The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - BEST BITE: Michigan's QB Battle and more Takeaways from the Spring Game

Episode Date: April 25, 2024

FOX Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt points out players that stood out in Michigan's Spring Game. He also discusses the QB battle in Ann Arbor as the Wolverines replace J.J. McCarthy. Then he takes a look at the defending champs schedule including their game vs Texas on September 7th that will be televised on BIG NOON SATURDAY on FOX. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When I look at next year, we'll see how this goes for Michigan. They're going to have to have guys step up. So who are some of the guys that maybe you don't know about that I thought really impressed me on Saturday? On the edge, a guy named T.J. Guy, not just a guy, but T.J. Guy. A sack, good pressure throughout. A big reason why they were successful was the fact that they could rotate on the defensive line and specifically at the edges.

So T.J. Guy in rotation is going to be important. Now, is he going to be asked to be in a star leading role, get 10 sacks? No. But if he's a guy that can have production, can be on the field in critical moments against big opponents, that's going to help them become a better defense overall because then the starters like Josiah Stewart won't have to play the number of snaps that he would otherwise have to play. So a guy like TJ guy would be very important. How about Zeke Barry? He flashed in Saturday's game.

Coach Moore talked about it with me on the field. Charles Woodson was talking about it as well. He was constantly around the ball. And he's going to be looking to fill that role that was left a huge gaping hole by Mikey Sainrestil, who's one of the best defenders not only on their team but in the country. I think towards the end, I would categorize him as the best defender on the best defense in college football.

You're going to have to replace that guy. Zeke Berry made a lot of plays in that defense on Saturday. And he's a guy they'll be looking to really be productive next year. On the offensive side, it's going to be important that they have a second tight end because Colston Loveland is probably the best tight end in the country. They need a second because of their philosophy, their structure, the way that they like to run offense.

They want to be in 12 personnel, one back, two tight ends. So they need another tied end. Watch out for Marlon Klein. Marlon Klein is a guy that played a lot of soccer in his youth. He's fairly new to football. So again, he's perfect for this development structure. that Michigan has. And grew up in Germany, and he's fast.

He had four catches on Saturday. Didn't really get out, but they say that he might be one of the fastest players on the team. His emergence will be huge. If you could flex out Colson Loveland and a guy that can run 4, 4, 4, 3, 5 in a tight-end body like Marlon Klein, that's dangerous. And that's very dangerous in an offense that could, could feature a running quarterback. And that's when we get to the quarterback battle.

Those are the players that stood out. And then the other thing that I think really stood out is just this quarterback battle. There were no answers on Saturday. We didn't find out who was going to be the quarterback. I think you saw in a lot of ways what makes this quarterback battle so unique. And that is the styles of these players are so vastly different. What Alex Orgy brings to the table, number 10, is explosiveness, the ability to run. What a guy like Davis Warren, number 16, brings to the table,

is a prototypical knowledge-based, schematic-oriented quarterback that's going to throw the ball to the right spot. Now, his deep ball for a touchdown, which you're seeing on the screen if you're watching YouTube, was really beautiful. He threw it right on time, great air on that ball. He also was able to scramble and get the ball to Moore who took off for a touchdown. He's a fast player. I'm excited to watch him play next year as well. That's what led to the Mays team winning the game. But Davis Warren is a guy that needs to utilize the system, utilize everybody around him in order to have success. Alex Orgy is a guy that can have success because of his own athleticism, his own explosiveness,

and he can equate numbers and give you a big advantage in the run game. Don't know who it's going to be. I thought those two were the two guys that really impressed me the most on Saturday. Orgy was 13 of 18, 103 yards. Davis Warren, 9, or excuse me, 6 for 9. for 136 and two touchdowns. And now these guys are going to be charged with preparing for a season that's going to be very different than the one that they just played.

They were 15 and 0, traditional playoff at the end, did not have a very tough schedule early last year. And now here we go and we're going to have a 12-team playoff. You could be potentially playing 17 games. And their schedule is ridiculously difficult. They've got Texas Week 2. they've got USC and the fourth game, both of those games at home. They go to Washington in a rematch of the national championship game.

That first road game for them isn't until October. They host Oregon early in November who should be a top five team, and then they've got to go to the shoe and face Ohio State, who could start the season as the number one overall ranked team based on what they've done in the offseason with their roster. That's a tough schedule, an incredibly tough schedule. My question for them would be, you know, how quickly can you get a quarterback ready, in particular for that second game of the year against Texas?

Don't know who it's going to be. This battle is going to, I think, bleed into the fall. And we'll also see if Jack Tuttle has anything to say about this. He's the 18th year man who's going to be vying for that quarterback job as well in the fall. He was banged up this spring and so he did not get to play in the spring game. Speaking of that second game of the year, not only is Texas going to be facing the defending national champions, they're going to be facing a brand new quarterback,

and they're going to be doing it on Fox because it is official. That's right. Big noon kickoff, big noon Saturday. We are heading to Ann Arbor for Texas and Michigan. That is the showdown. It'll be on noon eastern as Texas and Steve Sarkesian take on the brand new head coach, Sharon Moore and the Michigan Wolverines. That should be an absolutely epic day.

Big noon kickoff will be there. And seeing those two programs on the same field in the regular season is going to be dynamic. So I can't wait for that one. Gus Jenny and I will be on the call.