Marsh sort of emerged as and is on the verge of being even more of this season.
Bud Elliott
Yeah, I, I like his vertical numbers are like. I remember looking at him like, this is crazy. I think it was Keaton Thompson, by the way, maybe for, for uva that the one year that they just put like tons of points on everybody like the guy they moved all around. But it's interesting to play him on the outside more certainly a red zone threat. Like the ability to go up and actually not vertical down the field, but like vertical like literally in the air. That's pretty fascinating.
Sam Webb
And they didn't have. Michigan didn't have that. It became a bit of an obsession for Sharon Moore and recruiting. Like, we got to get bigger, we got to get bigger, we got to get bigger guys. And so you saw them sort of target some jump ball types. You know, I, I think that Donovan McCully they were hoping would be that somewhat out of the portal last year coming over from Indiana, I mean you saw a little bit of that, but not to the degree that you'll see it with with J.J. buchanan. So he is the clear number two receiver for Michigan right now. But the, you know, I think it's exciting for them to have a number one who seems like he's gonna be as dynamic as Andrew Marsh is and then a number two. I mean you, it's like Michigan has a number two receiver that's like legit dude. And you know, Kyle was like, hey, yeah, we got two legit guy. And look at the guys after that. I mean we think receivers three through five are, are really going to be impact guys from. For us, given the kind of talent that they have at that position now and the competition that the numbers I think will. Will garner for sure.
Bud Elliott
So it really comes down to Bryce's progression as a passer. And this offensive line is what I'm hearing.
Sam Webb
Yeah, man. Yeah. And so the, the offensive line, I think you can really sort of bake in that they'll at least be. They'll at least be average to pretty good at least.
Bud Elliott
Okay.
Sam Webb
When you, when you consider they had. They're getting guys back, there was so much inexperience on the line last year that I mean, they would just get. And there was physical immaturity in some spots where they just got beat in places against the better teams. They were still a 9 and 4 football team. Right. But given that experience now, given that you got guys who are bigger like a. Blake Frazier played last year at about 290 pounds. He's over, he's, you know, up about 300, 305 pounds. I think he is a really, really good athlete now. He has starts under his belt. Andrew Sprague on the right side is a big physical guy. Andrew Canara started to get some snaps. He's gonna slide inside to center. And then you, you wonder what they're going to do at Gar. Might they slide a guy like Evan Link, who played tackle for him last year, slide him in the guard. The wild card in all of this is Andrew Babalola.
Bud Elliott
I was gonna ask.
Sam Webb
Yeah, yeah. And you know, Andrew Babalola was going to start last year. I think that's about. That's a reflection of where the line was and how talented he is. I think both of those come into play. And so he's been, you know, off for the year rehabbing that ACL injury non contact for him in the spring. But I think between how bright he is and how, how much of a physical freak he is, I think they're talking about he's going to be definitively in the mix for one of those tackle positions. I'd be surprised if he didn't grab one. So how does that shake things up? They will. They have the potential to be a good offensive line because Jim Harding, I don't know how you talk to coaches, agents in the game. I can't think of one who didn't say he's either the best offensive line coach in the country or one of them. You got two tackles who are likely to go in the first round. He just can coach his ass off. And so that part will be good. The Bryce question is a deeper one because, you know, he has to learn a scheme and they're working with him on improving just his core fundamentals.
Bud Elliott
Sure.
Sam Webb
Which, which was, you know, an issue. Fundamentals would erode, especially with pressure. And so can you tighten that up? Can you get it to where he's not looking at the rush? Those are big, big keys for, for him and his development. And at the same time, you know, I put a, a higher floor on the, the level of expectation, performance wise for the quarterback position. But that's because I think if all else failed and you didn't see the level of improvement that you wanted to see from him as a passer, the offense still could be better because yeah, they would just run the heck. They would just run the heck out of them and I think they'd be really effective doing it.
Bud Elliott
That makes a lot of sense. Sam, Great breakdown. The offense hit our first break. Here we come back defense, schedule, expectations. We'll wrap it up.
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Bud Elliott
Hey guys, welcome back in to the summer school on the COVID 3 College Wall podcast. That's Sam Webb from the Michigan Insider joining us once again as he does every year. We always en this, we always run long, by the way, and it's always a good time. All right, so I look at the key losses off last year's team and man, a lot more of these are on the defensive side than the offensive side, it appears. You know, Derek Moore, J. Sean's gone, but Roller Benny's gone too, I think. Right. So, all right, broad overview. Obviously, like Jay Hill's a really good coach and, and a great get from byu. What do you feel really good about this defense? What, what? And then we're kind of working like, all right, where, where are we? Still kind of searching for some answers.
Sam Webb
Yeah. So I, I think for me heading into the spring, the spot on the defense I felt the best about was the secondary. I mean, you're bringing back your starting corners and Jair Hill, who I think has all Big Ten and even all American potential. I think Jair Hill could become a first round draft pick if he balls out like I expect he will. Tremendous athlete. Zeke Berry on the other side is one of the most versatile guys on the team. He's played safety, he's played nickel, and then he slid over the corner and was a really, really reliable guy on an island, even if that's not his NFL projected position. And so, you know, he'll bring that versatility where he could, you know, he could be a guy who, if you need him to, plays nickel or, or safety if other corners emerge, like you get Smith Snowden over from Utah, who has played a lot of football, was a big time target for them, brings a lot of experience and versatility. You know, he could play corner and nickel. And then you look on the, on the back end, you get Chris Bracey from, from Memphis, who had a really good spring of Safety, he's played a lot of football and Rod Moore will be back and they expect him to be fully healthy. And this his would be sixth and final year in college. So you look at all of that experience, the talent, you know, can they bring a guy like Shamari Earls along who I think is the wild card. A former top hundred guy at corner, really super long at six two and 200 pounds and was a 10, 700 meter guy. Like he is a freakish athletic guy. If he develops then it really allows you to be even more versatile with Smith Snowden and with. And with Zeke Berry. So I felt like that's the spot that they'll be able to rely upon the most in. In spring ball though those guys were talking more about their defensive line. They were really thrilled with how that group came along from the leadership and performance they saw from Cambrant, Trey Pierce and Donovan Nichols and Enoetta. Those are the, those are the, the starters up front and all of them, but especially, you know, Etta and Trey Pierce, there was fierce portal sort of fending off there to, to keep those guys. Can they take the next step and go from being reserves to being guys who could make plays? Seems like at least from practice they feel, feels like that's on the horizon. But it was really in the depth that they feel like it was coming along. Some of the younger guys, a kid named David Polly. Polly who is down 40 pounds since he got to college. A kid like Benny. There was a kid named Rayshawn Benny on last year's team. A guy named Benny Patterson on this year's team, who's an edge guy, who they raved about all spring. Lou Gardetta Paelle, who was a top 247 guy at 67 and about 260 pounds. They liked how he came off the edge. Nate Marshall, another top 247 guy. I think when they got here they were like, man, these dudes, have they got top, you know, top players on the bench? Yeah, maybe haven't played a lot of football, but there's a lot to work with on the defensive line. So they feel like. I didn't even mention John Henry Daly, who's.
Bud Elliott
Yeah.
Sam Webb
From his Achilles injury, didn't participate in spring ball, but they'd say he's on track to come back in June if all of those young guys really have progressed to the point of being solid rotation guys that can keep your starters fresh. Kyle Whittingham said after spring ball that he thinks that the, the defensive line was the best unit you Know, on the defense he may have even said the. The entire team over the course of spring ball, but he certainly said the defense, which I was certainly surprised to hear him say. We'll have to see if it translates to the field.
Bud Elliott
Yeah, it almost feels in a way like Babalo on offense and Henry Daly on defense or like like the, the sneaky additions, you know, because like just from going back in my head from prior years of summer school, like you. He was an absolute important guy for those Utah teams when he was healthy. Like a guy they were like battled injuries often but like when he was on. He was like an impact guy for them.
Sam Webb
Yeah man. A. A reliable every game guy that the, the defense has to account for. Yeah, you kind of thought J. Sean Barham was going to be that dude and you know they. Derek Moore was kind of that, but it just wasn't game in, game out. You didn't, you didn't see any guy emerge as a guy who every game was a menace to the quarterback. Can John Henry Daly be that? I think their experience at Utah suggests he, he can be. To me I, I would assume that if, if he weren't coming off an injury, I would project him to be that at Michigan. You just don't know. Achilles injuries are different than ACLs. But you, you talk about question marks. That is certainly one. But you, you feel like he's going to be at least. At least okay linebacker position is. Is the one on defense where you're like they're. That's going to be a way. A total wait and see. There's talent there. NATO USU Botang was a top recruit. I think there's a kid named Chase Taylor, really athletic linebacker out of Georgia who they feel they love his progression. Troy Bowles transfer from Georgia, you know Todd Bowles is that, you know you got some football pedigree there and talent. I think they like the guys but they're so unproven at the position. So green in terms of impact on the field that you just don't know if you're going to be covering for that spot for a good portion of this. I mean they got to be good up front while that spot comes along. So that's the. From positionally the biggest question mark on that defense is the, the linebacking core
Bud Elliott
and certainly that'll be tested early. Well not against Western Michigan, but certainly when Oklahoma comes to town. Michigan be looking for revenge there that it's a nice like at home schedule to start the year. You know, the three nice home games weather's nice. UTEP between Oklahoma and Iowa. Actually all, all four games in, in Michigan to start the year. And then at Minnesota you get the bye week before you host Penn State back. Half of the schedule is a little tougher, which I think you kind of want with a new coaching staff. Like you'd rather not play everybody out the gate if you're kind of working through so a new offense and new defense. But then you get Penn State, Indiana both at home got Sam, how many, how many road games they play or like not. Not many. This is a, a lot of home games at least so far. And then at Rutgers, Michigan State, at Oregon, UCLA at Ohio State to finish the year of course looking for a revenge there. Man, the back half of this is legitimately tough. I do like that you get like the only real, real tough back to back is Penn State Indiana. Like you get Rutgers and Michigan State before you play Oregon. Like you get UCLA before Ohio State. Like that's. Yeah, that's kind of a saving grace in some ways.
Sam Webb
I, I think the schedule is brutal,
Bud Elliott
really hard.
Sam Webb
But yeah, I mean welcome to the Big Ten, Kyle. You got to play Oklahoma in the non conference. Then you got, you got to play Ohio State of course like you do every year. You got to play Indiana after a national championship. You got to play Oregon and Penn State. Yeah, I, I mean you know they're going to have talent. I know they're, they're breaking in a new regime too. And then in Michigan State's a rivalry game. That's always a deal there. So man, it's like, wow, bro. It's like this is year one for Kyle W. So I, I think you like, you like that. This is a dude who understands that physicality on defense and running game travels. That's, that's number one. I mean, and I mean travels with him from Utah. You bring that with you from Utah, I think that's going to really be able to guarantee them that this, this schedule won't overwhelm them. The question is in the face of a schedule like that, you know, can you, can you emerge as a national title contender? Which means you can't lose more than two games in that schedule. So I, that's a, a really tough road to hold. But not one that is it not one that is. Is insurmountable when you consider this. You mentioned. I didn't talk about Jay Hill. I think one of the most intriguing things about Jay Hill is, you know, I think he, his defense that he's implementing is one that is alleviating a lot of the thinking that will would paralyze the, the defense. At times last year you just felt like they really need to simplify because guys were just, they would blow assignments. In some games you're like, man, wow. Maybe are they trying to do too much or are they trying to do things that these guys can't do? Only in certain games. Right. This defense doesn't ask them as often to, to process to that degree. I think that allowing them to play faster by removing a lot of the thinking is a good thing. And then the other intriguing aspect of it is, you know, Michigan play with a big nickel a lot. They, they the corner and Jay Hill's defense tends to be a, the nickel in his, his defense tends to be more of a corner type, which will be interesting against the, the passing teams that they, that they match up against. Will they fare better when you can put Smith Snowden over the slot or, or Zeke Berry over the slot than a, than a pure safety. And then it'd also be interesting against those, those teams that want to smash you. Well when you're playing with a corner there, how is that going to hold up? Yeah, those are two of the bigger keys to me as I look at how this defense will get out of the gate for, for Michigan.
Bud Elliott
That makes a lot of sense. Like schedule wise. I, I think it is certainly one of the tougher schedules in the Big Ten, especially when you consider the non conference. I think like the differentiator. They're like Michigan and Ohio State I think can legitimately get in at 9 and 3 because they play that big time marquee non conference game and because they play really tough. Whereas I don't think Oregon and Indiana can, can go nine and three because they don't have like who would the three best be right? Or like who like if you lose three, if you're Oregon or Indiana, like you don't have enough good losses to offset those or maybe you have the good wins but you're losing to some teams that like you really a playoff team should not be losing to. Like I, I. 10 and 2 does seem pretty tough against this. I'm not saying that's impossible but like I don't think it's crazy to think that 9 and 3, you know, like that's pretty. I think that's a good resume compared to what a lot of teams will have out here.
Progressive Advertiser
Sam.
Sam Webb
Yeah, I so I'm not saying you're wrong. I think 10 and 2, you're in
Bud Elliott
oh, 10 and 2 is a lock in. We'll put that in in here. There's no argument.
Sam Webb
Yeah but item three is going to be a there's going to be a debate and you know who else is in that debate? We would have to see. You're right. It'd be tough against this schedule. But again, you mentioned the the number of home games makes up for having one less home game last year. I think that that is something to to to lean on given the level of competition that you're going to be facing. At least you don't have to face them all on the road. And yet the road still is daunting. When you're at you're at Ohio State, you're in Eugene. It's like like man so hey, it
Bud Elliott
is what it is man 100 we're watching all your falling all your coverage on the Michigan Insider. Sam, really enjoy this.
Sam Webb
Yeah, absolutely. Always. But always the best time. Appreciate you.
Bud Elliott
All right, man. Be well.
Date: May 19, 2026
Hosts: Bud Elliott (CBS Sports/Cover 3) with guest Sam Webb (Michigan Insider, 247 Sports)
This episode delivers an in-depth preview of the 2026 Michigan Wolverines football team as they transition to new head coach Kyle Whittingham. Hosts Bud Elliott and Sam Webb break down Michigan’s off-season changes, analyze both sides of the ball, review the team’s rapidly strengthening culture, and examine expectations ahead of a brutal Big Ten schedule.
(03:20 – 06:25)
Notable Quote:
"You know, a perfect example is...it has everything to do with him understanding that at Michigan, getting buy-in to how you want to do things is certainly important. But you recognizing that there is a long-standing, well-respected, really storied tradition here...he gets that."
— Sam Webb (03:21)
(06:25 – 19:32)
Notable Quote:
"These guys are going to run the court. Like, there is no question they're going to run him. And I don't think they'll be reckless, but they aren’t going to be reluctant either."
— Sam Webb (09:18)
Notable Quote:
"They have the potential to be a good offensive line because Jim Harding...I can’t think of one [coach or agent] who didn’t say he’s either the best offensive line coach in the country or one of them."
— Sam Webb (17:33)
(22:01 – 32:35)
(28:44 – 34:28)
Michigan faces a brutal schedule:
Home-heavy slate helps compared to last year (more home games to balance the competitive stretch).
With the expanded playoff, a 10-2 record likely guarantees entry; even 9-3 could be enough given schedule difficulty and marquee games.
On Whittingham’s cultural fit:
"Kyle Whittingham is making sure that's not an issue right away...that has been refreshing, not only to current players, but to the former ones as well." (Sam Webb, 04:45)
On Michigan’s offensive identity:
"It's smash mouth to your point...you'll run power, you'll run counter...they won't come in and try to reinvent the wheel." (Sam Webb, 05:43)
On Savion Heider’s impact:
"Fred Jackson...he said this dude is different, not just physically. And that's an important note." (Sam Webb, 11:03)
On receiving corps upgrades:
"You, it's like Michigan has a number two receiver that's like legit dude...and look at the guys after that. We think receivers three through five are really going to be impact guys." (Sam Webb, 15:20)
On linebacker unit:
"So that's the, from positionally the biggest question mark on that defense is the linebacking core." (Sam Webb, 28:32)
| Timestamp | Segment | Summary | |--------------|------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:20–05:08 | Whittingham’s Culture & Transition | Cultural fit, embracing traditions, learning from past coaching missteps | | 06:25–10:24 | Offensive Strategy, QB Runs | Jason Beck’s system, rise in QB runs, balancing run game with QB progression | | 10:24–12:46 | Savion Heider Backfield Hype | True freshman RB generating buzz; physical and mental traits discussed | | 12:46–16:26 | Receivers, WR Group Talent | J.J. Buchanan’s emergence, dynamic WR core, depth improvements | | 16:26–19:32 | Offensive Line Depth & Ceiling | Growth, key players, Andrew Babalola storyline, Jim Harding’s coaching impact | | 22:01–26:44 | Defensive Strengths (Secondary & DL) | Star corners, transfers, defensive line upgrades, John Henry Daly injury return | | 26:44–28:44 | D-Line Additions, LB Questions | Emerging depth, high-upside but untested linebacker group, need for spine to develop | | 28:44–32:35 | Schedule Breakdown, Defensive Scheme Adjusts | Early home games, shifting schedule challenge, Jay Hill’s simplified scheme, nickel defense | | 32:35–34:28 | Playoff Scenarios & Closing Thoughts | What record gets Michigan in, comparison to other Big Ten teams, importance of home games |
This conversation offers optimism about Michigan’s ability to maintain physical identity and culture through a significant coaching transition. The offense has the potential to take a leap with new skill talent and a rebuilt line, while the defense boasts a promising secondary and growing line depth despite concerns at linebacker. The schedule poses serious tests, but Michigan is positioned to contend for a playoff spot if it can survive the grind.
Episode highlights: Embrace of tradition under Whittingham, Savion Heider’s rapid rise, key schematic adjustments on defense, and honest expectations for a playoff run amid a daunting slate.