How Michigan football teased its offensive evolution in win over East Carolina

The Michigan Wolverines have arguably their deepest array of offensive playmakers in the Jim Harbaugh era with the 2023 squad with the offense helmed by junior quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Much has been made about the team’s ceiling being dependent on exploring that and taking steps forward to be more balanced.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh said this summer that when the team watches the game tape on Sunday, it would be ideal to leave knowing that everyone had a chance to shine on offense.

“It [really comes down to] touches,” Harbaugh told the media on the campus of Wayne State University on June 1. “It’s important that our playmakers get touches. We’ve got a lot of them. I really want to manage that on a game-by-game basis.

“Between [Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum], I haven’t settled on the exact number. It’s gonna be maybe 9-10 each. I don’t wanna wear them out either, you know? But [wide receiver] Cornelius Johnson, he’s got to get six targets a game. [WR] Roman Wilson, [tight end] Colston Loveland, somewhere between 6-8 [targets]. You’ll see some of the young receivers emerge too.

“I think it makes us a harder offense to stop when we’re just really focused on those guys who are all going to get dispersed. Everybody eats, as the young people like to say.”

Everybody ate on Saturday against East Carolina.

McCarthy had one of his most impressive passing days as a Wolverine, going 26-for-30 for 280 yards and three touchdowns. At one point, he had completed 15 passes in a row. The ball barely touched the ground, and we saw him play as poised and as in command of the offense as we ever have. There are obvious level-of-competition caveats – the Pirates ranked 128th in pass defense last year – but McCarthy was zipping the ball into tight windows and putting it right on the money. We saw what NFL scouts have seen when labeling him as a potential first-round prospect.

And as far as the touches go, Harbaugh had to be smiling on offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore‘s couch on Saturday. Corum had 10 carries for 73 yards and a touchdown and three catches. Edwards had 12 runs for 37 yards and four receptions. Wilson (6 catches, 78 yards, 3 TD), Johnson (5 catches, 71 yards) and Loveland (4 catches 57 yards) combined for 15 receptions on 20 targets.

And when it was all said and done, 31 pass attempts and 31 runs. Balance achieved.

Michigan left points and opportunities on the field, which is bound to happen early in the season. It started its first drive of the game on the two-yard line after a botched punt return, leading to the game script essentially being scrapped until the next drive. The Wolverines also had an Edwards touchdown called back on the goalline and turned the ball over on downs, in adding to a pair of missed kicks by James Turner – one field goal and one extra point – in the victory.

Those are all correctable things that can and likely will get cleaned up.

Michigan line play, run game still a work in progress

We came into the season labeling Michigan’s run game as a non-negotiable strength, but there’s still some work to do there. Corum looks healthy and close to his old self, but there is still some tentativeness and rust to knock off. Edwards is still in the process of developing as a between-the-tackles runner. There’s still some gelling to do up front on the offensive line, and much of their issues are due to communication from a lack of chemistry. It didn’t help that Moore, the voice of that room, was in his living room and not on the sidelines. Line play will get ironed out, and we know that Corum and Edwards are an elite 1-2 punch.

East Carolina deserves a ton of credit for the way it defended the run on Saturday. The Pirates were the nation’s No. 18 defense last season and sold out to make sure Michigan did not grind them into dust. They watched the TCU tape from last year and saw how to complicate and overwhelm Michigan’s gap scheme.

That’s where what we saw Michigan do through the air becomes so critical. Nobody is going to take kindly to being bullied by the Wolverines, so get used to opponents loading up the box to stop the run. McCarthy’s surgical day through the air, especially in the intermediate areas can be a backbreaker for a defense. Wilson, Johnson and Loveland all found open spots in coverage and made consistent plays to move the chains. McCarthy was throwing them open, too. Even with ECU’s suspect pass defense, a lot of those plays were well-defended.

Until teams dedicate special attention to not getting beat through the air, Michigan might have to throw to not necessarily set up the run, but to take pressure off of it and create room for its star backs. Wilson, now sporting the No. 1, looks like he can be a bonafide top receiver, while Loveland continues to make the strides that have earned him Jake Butt comparisons. Johnson looked great, too. Despite his 6-3 frame, it does not feel like we have seen him use his length a ton at Michigan. That happened a few times on Saturday.

Quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell did a tremendous job calling plays and it will be interesting to see how Michigan runs itself moving forward. Saturday felt like a good and appropriate formula for the Wolverines, especially with the weapon it has at quarterback. Campbell’s influence on the offense was perhaps the biggest positive coming out of Week 1.

There are things to clean up, and that’s what might be most encouraging. The biggest thing Michigan missed on Saturday was the fire and killer instinct that Harbaugh brings to the sideline. But this was a mostly clinical performance by an offense that was helmed by someone who was an analyst last year and an offensive line that was coached by analyst Nick Gilbert in Moore’s absence.

Michigan doesn’t need to be the air raid, but it has a weapon in McCarthy that determines where this ship is headed. Continuing to let him cook and evolve within the system is what defines this team’s path, and the happy mission got off to a great start on Saturday.

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