Former Michigan offensive tackle Grant Newsome has been named the new tight ends coach for the Wolverines, replacing Jay Harbaugh, who has moved to the defensive side of the ball.
I think this is my first time creating a second post for a guy whose recruitment I also covered. Newsome was an outstanding offensive tackle prospect in the 2015 class (here's his commitment post). He played in five games as a freshman and then started the first five games at left tackle in 2016 before a brutal knee injury against Wisconsin ended his career. He attempted a comeback, but by 2018 he had retired from football and became a student assistant, working with the tight ends in 2018-2019. He then moved over to help Sherrone Moore with the offensive line in 2020-2021.
This is an internal hire that should pay off with a pretty seamless transition on the field. Newsome has worked with the tight ends and offensive line, and both of the former tight ends coaches - Moore and Jay Harbaugh - are still on the staff. So all that knowledge and experience is still contained within the team. Newsome is also widely well liked and should be a plus recruiter; he's young, intelligent, affable, and loyal to the program.
I won't make a separate post for the finalized staff, so here's how it shakes out for 2022 unless other things change:
- HC: Jim Harbaugh
- Co-OC/QB: Matt Weiss
- RB: Mike Hart
- WR: Ron Bellamy
- TE: Grant Newsome
- Co-OC/OL: Sherrone Moore
- DC: Jesse Minter
- DL: Mike Elston
- LB: George Helow
- Co-DC/CB: Steve Clinkscale
- S: Jay Harbaugh
Good for him. I'm happy for Grant finding a role as a coach. He seems to have a really good attitude in general, and seems to be a fine young man. So again, good for him.
ReplyDeleteQuestion: what are the similarities and differences in the OT role (which Newsome played) and the TE role? I'm thinking of the blocking roles specifically, not the receiving aspect of the TE role. When a TE comes in and lines up close to the OT, does the TE become "like" an OT in that case? Or do TE blocking roles differ quite a bit from the OT role?
When it comes to run blocking for an in-line tight end (Y), the blocking rules and technique are pretty similar. The biggest difference is probably the stance; a tight end has to be in a more balanced stance to go either way or release into a pass pattern, while a tackle is usually in an unbalanced stance, depending on which side of the line he's playing.
DeleteWhen it comes to pass blocking, that's a different animal. Tight ends don't pass block as much as tackles, and they also don't start from the same stance, so there are some tweaks to make. There are still some basic techniques that should be used, but a TE has to live in both worlds (blocking and receiving), whereas a tackle just has to live in one world (blocking).
I think a lot of things will translate from OT to TE, but there are still a bunch of things that won't. The nice thing is that Newsome has worked with tight ends before, so it's not all brand new to him.
Congrats to Newsom. He suffered a tragic end to a promising career, so it's cool to see him with a new shot
ReplyDeleteThat said, how do we feel this staff shuffle worked out?
Lost:
Gattis
MacDonald
Nua
Added:
Minter
Elston
Newsom
The only clear upgrade is Elston. Gotta hope these guys can work together as well as they did last year
Elston is better than Nua on all fronts.
DeleteI really don't know whether Minter is a good hire or not.
Newsome is going to be just as good of a recruiter as Gattis, IMO, but obviously he won't have as big of an impact on the team as a whole since he's just coaching tight ends.
What this doesn't really account for is the direction of the offense now that Weiss is in charge of at least 50% of it. I've said time and time again that I think the 2021 offense had Weiss's fingers all over it, so what type of guys does he want?
And of course the elephant in the room is...how long will he be here? If he's only here for one season and jumps back to the NFL, his recruiting and development skills may not matter a whole lot.
I'm pumped about this staff.
ReplyDeleteI think we got better across the board.
Jay Harbaugh might be a coaching weakness at Safety, except that we have three guys with Safety experience around him, in no particular order, Clinkscale, Helow, and Minter. He'll have plenty of help with the coaching part. He has demonstrated himself to be a stud recruiter.
As discussed above, Newsom too will be getting plenty of help. I also think that Newsom has more than a shot at being a stud recruiter. I'd put him on every single big time academic kid or family in the country. He can go in there with the unpleasant in the beginning conversation about injury and how football can't last forever with, “ just look what happened to me, at another place, I might not be walking right now because of this knee. BUT ... we have an internationally recognized research hospital with the best doctors and therapists in the world. AND Michigan football is a family, I can guarantee that you will not be abandoned if it all goes wrong. AND, you will have a world class education at the end of your career here and will be able to go and do in this life whatever thing you choose. LOOK AT ME!!!!!”
That's some seriously powerful stuff, and the best part is that they are gonna have to believe every last word of it because its demonstrably true. Its always better when you're selling true. I know, I've tried it both ways.
I think the kid is gonna kick ass.
I forgot, Minter has way more play calling experience than Macdonald does right now, MacDonald had none coming in.
ReplyDeleteYou already have my thoughts on Gattis.
The more I dwell, the better I feel about all of this.
DeleteWe lost an at best reluctant recruiter, and replaced him with a newbie who at worst is gonna be flying around causing dust. I'll take flying around causing dust all day long.
Really, the only guys on the staff that hasn't demonstrated himself to be plus recruiters are Helow and Weiss. One guy on each side of the ball with lots of real good recruiters around them.
Oh no, I've become Lanky
Haha
DeleteFor fans not crazy about Gattis, I can see why the moves look like an improvement. But if you thought he was good-to-great, there's reason for concern: losing a Broyles recipient for the internal hire of a brand new guy. On D, resumes matter only before the interview. We're losing a MacDonald, who did a great job here in Ann Arbor, for a guy who ... has more experience (not better, but more)
I'm looking forward to spring ball, and reading about how the staff has come together (or if we have more drama). Spring practice seems critical for the staff, not just the players
I think Gattis had the keys in the sense that I do.
DeleteMy wife gets in my car and says, "Do you have the keys?'
I say,"Yup." And then hand them to her.
Gattis to Newsome is a huge downgrade.
ReplyDeleteMacDonald to Minter is a downgrade
Nua to Elston is a an upgrade.
Position changes are TBD.
Newsome would have to recruit his tail off to match Gattis, even if you give Gattis zero credit for on field stuff, development of WRs, etc.
Per revealed preferences of both John and Jim Harbaugh the last couple years, MacDonald is preferred over Minter.
Position shuffles should be OK. Bellomy shift to WR felt like it was a matter of time. Jaybaugh's move maybe risky but can't doubt his resume at this point. Weiss is the big question mark - we'll see how much he was the brains of the operation as some speculate and how much was Gattis. The talent is there.
OVERALL, I think they managed the situation reasonably well. Gattis exit was a bit of a debacle but it was also inevitable. Would have been nice to keep those guys another year but that's how it often goes. A lot of guys got promoted and will need to step up.
Weiss is the BIG wildcard. Absolutely no reason for the offense not to be a top 10 unit if the team stays reasonably healthy.
Delete