Jim McElwain met with the media on Monday for the first time since he was announced as Michigan’s wide receivers coach in February, and he had some interesting things to say.
The big takeaway, however, is his insight on how the Michigan offense may be ran this upcoming season.
If you’ve seen All or Nothing, the Amazon video series that documented Michigan’s 2017 season, you could see how much of a collaborative approach was taken in calling offensive plays with Jim Harbaugh, former offensive coordinator Tim Drevno and assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton.
Harbaugh has not officially named a new offensive coordinator since Drevno and Michigan split, but McElwain made it sound like the decision has been made and just not publicly announced.
“I came in to learn, and learn what Pep’s teaching and help him in any way I can,” McElwain said. “More than anything, just trying to understand ‘what’ and ‘how’, and then maybe over the years of doing this maybe there’s a thing or two that maybe can help our guys play fast. But like I said, I’m not reinventing (the offense). It’s an offense that’s here and I’m just trying to learn it.
“Yeah, (Hamilton) is kinda running (the offense). Like I said, we’re just here to help.”
I would obviously take this information with a grain of salt, but it is still intriguing to hear McElwain’s perspective on how the offense is being run this offseason. We should learn more about this in the months leading up to the season opener in September.
Other notes
- Senior wide receiver Grant Perry was able to go through some drills Monday, McElwain said. Perry has been sidelined for what seems like forever with an injury, so being able to get him going at least a little bit heading into the summer is great news for the slot receiver.
- McElwain says the receivers have taken a lot from the Michigan basketball team in terms of aggressiveness.
“From the standpoint of going and getting rebounds, man,” he said. “That ball, when it’s in the air, getting it off the glass in a hurry, getting it chinned, and when we do get the opportunity down the field, the things that are referred to as 50-50 balls, we gotta come up with those and give our offense an opportunity to change field position.”
- One of the biggest problems for Wolverine wide receivers last season was the inability to get open. Well, it seems like McElwain is cognizant of that and he said the receivers are working on getting open, especially against press coverage.