Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has his offense healthy and firing on all cylinders heading into the program’s first College Football Playoff Semifinal appearance on Friday afternoon in South Florida.
Gattis stated, “We’re excited to be here at the Orange Bowl. Our team is in great spirits right now. We’ve had great practices. We’re healthy, and we’re excited about a tremendous challenge being in the playoffs.”
Considering we live in a day and age when health is far from a certainty, having a healthy squad is more than half the journey for coaches to navigate, especially since there have been numerous cancellations thus far in bowl season.
“We’re a healthy team, and that’s where we’re fortunate. Being able to take the last few weeks and get ourselves back to 100 percent, because as everyone noticed the last few weeks of the season, we were playing some really tough teams, we had some bumps and bruises along the way, [with] certain players being out. The good thing for us is the next man stepped up and was always ready.”
Now rested and rejuvenated, the Wolverines are ready for an opportunity to reach College Football’s biggest stage.
Gattis’ offensive unit was among the nation’s elite in chunk yardage plays. Gattis credits his players for the team’s ability to enjoy such big plays, commenting, “When you’ve got guys like A.J. Henning, Blake Corum, Roman Wilson, Donovan Edwards, those guys are going to create explosive plays, and that was an area where we really emphasized increasing our team speed.
Gattis continued, “We were dynamic within our skill positions, whether it’s tight ends, receivers, running backs. We’ve got some of the most dynamic players in all of the country.”
Perhaps the most integral part of the Wolverines offense down the stretch has been running back Hassan Haskins. Haskins, who averages just over 21 touches per game, has been electric in the ground game, especially during the Wolverines’ dominant victory against hated rival Ohio State in November.
“Hassan is everything to us. We absolutely love him. I don’t know if you can actually list out one specific play because he creates so many wild plays, whether it’s hurdling guys or it’s extra effort, short-yardage plays where he’s running over defenders in a hole. He’s a guy that when you talk about a physical back and how you want to build your backs, he’s the exact prototype of what you want to build your running back room around.
“He’s done a tremendous job carrying the load for us, and really he had some tough tasks to go along at the midpoint of the season when Blake [Corum] was down, and Donovan [Edwards] was down. We really put the load on his back, and he carried us there for about three games, just being the solo back.
“When you’ve got a guy with his ability, his talent, his vision, his physicality, it makes him pretty complete. I wish we had him around here for another four or five years, but we’re really proud of what he’s accomplished and everything he’s done to this point.”
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh hired Gattis before the 2019 season. Previously, Gattis worked under Nick Saban at Alabama and James Franklin at Vanderbilt and Penn State.
“Coach Harbaugh has just been a tremendous supporter of me…When I was afforded the opportunity to come here as a coordinator, I’m very thankful for Coach Harbaugh for believing in me and giving me that opportunity. But then, along the way, we’ve experienced everything. We’ve experienced the good times, the hard times, and the bad times, and obviously 2020 was challenging in so many different ways, to our team, to our offense.”
Referencing a tumultuous 2020 campaign, Gattis remarked, “For him, that was important for me because the most important piece was when your head coach doesn’t lose confidence in you, the players don’t lose confidence in you. Our players never once lost confidence in me [and] I never lost confidence in them. We’ve persevered through everything. We did gain some valuable lessons along the way in 2020, but I think it’s built this team to be the team that we are today.”
Clearly, the Wolverines are on the right path back to national prominence in no small part to Gattis, his players, and their mutual belief in each other. However, the entire program knows what is at stake on Friday afternoon and what awaits them.
“Obviously going against a very talented Georgia team and Georgia defense, we’re excited for the challenge. We know what’s ahead of us, and we know the opportunities we have, and most importantly, we believe, and we have tremendous confidence in ourselves.”
Harbaugh and the Wolverines will need to be at the top of their game to defeat Georgia, who was undefeated before falling to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
The Bulldogs’ dominant defense will be a challenge for Gattis and his team, but he certainly likes his chances against such a fierce opponent with so much firepower at his disposal.
Written by Greg Atkins
