The Three Players I'm Most Anxious To See Based On Josh Gattis' Words
Michigan offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis has mastered the art of coach speak, but yesterday he was quite candid and really showed a lot of excitement and emotion when talking about several different players. Based on what Gattis said, here are the three players I'm most anxious to see on the field this fall.
1. Joe Milton
Isaiah Hole Photography
My answer for No. 1 is everybody's answer. With the news of Milton pulling away as the starter, and then more news about Dylan McCaffrey transferring, every one is patiently waiting to see what Milton can do. Throw in the fact that Milton's monstrous arm has been accurate and efficient in practice, and you could have a perfect storm brewing.
"His accuracy has been exceptional," Gattis said. "That was one of the things that we talked about as far as taking RPMs off throws — knowing when to give a catchable ball. Accuracy, as far as ball placement, was never an issue. Sometimes the issues have been in the past was whether or not those receivers could catch it that fast. He’s done a really good job improving at that but still maintaining his power in his arm. So far, he’s thrown three balls right at 70 yards out there. When we see a ball travel like that, 70 yards, it’s very hard to track a ball that long and get pinpoint accuracy on each one of the throws. I’ve got to the point now where I’ve told the receivers, 'Don’t stop running.'"
2. Giles Jackson
Everyone also wants to see Giles Jackson in action this fall. The newly minted No. 0 was electric last, even though he didn't have it all figured out, per Gattis.
"Giles displayed a unique ability as a touch player last year," Gattis said. "Giles came in as a true freshman and really didn’t get a chance to grasp the offense until about week five. Earlier in the season, I had a lot of doubts about Giles. He was on the scout team early on in the season because it took him a little while to learn it. I didn’t think he was going to make the impact on our team last year until week five. From week five on, it was figuring out how many ways a game that he could touch a ball because he had the ability to be such an explosive player."
That's a pretty open and honest statement from a coach and frankly, I love it. Call it like you saw it and let us know why some of the dynamic, young freshmen weren't on the field. Mike Sainristil likely falls into the same category. With Donovan Peoples-Jones, Tarik Black and, for now, Nico Collins all gone, those guys are going to need to step up and from the sounds of it, they're ready.
3. Erick All
All is another player that received a lot of hype early on last year and throughout fall camp, but then didn't really show up on Saturdays. According to Gattis, that's going to change this fall.
"A guy that I’ll come out and mention who’s having an exceptional camp is a guy named Erick All," Gattis said. "He’s going to be a special talent at tight end. Our tight end room has just been exceptional throughout camp; just excited."
All only had one catch for 10 yards as a true freshman so any kind of increase would be a step in the right direction. He's all of 6-4, 243 pounds now, with wide receiver running, route running and catching skills. He also loves to stick his face in the fan. Even last year when he was an undersized and relatively weak freshman, he had no problem throwing his body into a block. Gattis and Co. are clearly expecting big things from him in 2020.
Honorable Mention: Chris Evans
I've been beating the Evans drum all offseason so I decided to look at three other guys instead. Still, Gattis seems very excited to utilize Evans in a way that plays perfectly into his skill set.
"Chris has been everything as advertised from a skill set standpoint," Gattis said. "He’s a very, very smart football player; just a quiet leader and very professional. There are times out there that he surprises me and there are times where I’m out there and I have to remind myself that this guy has played football for five years. Whether it’s a blitz pickup or whether it’s little nuances of the route and creating separation, he’s played a lot of football. He’s what you expect a senior running back to look like and act like. He’s done an amazing job learning the offense because he’s had to start from scratch. He’s going to make a number of different plays for us this year and I'm really excited about his future moving forward as a football player."
It honestly wouldn't surprise me if Evans ends up at the top of the running back depth chart, but we've heard a ton of good news about sophomore Zach Charbonnet at the position as well.
