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Michigan Spring Football: 5 Storylines To Watch On Offense · Buckeyes TomOrrow Morning

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  Speaker 1: Welcome to Wolverines Tomorrow morning for Wednesday, April first time
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  Speaker 1: your host Tom or the Western Michigan game in one
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  Speaker 1: hundred and fifty seven days the game against Ohio State
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  Speaker 1: in two hundred and forty one days. If you are
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  Speaker 1: ever so unfortunate find yourself in Columbus, you can salvage
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  Speaker 1: your day by checking out Grateful Griddle. It's Columbus's favorite
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  Speaker 1: food truck and it's now on Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Ordash.
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  Speaker 1: Just search for Grateful Griddle there or check out grateful
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  Speaker 1: Griddle oh dot com for more. On today's show, we're
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  Speaker 1: going to provide an update on what's going on with
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  Speaker 1: the Michigan Wolverines in the middle of spring practice as
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  Speaker 1: they count down to their spring game on April eighteenth.
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to be talking about the offense Today'm going
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  Speaker 1: to be doing it with our buddy Tony Gerdaman. He
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  Speaker 1: writes the Michigan Monday Column. But of course we're talking
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  Speaker 1: Michigan every day now, so Tony, welcome to the show.
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  Speaker 1: We got to talk about the new man in charge
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  Speaker 1: in in Arbor, Kyle Whittingham. It feels like there is
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  Speaker 1: finally an adult in the room now someone who's maybe
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  Speaker 1: a little more accustomed to running a football program in
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  Speaker 1: the way that it needs to be run.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, any texts halftime will be going to other coaches,
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  Speaker 2: which is a plus right there. So yeah, this is
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  Speaker 2: something we've talked about in the past. You and I
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  Speaker 2: just like the fact that Michigan has been able to
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  Speaker 2: do some things while craziness has gone on the last
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  Speaker 2: few years, the last couple of years undersure on more.
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  Speaker 2: And now that craziness gets you would assume pushed aside,
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  Speaker 2: and now we can just be a full football factory
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  Speaker 2: and go from there. Now you're doing it with a
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  Speaker 2: head coach who Utah is kind of like, we'll keep
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  Speaker 2: you for another year, but at some point you've got
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  Speaker 2: to go. So you're doing this with Kyle Whittingham was
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  Speaker 2: maybe slightly pushed out a little bit, But how does
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  Speaker 2: that drive him? I don't think he's happy about that.
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  Speaker 2: He immediately went and said, no, I'm good. I'll go
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  Speaker 2: find another job and I'll show you. And we know
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  Speaker 2: he's one of the youngest guys of his age that
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  Speaker 2: you'll find. He's you know, he's he's got energy and
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  Speaker 2: he'll get going. So yes, an adult somebody who will
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  Speaker 2: not just let things go in terms of, you know,
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  Speaker 2: he's going to have an eye towards detail that maybe
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  Speaker 2: wasn't there or the head coach was requiring or assuming
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  Speaker 2: other assistants would find them and keep keep the players
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  Speaker 2: on task. This I feel like you're going to have
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  Speaker 2: the head coach keeping players on task, head coach keeping
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  Speaker 2: assistants on task, and the assistants keeping the players on task.
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  Speaker 1: And one of the assistants who's going to be charged
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  Speaker 1: with keeping the assistant the players on task is Jason Beck.
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  Speaker 1: He is the new offensive coordinator and he is It
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  Speaker 1: feels to me like Whittingham and Beck and Michigan and
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  Speaker 1: what Michigan likes to do. It's really a good kind
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  Speaker 1: of cultural fit on the offense because everyone kind of
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  Speaker 1: has that run the damn ball vibe and kind of
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  Speaker 1: always has, and it feels like this is going to
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  Speaker 1: be Michigan kind of doing. You know, it may look
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  Speaker 1: a little different or maybe a little more QB run,
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  Speaker 1: maybe that something back has been big on in the past,
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  Speaker 1: but if it feels like run the damn ball is
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  Speaker 1: not going anywhere in ann Arbor.
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  Speaker 2: You still have that Michigan mentality right of establishing and
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  Speaker 2: dominating the line of scrimmage, moving the ball on the ground,
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  Speaker 2: wearing out an opponent, and then by the fourth quarter,
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  Speaker 2: the floodgates open and you've got to win, and you're
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  Speaker 2: in comfort city, and so you bring in a quarterbacks coach,
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  Speaker 2: which is essentially new at Michigan. You know, Bryce Underwood
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  Speaker 2: was not quite on his own last year, but it's
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  Speaker 2: kind of like the specialists who are out at practice
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  Speaker 2: and just off on their own, you know, just kicking
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  Speaker 2: and putting the ball back and forth to each other.
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  Speaker 2: That's kind of what it was for Bryce Underwood last
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  Speaker 2: year as a true freshman. And now he's got some
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  Speaker 2: you know, tutelage, and he's going to have somebody watching him,
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  Speaker 2: developing footwork and making sure his arm and his shoulder's
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  Speaker 2: not dropping and just all of those things that the
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  Speaker 2: the technique and the fundamentals, all of those things which
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  Speaker 2: can also wane and go away in the fourth quarter,
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  Speaker 2: they're continuing to harp on and make sure that they're
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  Speaker 2: there and strong throughout. So, yeah, it's the most important
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  Speaker 2: position in sports. So it helps to have a good
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  Speaker 2: quarterbacks coach, and I think they do.
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  Speaker 1: And they also have some talented running backs. That's not
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  Speaker 1: really a surprise for Michigan. But Tony Alfred has Jordan
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  Speaker 1: Marshall back, you know all about him, but he also
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  Speaker 1: has a very talented true freshman in Savion Hider. He
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  Speaker 1: was someone who got a lot of attention in recruiting
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  Speaker 1: and he's getting a lot of buzz early this spring
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  Speaker 1: as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and one way or another, there was going to
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  Speaker 2: be buzz on him, but the buzz here is is
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  Speaker 2: good as you would expect. One of the top if
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  Speaker 2: not the top running backs in the twenty twenty six
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  Speaker 2: class depending on which site you you subscribe to, and
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  Speaker 2: so you know, that's the guy who can be that
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  Speaker 2: one B to the Jordan Marshall one A. And you know,
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  Speaker 2: maybe it's thirteen or twelve carries per game between the two,
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  Speaker 2: you know, for each of them and splitting up twenty
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  Speaker 2: five carries or you know, at this point, why wouldn't
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  Speaker 2: you just assume it's going to operate like it has
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  Speaker 2: in the past, where Michigan for many many years has
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  Speaker 2: had two guys basically a two headed monster there that
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  Speaker 2: they could rely on and it would be good for
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  Speaker 2: them if this is more of a consistent one two
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  Speaker 2: punch instead of the one two punch that they've had before,
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  Speaker 2: where like Donovan Edwards where it's just has some hits
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  Speaker 2: but so many misses. And you know, if they can
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  Speaker 2: just keep it to the you know, kind of what
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  Speaker 2: they had last year before Justice Sayin's got hurt, where
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  Speaker 2: you've got two good running backs who are going to
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  Speaker 2: get you six six six, sixteen sixty, you know, and
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  Speaker 2: it just continues to go like that. And I think
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  Speaker 2: if they can get that from Hyder, that's you know,
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  Speaker 2: what we can see there. And I think that the upside,
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  Speaker 2: the the good thing for Michigan is that running back
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  Speaker 2: is a position where freshmen can just come in and
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  Speaker 2: play and be good and dominate if they're good enough.
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  Speaker 1: And another position where that can happen is wide receiver.
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  Speaker 1: And I know that because I watched Andrew Marsh last fall.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Marsh came in as a freshman wide receiver last year.
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  Speaker 1: He is back as a sophomore at Michigan. Unlike the
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  Speaker 1: folks up the road in East Lansing, they were able
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  Speaker 1: to retain their talented wide receiver with the last name
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  Speaker 1: of Marsh. Nick Marsh from at Michigan State now in Bloomington, Indiana,
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Marsh back in ann Arbor. And they added a
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  Speaker 1: name that's going to be familiar to Ohio State fans
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  Speaker 1: from recruiting. Jamie French, who is a five star recruit.
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  Speaker 1: Started his career at Texas. He's now in ann Arbor
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  Speaker 1: as well, and he didn't do a ton at Texas.
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  Speaker 1: But that's one of those guys where if you can
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  Speaker 1: unlock the potential there and pair him with Marsh, that
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  Speaker 1: might make that a really dynamic passing attack.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and we know French has the ability, it's just
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  Speaker 2: a matter of putting it together. So there could be
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  Speaker 2: some threat there. I do wonder if this is a
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  Speaker 2: recruiting ranking thing where well, you just I mean, he's
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  Speaker 2: coming from Texas. You know he's going to be good,
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  Speaker 2: and so that alone builds up the type we've seen
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  Speaker 2: that you know, schools all over the place where just
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  Speaker 2: because somebody's coming in doesn't mean that they're you know,
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  Speaker 2: they're going to play or they're going to improve things.
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  Speaker 2: But this is the guy that everybody wanted and now
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  Speaker 2: Michigan's got him, and it's going to be up to
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  Speaker 2: them to get something out of him and pair him
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  Speaker 2: with Andrew marsh and you know, Kendrick Bell and Channing
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  Speaker 2: Goodwin and all the rest of the receiver depth. And
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  Speaker 2: you know, not even including we can include J. J. B.
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  Speaker 2: Chinnon from from Utah. Who is this, you know, big
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  Speaker 2: small tight end, big receiver, perhaps like a big slot.
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  Speaker 2: You know, however, they want to use them to create
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  Speaker 2: some mismatches because what do we know. Regardless of the
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  Speaker 2: head coach, Michigan has been able to use two tight
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  Speaker 2: ends in ways that have given defenses problems. And if
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  Speaker 2: one of them, one of those two tight ends is
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  Speaker 2: like just a big wide receiver type who is also
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  Speaker 2: strong and powerful, that can create some issues. So I
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  Speaker 2: like the pieces around the quarterback ressuming Jamie French can
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  Speaker 2: step it up after you know, one catches a true freshman,
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  Speaker 2: but it's hard to get after anybody for a true
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  Speaker 2: freshman season.
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  Speaker 1: And of course, with it being Michigan, we got to
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  Speaker 1: talk about the offensive line. It all starts up front,
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  Speaker 1: and that is especially true for Michigan and last year
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  Speaker 1: they had three red shirt freshmen playing significant roles at
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  Speaker 1: times during the season. And the good news when you
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  Speaker 1: have three red shirt freshmen is eventually they turn into
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  Speaker 1: red shirt sophomores and you and you get those guys back,
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  Speaker 1: a lot of familiar faces back, but they are missing
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  Speaker 1: Evan Link this spring. He's still coming back from an injury.
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Babolola, who was the five star true freshman last
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  Speaker 1: year who missed all of last year, He's still not
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  Speaker 1: one hundred percent back. So the offensive line feels like
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  Speaker 1: the conversation in this spring is yeah, it looks promising,
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  Speaker 1: but ask again later when everyone's back and you have
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  Speaker 1: more of a sense for where the pieces are going
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  Speaker 1: to fit together.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, And we've seen this every year with Michigan, where
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  Speaker 2: the just somebody that you're expecting to be here is
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  Speaker 2: over here. Somebody that you're expecting to start has been
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  Speaker 2: beaten out by somebody else. And I think the good
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  Speaker 2: thing for Michigan when you look at their first team,
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  Speaker 2: you know, and the second team whatever. If you look
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  Speaker 2: at the top ten guys, you recognize seven of the
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  Speaker 2: names from last year, and so I think guys have
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  Speaker 2: gotten an opportunity to play. So this is an experienced
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  Speaker 2: offensive line who has been through it, who has dealt
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  Speaker 2: with adversity, dealt with injuries, fought back to get back
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  Speaker 2: on the field. So a lot of names that are
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  Speaker 2: familiar or you know that you've heard that have played,
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  Speaker 2: that have gotten snaps. So that's all a very good thing. Now,
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  Speaker 2: it's just a matter of which of these seven guys
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  Speaker 2: are best five, all.
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  Speaker 1: Right, So there you go, quick run through the Michigan
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  Speaker 1: offense in about halfway through springball twenty twenty six. I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure we'll be talking a little bit about more about
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  Speaker 1: Michigan throughout the course of the year and as well
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  Speaker 1: as some of the other teams they will undoubtedly play
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  Speaker 1: on the schedule this fall. So hope you guys enjoyed that.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow with probably a little bit of
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  Speaker 1: a different show. We'll talk to that