Josh Gattis outlines vision for Michigan’s offense

New Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis left the Alabama Crimson Tide to join the Wolverines.

With the arrival of Gattis in Ann Arbor, optimism for the 2019 season has increased.

Gattis coached a potent Alabama offense that finished No. 3 in scoring offense (45.6 points per game), No. 6 in total offense (522 yards per game), and the passing offense finished No. 6 in the nation (323.6 yards per game).

The Tide weren’t afraid to throw the ball down the field often, and they also ran different variations of a spread offense.

Will Gattis bring those ideals to Michigan? A tweet Gattis posted on Sunday outlined his vision for Michigan’s offense, a vision that should excite the fans and players alike.

In theory, that kind of Michigan offense could kick some serious ass. Gattis is saying that Michigan is going to be aggessive, score lots of points, block well, won’t turn the football over (often), and will let their playmakers flourish.

The term ‘speed in space’ has become a popular one in the past couple weeks on Twitter, the fans want to see more speed in space on offense. Well, the phrase has count on, recruits started using, Michigan receivers started using it, and now Gattis is using it.

Speed in space, what does that mean exactly? It means Gattis is going to give the likes of speedsters Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, Tarik Black, and Chris Evans all an opportunity to use their wheels and elusiveness, be it on short crossing patterns or deep routes.

“Be aggressive”, Gattis says. Okay, okay, I can dig it. If by aggressive Gattis means if Shea Patterson sees Peoples-Jones, Collins, or Black have a one-on-one matchup with no safety help, he can throw the ball 50 yards down the field and give his guy a chance, I love it. If by aggressive Gattis means more back-shoulder throws, more deep 50-50 balls, Michigan’s offense willl have my full endorsement. Another layer of aggressiveness is in the run game, too, allowing Patterson to run the read-option aplenty on a given week. If they can execute the aggressiveness, the offense will be as Gattis wants it to be... “explosive”.

There’s a long way to go between now and the 2019 season, many questions still loom, but the tweet by Gattis is telling and provides a good hint as to how Michigan’s offense will be evolving.