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After a nine-win season in Sherrone Moore's final year in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines took a new approach to finding their head coach. Kyle Whittingham was named Michigan's new head coach after 21 seasons in Utah coaching the Utes.
Whittingham ran a tight ship with no scandals and it was a well-oiled machine. With the long-tenured coach coming to Michigan, he brought along his own coordinators, and a lot of new position coaches, as well. Jason Beck comes over to run the offense, after two stellar seasons at New Mexico and Utah. Then Jay Hill will run the defense after a good run with BYU.
Could the systems take longer to get adjusted to?
Several talking points regarding Michigan could come as concerns. Bryce Underwood's development after a subpar freshman season. Defensively, both the defensive line and linebackers have some question marks as far as depth and experience.
But fans also need to realize there are two new systems being installed in Ann Arbor with only so many days to learn them. Players got out to a head start in the spring, learning both of Beck's and Hill's way of doing things.
Hill himself has been on record saying his system is one of the most complicated in all of college football. And with some marquee games on the slate, including a Week 2 matchup with Oklahoma, Michigan needs to get settled in fairly quickly.
In a perfect world, Michigan will adapt to the new-look offense and defense quickly and the Wolverines will be rearing to go in Week 1 when they host Western Michigan, but there are also growing pains with a new system.
Bryce Underwood has know it like the back of his hand
When talking about Bryce Underwood, most of the concerns come from his physical development. Last season, he was dancing around the pocket too much, got happy feet, and it caused errant throws. On top of the coaching staff working on his footwork and reading the defense, Underwood is learning a completely new system.
Beck runs a prolific offense, one that can score a lot of points and create chunk plays. The Wolverines won't be going away from their run game, that could still be the identity under Beck, but Underwood will get a lot more freedom in this offense.
Michigan will likely be 11 personnel a lot this season, and instead of wide receivers running routes to block, every playmaker could be an option for Underwood to throw to. It's going to be more important than ever that he is reading the defense at an elite level and trusting his playmakers to get open.
Beck's system should create a lot of highlight plays for Michigan this season, but with little time to fully get adjusted to it, the Wolverines are going to need to work extra hard in fall camp to have it down perfectly.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/michigan as The Biggest Concern Nobody Is Talking About Regarding Michigan.
