Michigan coach Dug Into the hardest parts of Ex-Team offense to simulate in 4-Star Team-mates practices…

The Wolverines will be challenged by Jalen Milroe, but that’s not the only key for the Michigan defense.

ANN ARBOR, Michigan: In the College Football Playoff in the Rose Bowl, Michigan football will have to contend with Jalen Milroe and the Alabama offense.

Former four-star prospect Milroe is a dual-threat quarterback of a caliber the Wolverines haven’t faced this season. Jaylen Harrell described him earlier this week as “talented, real athletic, freaky,” and he’s not afraid to throw it deep, as evidenced by Alabama’s fourth-best pass play total in the country (40 yards or more). With 12 rushing touchdowns this season, Milroe’s development throughout the 2023 campaign was crucial to the Crimson Tide’s trip back to the College Football Playoffs.

Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter spoke on Tuesday about the challenges posed by Alabama. Here’s what he said about how the Wolverines are preparing, and the aspects of the Crimson Tide that are difficult to replicate in practice:

To help us get ready for these situations, I believe we get the opportunity to play against a pretty good offense every day. Undoubtedly, there have been teams with talented players that we have had to match up with and attempt to contain. We haven’t seen a quarterback like this, in my opinion. The closest thing we see, in my opinion, is when some of our guys practice. As a scrambler, Taulia at Maryland was somewhat of the same kind of guy. But a player with this level of run game involvement and his ability to make plays off the schedule. Some of our guys said yesterday that they thought Alex Orji did a great job of mimicking Milroe as the quarterback of the scout team. He’s performed admirably; Davis Warren as well.

It’s hard to simulate the offensive line, okay? You’re talking about 6-7 360, 6-7 360. We don’t have anybody. Myles Hinton is with our offense. And so we have nobody — that’s the hardest thing to simulate, and the speed of their receivers. So while the quarterback is important, and we’re trying to do a great job corralling that guy, it’s harder to simulate the other positions and the talent that they’ve acquired over the years.

Everybody knows how they recruit at a such a high level. So that’s the hardest thing to simulate. We’ll find out on the 1st if we’re prepared. Honestly, talking about it is really cheap at this point. So we’ll find out when the ball is kicked off if we’re prepared. I’m confident in the way our guys have approached it, the way they’re working, that it’ll give us an opportunity to hopefully have some success.

Two of the better quarterbacks the Wolverines saw this season, Drew Allar of Penn State and Kyle McCord of Ohio State, were mostly pocket passers. Even though U-M saw Tagovailoa and other dual-threat quarterbacks earlier in the season, none have the same potential as Milroe. Despite being a formidable offensive line, he has struggled with pass protection this season. His ability to scramble helps generate positive plays behind this line.

On January 1, 2024, Michigan and Alabama will play at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.