Michigan football: Physicality, selflessness defines the tight end room
Michigan football has set an offensive identity of a team that wants to be physical, but also make plays and spread the ball around. The tight end group is not quite as featured as it was in the early days of head coach Jim Harbaugh, but a foundation and mentality has long been set.
Position coach Grant Newsome, currently in his first year as a full-time assistant coach, feels fortunate to have inherited a group with a team-first mindset.
“Again, I was extremely lucky,” Newsome told the media on Wednesday. “They already had that foundation with Sherrone and Jay Harbaugh. I think that’s just the mentality that those guys have had. We’ve continued to stress it. If you want to be involved in the pass game, if you want to get targets if you want to be involved in the run game. That’s what comes first. That’s one of our offensive identities. We are going to be a big part of that along with the offensive line.”
Spreading the ball around
Michigan has a pair of tight ends to lean on in senior Erick All and graduate Luke Schoonmaker. There are plenty of others – Matthew Hibner, Carter Selzer, Joel Honigford, Colston Loveland, Max Bredeson – that factor in, but they are not worried about their targets or opportunities. They know their number will be called eventually.
“It’s more of the mentality and the culture that the guys and Coach Harbaugh have done an incredible job creating,” Newsome said. “All about the team. It’s not about, oh, why did I only get three targets this game and this guy got four? Why is this guy in on this play? The guys are all about winning. When you go through an experience like last year, you’re going to get a taste of what it’s like to achieve one of your goals. It helps kind of cement, that this is the right mindset to have and it’s about the team.
“Even the tight ends last year. They had a few catches in the non-conference schedule and as the year progressed, they started finding them more and more. I think they all kind of recognize that as does every single position on the team. It’s about team success. Coach Harbaugh always says a rising tide will lift all ships. I think the team definitely believes that.”
Blocking still a work in progress for Michigan TEs
Michigan does not use a traditional fullback as it used to, meaning the tight ends have been called on in an H-back role. The coaching is a bit different, but Newsome is picking up on it.
“The angles have kind of changed,” Newsome said. “The footwork is a little different. It’s a tough ask but we’re fortunate to have guys like Erick, like Max Bredeson, Matt Hibner, who are athletic enough, strong enough and smart enough to go handle those responsibilities. It gives us a huge luxury as coaches. There’s not really a formation or a set, or a personnel, group that we can’t get in because we’re fortunate to have talented guys we do.”
Newsome is a former offensive lineman in his own right during his playing days. He is also a pupil of Michigan OL coach/Co-OC Sherrone Moore. He does have some crossover with his old position group.
“I’ll still work with the tackles some, just to know if I get a chance with special teams and stuff like that,” he said. “Sherrone does an incredible job doing multiple roles. He and our support staff do an incredible job behind the scenes making sure that they put those guys in the best position possible. It’s something we’ll continue to do.”
