Michigan football's offense still has Jim Harbaugh's fingerprints all over it

Rainer Sabin | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Jim Harbaugh on why Michigan football run game is clicking Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh speaks to the media on Monday, Oct. 28, 2019, in Ann Arbor.

A visitor to Schembechler Hall earlier this month had hoped to bump into an old acquaintance.

But he was told Jim Harbaugh wasn’t available; the Michigan football coach was in a meeting that concerned the team’s offense.

It wasn’t a surprising revelation, especially to those inside the program. The ex-quarterback is still involved with the sector of the team he knows best, dropping in on position meetings to dispense advice and watch film with the players.

“I’d say he’s very hands-on,” receiver Mike Sainristil said with a laugh.

Almost 10 months after Harbaugh hired coordinator Josh Gattis to shepherd the offense into a new age with speed in space, the Michigan head coach’s fingerprints remain all over the playbook. The Wolverines continue to be a run-first, pass-second operation that features many of the same concepts in Harbaugh’s coaching oeuvre — from read-option runs to pin-and-pull blocking schemes.

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After Michigan bulldozed its way through Notre Dame in a 45-14 romp on Oct. 26, offensive line coach Ed Warinner conceded that the offense has “changed some, but not drastically.”

“Some people were saying, ‘Oh, man, those were some cool plays,’ ” he added. “We ran those plays earlier in the year. We ran those plays last year.”

Upon arriving in Ann Arbor from Alabama, Gattis planned to implement a spread system with a pro-style foundation and some funky ideas attached to it. In the opener against Middle Tennessee, pre-snap jet motions were seen on multiple occasions, there was a formation that featured two quarterbacks on the field at the same time, and a steady diet of vertical passing plays.

During that victory, Shea Patterson unleashed eight throws that traveled at least 20 yards — the second-most he had attempted in a Michigan game to that point. It also is the most he has had in a game since. In its entirety, Gattis’ plan was both ambitious and disjointed.

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“This play draws up nice on the board. Love this play. But ooh, will our guys be good at that?” Warinner said. “Will that cater to our strengths? That’s always what you have to figure out on offense is how to blend your talent and their strengths with what schematically you like in a system to attack a defense.”

As the season has progressed, the Wolverines have worked toward that end, streamlining their playbook and reintroducing elements from years past that were staples.

Cosmetically, there is no disputing the offense is different in 2019. The pace is faster. Huddles have disappeared. And in the first seven games, Michigan was in three-receiver sets 55 percent of the time while lining up in “12” personnel with two tight ends during 36 percent of its snaps, according to SportSource Analytics.

Last season, the Wolverines predominantly featured a “12” grouping and ran a little more than a third of their plays with one running back, one tight end and three receivers.

“It really just opens up the offense and keeps us balanced — not knowing whether we can run or pass,” right tackle Jalen Mayfield said. “For us to have success, we are going to have to change our personnel.”

Earlier this week, when asked about the transition the offense has undergone, Harbaugh said: “It’s been a process. It changes the amount it changes. You’d like your opponent to think all possibilities are possible.”

That mindset is evident in how Michigan has employed a package with four receivers on the field at the same time, something the Wolverines never used in 2018. At first glance, the assumption with this alignment is Michigan would be predisposed to throw the ball. But prior to their game against Notre Dame, the Wolverines dialed up a run nearly 54 percent of the time in the 13 plays they executed out of this formation.

Old habits die hard, and Harbaugh continues to leverage his ideology.

While the offense may look different superficially, the philosophical approach is similar to the one that has governed the way the Wolverines have functioned the past five seasons.

Following the loss to Wisconsin on Sept. 21, when Patterson attempted nine passes during the Wolverines’ first 12 plays, they adjusted how they practiced, altering their strategy and recommitting to the ground attack.

They are now running the ball 58 percent of the time — marginally less than they did last season.

“We changed our mindset on a lot of things,” Warinner said. “And I think it is all coming to fruition for us … I think we are hitting our stride.”

The last comment could have come straight from Harbaugh’s mouth, and it often has in recent weeks. The Michigan coach’s influence, after all, remains as strong as ever in a program where the offense is still under his thumb.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.