Photo Gallery: Michigan football names Doug Nussmeier as new offensive coordinator

First-year Michigan offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier has brought a new pace of play to the Wolverines, something that's helped Devin Gardner and the team's defense as well.

(Melanie Maxwell | MLive.com)

When Michigan hired Doug Nussmeier in January, it did so for two reasons.

One, the offense was in need of a repair.

Two, Michigan's quarterbacks needed development -- and protection.

Seven months later, Michigan is about to find out whether or not goal No. 1 will be accomplished -- as Michigan opens the 2014 season Aug. 30 vs. Appalachian State. But at this point, it's fairly confident in stating that goal No. 2 is absolutely going as planned.

Speaking with SiriusXM radio's college tour stop in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Michigan senior quarterback Devin Gardner spoke about how much Nussmeier's done for his fundamentals, and also his ability to not only read a defense properly, but protect himself in the process.

"He's brought a lot, and done a lot for me to be able to protect myself in the passing game and getting us in the right run checks and things like that, and it's been exciting," Gardner said. "Before coach Nuss got here, I never (had to) identify a MIKE (linebacker in coverage). Now, I'm identifying the MIKE's and knowing where the pressure's coming from.

"So if I am going to have to be hot (against a blitz), I'll know how to protect myself. Or, throw (a hot route) to a receiver. It's been amazing for me."

Typically, one of a quarterback's general pre-snap reads is identifying where -- exactly -- a defense's middle (or MIKE) linebacker is aligned on a specific play. By doing so, the quarterback is then able to help set up his offensive line's protection -- and, he's able to have a better understanding of where pressure might be coming from.

In some offensive schemes, identifying these keys falls to the offensive line. But now, under Nussmeier, that's falling on Gardner -- who more than welcomes the challenge.

"He's a perfectionist," Gardner said. "He won't accept anything less than me being perfect."

The emphasis Nussmeier is putting on pre-snap play reads won't just make Gardner a better quarterback, it could also help alleviate some of the in-game issues Michigan's offense fell victim to far too often.

Last season, Michigan's general tempo from play-to-play was rather slow. Often times, the Wolverines would break a huddle as the play clock was winding down. Far too often Gardner found himself approaching the line of scrimmage with barely enough time to snap the football, let alone read the defense.

This spring and fall, Nussmeier has cranked up Michigan's practice tempo and put an emphasis on operating fast. Michigan hasn't scrapped the concept of a huddle or anything, but it has put an emphasis on speed and crispness in everything it does offensively.

That's helped Gardner and the offense, but it's also helped the defense.

After struggling to keep up during spring ball, Michigan defenders say the increased pace of practice has actually slowed the game down for them during scrimmage and game-like situations.

"Coach Nuss, he came in, he's done a great job with Devin and the guys on offense," Michigan defensive end Frank Clark told SiriusXM. "The practice tempo is way faster this year. When he first brought in during the spring, we were like 'man, five reps? Six reps straight?' Fast-tempo stuff, we call it NASCAR, we were like, 'man, how are we going to deal with this?'

"But we've gone through it, and when we go into scrimmages, where it's slower and it's play to play, everything slows down for us as a defense and it helps us. I know it will eventually carry over to games and it'll help us."

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