The Michigan Wolverines hit the road for just the second time this season, as they travel to Piscataway to take on Rutgers for a Halloween showdown (is there anything scarier this Halloween season than watching that game?).
Head coach Kyle Whittingham met with the media on Monday, per usual, for his weekly press conference to preview the game this Saturday. Here are some key things he had to say:
TBD on who the starting QB will be, and the whole offense stinks
After starting true freshman Tommy Carr for the first time this season last week against Indiana, it’s unclear who the starting quarterback will be at Rutgers this weekend. Whittingham said that while Carr “did some good things,” he also said there are things that have to be improved upon.
“That’s to be determined,” Whittingham said regarding who the starting quarterback will be. He also said that they will keep that to themselves again, like last week vs Indiana, and will figure out who the starter will be as the week progresses.
However, he also said the entire offense isn’t just playing well enough, not just the quarterback or the play calling.
“We’re not running the ball well enough, not throwing the ball well enough, not good enough on the third down, not good enough in the red zone, we’re turning it over too much. So there’s a lot of things to improve upon, and so it’s a work in progress. We’re certainly giving it all our attention, every bit of our attention.”
Von’s not-so-hot take: That sure is a lot of things you guys aren’t doing well, coach! Get it figured out, or get a new play caller!
The coaching staff knows they have to be better
There are plenty of isses across the board for Michigan this year, mainly on offense. The Wolverines didn’t score a single touchdown this past weekend, putting just six points on the board and compiling just 224 yards of offense on 74 plays.
Whittingham admitted the coaching staff needs to be better across the board, and not just on the offensive side of the ball.
“We have to coach better at every single position,” Whittingham said. “We’re just not getting that done right now, and that’s plain and simple. We’re not getting the job done from a coaching standpoint at this point in time.
“There are plenty of issues to go around, but it all starts with coaching. If we’re not playing well enough up front or at the receiving spot, then we’re not coaching well enough. That’s our mentality. That’s my mentality.”
Here’s more from our own Charles Post here.
Quick hitters
- Whittingham said “I don’t think that’s completely fair, but there may be some validity to it” when asked about the narrative that the offensive scheme doesn’t match up well with the players. He also said the “essence of coaching is getting things in the scheme that your players can do and can execute. And we just haven’t found that yet. We’re still searching for it, seven games in, unfortunately.”
- When asked if he has ever made coordinator changes midseason, Whittingham said there’s not much that he hasn’t done as a head coach over the last 20+ years. But he stuck up for Beck a bit, while also saying he doesn’t think it’s time to panic and make a rash decision like that. Read more about this story from our own Nick Durand here.
- “Oh, it’s great. … couldn’t be more happy, thrilled.” was Whittingham’s answer to what it’s like seeing Utah be undefeated. Yeah…real great, coach…real great.
- After missing the last two games due to disciplinary reasons, tight end Zack Marshall will be available for the Wolverines this weekend.
- Whittingham said it was “probably our least productive game of the season” in regards to the play from the offensive line, but he complimented Indiana’s defense for making Michigan’s offensive line not play very well. It probably also didn’t help that Blake Frazier missed the game (forcing true freshman Marky Walbridge to start for the first time), Jake Guarnera was playing hurt, and Andrew Sprague is still MIA with an injury of his own.
- When asked about the importance of finishing the season strong and at least being bowl eligible, Whittingham said it’s important to get better each week and that they are taking things one game at a time. “It hasn’t been a complete disaster, two or three plays, like I said, we’re 6-1 and maybe even better. … Every game is coming right down to the end, we just have to finish better.”
- Whittingham has said earlier this season he hasn’t liked some of the plays that have been called, but he has the authority to override any play at any time as the head coach. However, he said he’s “not a micromanager” and that “you hire guys for a reason.” Whittingham gave an example of an offensive coordinator calling plays earlier in the game to set up plays later in the game, and he doesn’t want to disrupt any of that, especially with him being more of a defensive/special teams guy. “And now there are times, you know, 3rd-and-short, ‘Hey, let’s take a shot deep and then we’ll go for it on fourth (down)’ and that type of thing.”
- Whittingham was impressed with Walbridge’s first start at right tackle. Whittingham did say that Walbridge “got beat a couple of times,” but that he also “held down the fort really good.” On the flip side, Whittingham said that right guard Brady Norton did not play his best game coming back from injury, so it’ll be interesting to see if Avery Gach gets reinserted into the starting lineup this weekend.
- Also, no updates on Frazier’s status as of now. Sounds like they will take things day by day and see how he is feeling later in the week.