The Michigan Wolverines are coming off a disappointing 2-4 shortened campaign in 2020, bringing their record to 49-22 since 2015, and 11-8 over the past two years. Of course, this includes a pedestrian 8-11 record against ranked opponents since 2017.
For offensive coordinator Josh Gattis, the Wolverines need to be focused on improving the culture in and around the team. During an appearance on the “In The Trenches” podcast this morning Jon Jansen, Gattis stated that the leaders of the team must set the tone for everyone:
“Not just one side of the ball, but for us all to grow together as a team, to have true belief in each other, true trust in each other and all be committed to one purpose,” he explained. “Not just committed to, ‘Hey, I want the ball, if I’m not gonna get the ball then I’m gonna be upset.’ When we ultimately put the team first, individual recognition will come with team success. For every guy who wants to achieve a certain goal individually, if they just put the team first, it will come.
“That’s our biggest challenge going into the offseason, is continuing to grow together as team and continue to have that belief and develop a culture that we want to have as a team and be known for.”
“Let the alpha males emerge,” he continued. “Let’s have great leadership, great belief and not just great leadership when things are good, but a willingness to be able to face adversity head-on. I think that’s an area of a program as far as culture that we have to continue to emphasize. Our culture hasn’t been what we’ve wanted it to be. So you’ve seen our players taking over this spring with the energy they’ve created in practice, you’ve seen the excitement that comes from competitive nature. And that’s gotta be driven by the players, because at the end of the day those are the guys that are playing within the lines.”
The Wolverines are currently in their final week of spring practice with a revamped coaching staff, and in order to improve on last year’s dismal record, all players will need to be on the same page with a special attention to detail.
“In order for our players to go out and execute the details that we want on every play, we have to be great teachers on the offensive side of the ball,” Gattis said. “If there’s a disconnect in how you want it to look and what they’re doing, there’s something that you have to challenge yourself to figure out — ‘How can I better teach them?’
“The more consistent we can be with executing those details at a high level on every play,” Gattis continued, “the better we’ll be as a unit.”
– – Quotes via Will Burchfield of 97.1 The Ticket Link – –
