Big Ten Network analyst provides intel from Michigan football practice that was 'as good as it gets'

Michigan Wolverines football finished practice No. 12 of fall camp ahead of the 2022 season, and Big Ten Network was on hand to witness the Maize and Blue at work. Analyst Gerry DiNardo broke down the defending Big Ten champions on a B1G Today segment Wednesday evening.

“That’s as good as it gets, in every aspect of the game,” DiNardo praised of the Michigan practice. “Totally organized, coaches coaching every snap, talent everywhere, a really good freshman class that’s going to help their depth. Looks like a team that can compete for the championship, without a doubt. 

“Maybe the highlight was, there was a review on a penalty — there were officials out there — and Coach Harbaugh overturned the call. I thought that was interesting, hadn’t seen a video overturn of the call in a long time.”

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The No. 1 concern for Michigan this offseason is replacing elite EDGEs Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo, the No. 2 and No. 45 overall NFL Draft picks, respectively. While it remains to be seen how the Wolverines tweak things, DiNardo believes first-year coordinator Jesse Minter, who’s running the same system as Mike Macdonald, is up for the task. He also believes that the Wolverines have enough pieces to be just fine.

“You’re not going to replace those two edge rushers in one year,” DiNardo began. “So that changes the defense, and they’ll adjust to that. It’s the same scheme. I think Jesse Minter has made some changes, not a lot of changes.

“We’re in camp, it was their 12th practice, they have a tremendous amount of talent. This team matches up with any team that we’ve seen, and we only have Michigan State and Purdue left, so they’re as good as any team personnel wise. And they’ll just adjust the scheme as they go. It’s the same scheme; there are a lot of carryover, the analysts are the same, but you lose those two edge rushers and you have to replace them.”

Michigan’s quarterback battle between senior Cade McNamara and sophomore J.J. McCarthy is still too close to call, head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed Wednesday. But their way, the talent on offense is high-level, DiNardo believes, and it’s up to co-coordinators Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss to put everyone in the right place in their first year leading the unit.

“[They] have new coordinators, so that’s going to be part of it,” DiNardo opined. “The talent on the flank, they’ve got some young guys there that can play and add to the depth. The running back room is deep. I don’t know that we’ve seen a better offensive line on the tour. I think it’s just a matter of matching up with the opponent and doing what they’ve been doing in the past and get the two play-callers ready to go.

“We’re not going to know [how the Michigan offense will be different with the new coordinators] that until games, because what you do is you put your base offense in, so it’s no different than last year. Where it’ll change is game plan. The two new coordinators will have different ideas maybe than Josh had. So how it’s going to be different, we’re going to have to let that play out and see. [Former U-M offensive coordinator] Josh [Gattis] was very creative in a lot of ways, I’m sure these guys will have an opportunity to do that as well.”

The key for Michigan is to replicate what it did last season — beat arch rival Ohio State, win the Big Ten, make the College Football Playoff — and reach even higher. The Wolverines have talked about wanting to take the next step and win their first national title since 1997.

DiNardo is confident Michigan will remain at or near the top of the Big Ten for years to come.

“Based on today’s practice, yes, they can continue to play for the championship,” the analyst said. “There was this 10 year war — it was Woody [Hayes] at Ohio State and Bo [Schembechler] at Michigan. They were evenly matched. I think that’s where we’re headed. And that series was 5-4-1 in favor of Michigan.

“I would be surprised, as we go forward, if the next four, five years, this thing with Ohio State and Michigan [doesn’t go] back and forth, back and forth. I don’t think we’re going to see either team dominate this series like Ohio State has recently dominated until last year. That’s how good I think this team is.”

BTN Bus Tour Stop 12 @UMichFootball Really confident team,
talented young players helping with depth. Could be headed into another 10 Year War (1969-1978)type of competition with their rival. Don’t see either program dominating the series.

— Gerry DiNardo (@gerrydinardo) August 17, 2022