Joel Klatt has long been a proponent of Michigan football. Even when many didn't have high expectations for the Wolverines, Klatt often did. But he also was a strong proponent in favor of Kyle Whittingham and Utah.
Now that Whittingham has joined forces with the maize and blue, Fox Sports' preeminent college analyst is very high on what the Wolverines might do this year. Though he's bearish on the schedule (as is everyone), he's higher on Michigan football than most, having it at No. 10 overall, compared to the field, which generally has it in the lower teens.
"No. 10, Michigan, probably higher than most, but this is probably the second biggest wild card team in college football," Klatt said. "I believe in Kyle Whittingham. You guys know that
with the way I've talked about Utah over the years, I used to say death, taxes, and Utah football. I should say death, taxes, and Kyle Whittingham. I believe in this guy's structure. I believe in what he believes in. He believes in the fundamental traits to go and be a great football team. They will be physical. They will play great defense. They will run the football. That is a great blueprint for Michigan. We saw that blueprint when the national championship for Michigan, just a couple of years ago; he also brought a very good offensive coordinator in Jason Beck, who did wonders for him at Utah. And maybe the key guy that he brought, nobody talks about this -- his offensive line coach, Jim Harding.
"Do you know why there were so many Utah offensive linemen that are either playing in the NFL or being drafted into the NFL on an annual basis? Jim Harding. He's a great developer. And so now you can get back to that great old line play that we saw for so many years at the end of Harbaugh in Michigan.
"It was a young team last year, Michigan. And I know a lot of those guys got in the portal, but then they got out of the portal and came back to Michigan. So the roster is actually better than you anticipate when you actually look at it. It was an incredibly young team, in particular on the offensive side last year; they had six freshmen, including Underwood, out there playing in most of those big moments late in the season. You've got Underwood. Can he develop? 17 total touchdowns, 11 turnovers -- that has to improve, there's no doubt, but Jason Beck has a track record of getting the most out of his quarterbacks. In particular, athletic quarterbacks. Jason Beck was with Devon Dampier two years ago in New Mexico, and then at Utah. And what did he do? Oh, all he did is lead the country in terms of quarterback production on the ground, or at least the Power Four. If you look at what Beck was able to do with Dampier, it's about the quarterback run game. And I'm not saying that Underwood is going to have to go out there and run at 30 times per game, but Dampier and Byrd Ficklin were running at about 16 times per game as compared to Underwood's seven. See, I think if Underwood runs the ball between 10 and 12 times per game, that offense becomes much more dynamic.
"You've got Andrew Marsh on the outside. You've got these backs in the backfield that are going to be incredibly, I think potent, including Savion Hiter, who by all accounts is one of the better true freshmen in the country. If you look at the top four teams in quarterback rushing from a year ago, you've got the four academies -- or excuse me, the three academies and Utah -- Navy, Army one and two; Utah, No. 3, Air Force, No. 4. 104 yards per game from quarterbacks in terms of rushing. That's the big deal for me on the Michigan side.
"I think there'll be good on defense. Jay Hill's their coordinator. They've got a secondary with a lot of good players, Jyaire Hill, Zeke Berry, Smith Snowden transfers in from Utah. He's very good. John Henry Daley transfers in from Utah after being an All-American.
"Michigan's going to be very good. Schedule's not easy, but Michigan's going to be very good. Guess who they play Week 2."
Michigan will face Klatt's No. 22 Iowa, No. 17 Penn State, No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 5 Indiana, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 1 Oregon. It's a very daunting schedule, but they play games for a reason.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Joel Klatt sees 'great' potential for Michigan football
