ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Koy Detmer Jr. was initially recruited to play for Jason Beck when he was the quarterbacks coach at BYU. But shortly after Detmer showed up in Provo as a walk-on, longtime Cougars head coach Bronco Mendenhall left for Virginia, and Beck followed him there. While it appeared that the duo weren't destined to be together, once Detmer got into coaching, it didn't take long for Beck to ask him to come work under him as a quarterbacks coach during his brief tenure at Syracuse.
Detmer followed Beck, first to New Mexico, and then to their former rival, Utah. So he's seen what it looks like when his offense is working the way it should. The past two years, Detmer has overseen signal callers while Beck's offense has managed to be the fourth-best
total offense and second-best rushing offense. Given that Detmer has been around while the offense was being installed both in Albuquerque and Salt Lake City, he feels like the Michigan football offense is right where each of those were during fall camp.
And it's not just because he thinks that the Wolverines will be able to run the football.
"They're all always going to be different. I'd say this group and where we're at, similar to last year. There's a lot of similarities," Detmer said. "And I'd say this group is going to -- I think we're going to be able to push the ball down the field, I really do. I think we have a talented group of receivers and tight ends around us. We obviously have the backs to be able to be a threat in the run game and open up stuff down the field. And Bryce, he can throw it around, and he can put it anywhere on the field.
"And so I do think we'll be able to push the ball down the field. But there will be some similarities to last year just because of the run game that we were able to have last year and the quarterback being a threat with both his arm and his legs."
There is a caveat in that Detmer and Beck were working with Devon Dampier each of the past two seasons. Now, the duo is working with Bryce Underwood, who hasn't had the same success as Dampier just yet, though he was a much, much more highly-regarded recruit.
But what kind of QB are they looking for? Who would thrive in this system? Detmer says that Dampier and Underwood share many of those same traits, and it's just a matter of Underwood continuing to improve on those traits to help propel the passing game along.
"I think at this level, you've got to be in the elite level, throw the ball, and throwing and catching," Detmer said. "But it helps when you have a guy that can hurt you with their legs and be able to add plus-one runs in the run game. In the passing game, nothing's perfect, and you're able to cover things up, scramble around, and make opportunities where they are. And so I think having a guy that has both of those, can hurt you with his arm and his legs, as well as the decision-making, is huge. Like, play-in and play-out are you helping us make great decisions to help us move the ball, not put in harm's way, and keep us out of those long third downs where now you're going to be less efficient. And so from a decision-making standpoint, got to be a great decision-maker, and then being able to do it with both your arm and your legs."
Fans will get an opportunity to see whether or not the Michigan football offense really can follow in the footsteps of last season's Utah team, starting on September 5, when the Wolverines host Western Michigan at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Koy Detmer Jr. sees Utah similarities in Michigan's offense
