There's a lot of low-hanging fruit when it comes to analyzing where Michigan football offensive coordinator Jason Beck has gone wrong this season. From his constant running east-west rather than the north-south that the offensive line and running backs excel at, to his goal-to-go calls against Indiana. But there's a lot more than just a handful of examples to choose from.
Former Michigan defensive back Hunter Reynolds has built a following as a college football analyst on social media, and he didn't choose the plays that most are breaking down in the aftermath of the 13-6 loss to the Hoosiers. Instead, he looked at the final two plays in overtime and recognized just how -- interesting -- Beck's play calls were in true crunch time.
"After being
made the scapegoat, a lot of y'all owe Bryce Underwood an apology," Reynolds started. "And this isn't me saying he was playing at a high level, but he was made to be the problem of the Michigan offense instead of a symptom of the major problem of Michigan's offense. And I think at this point we're all out on Jason Beck as the offensive coordinator. I don't have to convince anyone. But when you really watch the film, just how bad he's done is just mind-boggling.
"So right here, we're looking at the third-and-9 in overtime. We have three receivers to the bottom of the screen. I want y'all to look at this route combination and tell me who is like, who's open on a primary read? Like, you're telling me in gotta have a situation, our best idea is to run a fake screen and go with a post attached to it. Like I can't even fathom just how bad of a play call that is. Indiana is not going to get bought up by this little action right here, right there and not thinking, oh, we have to stop this behind the line of scrimmage pass. No, no, no. They're just going to sit back on everything. They have the post doubled, the wheels sat over the top of it.
"And what makes the play even worse is the fact that of all the things Tommy Carr showed on Saturday, like, you know -- I will say this: Did he play well? No, but it was to be expected. He's a true freshman put in an almost impossible situation. He did show moxie. He did show the ability to escape the pocket, create on the run. One thing he has not shown is arm strength. And we are asking him, from the far hash, to throw the ball damn near outside the numbers in the red zone. Like, I don't even get how an offensive coordinator can put a quarterback in that situation. And a lot of you aren't going to remember this, but on third-and-9 against Minnesota in a gotta have this situation, Jason Beck literally called the exact same play, and everything's covered.
"So we have to check it down to Marsh, and we get a zero-yard gain. And then with the game truly on the line, fourth-and-9, our idea is to go formation into the boundary. We go split or switch verts, I think the tight ends on like a little kind of wheel rollout. So already, if you can see, there's just no space for anything to occur down here. We're running a sluggo with our true freshman receiver. Like, even if this is what you go with, why do you not have Marsh here? Why do you not have you can in here, right? Two guys that are older being live situations. Why are they not the ones running pretty much the isolated route, right? Like this is saying right here, we're going to trust our guy to win on your guy. Do I love this? No, but go with one of your top two receivers if you're going to do that.
"And as you can see, the play, he kind of goes exactly how you would think it would go. Do we have Marsh here? No, we're not putting that ball in there. Do we have Buchanan? Nope. That ball is not getting there. We're not even to the sticks here, so no. And then freshmen on experienced corner, it's not really what we want to be in. We can say that's boxed. So there is genuinely nowhere to throw the football. And we have three of our option-receiving options outside of one hash mark to the short side of the field. Like, bro, it is just so, so dumb. some of the things that go on in this offense. And obviously, we have to scramble around, try and make something happen. We're trusting two freshmen, true freshmen, with the game on the line. Like, I just can't believe it, bro.
"And this is some of the stuff Bryce was dealing with. Now, did he miss reads? Yes. Did he miss certain things? Yes. But he was not never able to get in rhythm with just the offensive play calling that was being given."
Reynolds initially walked on at Michigan in 2017 and made his debut against Nebraska in 2018. He appeared in 12 games in 2019, and in all six games in 2020. He transferred to Utah State in 2021, where he played for two years.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Former Michigan DB Hunter Reynolds blasts Jason Beck's playcalling
