Breaking exclusive news on the 2013 Michigan football team. Brady Hoke and offensive coordinator AL Borges plan to use junior QB Devin Gardner in an eerily similar way to how 49ers coach (and former Michigan QB) Jim Harbaugh used Colin Kaepernick was used to great effectiveness in 2012.
The Michigan offense was already going to be facing quite a transition with the graduation of Denard Robinson and his game-breaking running ability. With the loss of probable starting WR Amara Darboh for the season with a foot injury, QB Devin Gardner will have to be more effective in the short yardage passing to unheralded WR and TE's.
The Michigan offense has been focused on pistol for almost half of the snaps during fall camp. The standard set up when the pistol is being run looks like this:
QB Gardner and RB Fitz Toussaint in the backfield, with Toussaint lined up about 5 feet behind Gardner.
3 WR set: Jeremy Gallon and Jehu Chesson split wide, with Drew Dileo in the slot.
TE: Devin Funchess is a main target on this formation, especially coming off a read option keep by Gardner.
While Al Borges was reluctant running the spread the last two season with Robinson, he did recognize the benefits of having a QB running as an option, while also is a historical proponent of having 4 pass catching targets on the field at once. When the Michigan Athletic Dept coaches tour stopped in San Francisco in late May to speak to Bay Area alumni, Hoke had dinner with the man that many Michigan fans yearned to be the Michigan head coach when Hoke was hired 31 months ago.
Hoke and Harbaugh, both old-school, run the football kind of guys, spoke at length about how Harbaugh transformed the 49ers offense to fit the unique skills of Kaepernick. Hoke, intrigued with the offense's potential with Gardner, asked Harbaugh if the Michigan coaches could have a look at the Niners film and playbooks this summer.
Look for Michigan to run pistol about 30-40% of snaps this fall, with the remainder of the offense being under center.
Why the 'Pistol'?
In the pistol, the offense can effectively run the ball to both sides of the QB, opening up more options for the offense. Additionally, the a dual-threat QB can keep the ball on fakes and be moving in a direction away from linebackers, opening up run/pass option opportunities. While Gardner showed a great arm last season, his weakness was short passes in the pocket. What the Michigan coaches hope to accomplish is to allow Gardner to move outside the pocket as a planned portion of the offense and have pass catching options available short and long, with the option to scamper for 5-10 yards if nothing is open. Through a source close to the program, we have learned that much of the pistol will not be unveiled until the 2nd game of the season vs. Notre Dame.
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