ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan football offensive coordinator Jason Beck wants to be smart about how he gets guys the ball. While there are starters and backups, he wants to ensure all the playmakers have an opportunity, and he's going to do as much as he can to make that happen.
But that doesn't mean he'll spread the ball around if one of the players is unstoppable in a given game.
On Wednesday, Beck explained his philosophy, noting that he does have plans for each specific playmaker to get targets or carries. But if there's a hot hand, well, he's going to feed the hot hand.
Regardless, he doesn't want a game like Michigan had last year against Ohio State, when star receiver Andrew Marsh didn't just come down without any catches; he was never targeted
in The Game.
"I go in with a real specific thing for the top guys," Beck said. "Now, not everybody, but our top back, the next guy in, the receivers. I want to make sure our best players are getting the ball and getting touches, and I want to track that. So, for one reason or another, that might be off. I can, 'Oh, shoot, we don't have so-and-so enough targets, enough touches,' so we can catch up that way. There's always an element of, if somebody's just hot, man, keep it going. You know, we're not going to take away from somebody because he's playing so great. OK, let's keep that going. But, yeah, we want our best guys getting touches on the ball."
That said, there are the 'starters' and there are those who you may see on the first snap of the game -- which doesn't necessarily mean that they're a starter.
Beck says he calls plays and there are certain personnel groupings for said plays. So with that, you'll see specific plays called for Jordan Marshall or Savion Hiter or Bryson Kuzdzal in the run game -- likewise, you may see different receivers other than the top three (Andrew Marsh, JJ Buchanan, and Channing Goodwin), depending on the play call. Same thing with the offensive line, which has six players vying for the five positions, plus the 'rhino' -- or, sixth lineman.
"Yeah, we talk about it being the circle of trust. The guys that have demonstrated that they can get their job done consistently and make the play when it comes their way," Beck said. "So kind of after the main guys -- and when I say main guys, Jordan Marshall's the No. 1 back, but Savion and Kuz will both play, both touch the ball.
"In the receiver room, there's seven guys that will play. And up front, we'll see eight guys play. Because they've all demonstrated that, proven that, and will be in the mix, just starting in their personnel groupings and contributing to what we're doing."
He explained further, noting that there may be games where you'll see Savion Hiter as the first tailback out on the field, even though Jordan Marshall will still technically be the starter.
"In those different personnel groups, he's going to -- I call it start," Beck said. "Now, that doesn't mean start the game, but when we call those personnel groups, he's the starting running back in those personnel groups. So he has a couple things that he's the starter on, and he'll be in there when we call those plays."
Fans will start to get the knack of Hill's uptempo offense on Saturday, when Michigan football hosts Western Michigan at The Big House.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Jason Beck reveals plan to get Michigan's top playmakers the ball
