Michigan football: The passing game continues to improve, is reportedly “very dangerous”

Everyone knows that the Michigan football offense can run the football — the Wolverines have the country’s best offensive line, an elite duo of running backs, and a few tight ends that are fantastic blockers. Over the past two seasons, this impressive rushing attack has carried the Maize and Blue to two-straight Big Ten titles and College Football Playoff appearances, yet it is still widely believed that Michigan needs to develop a stronger passing attack, led by JJ McCarthy, in order to get over the hump and claim a national championship.

Michigan football passing attack is “very dangerous”

This fall, the passing game has been getting all kinds of recognition from the coaches and players. Does that mean that Michigan football will finally open up the playbook and let JJ McCarthy sling it around? Nope — but it means that Jim Harbaugh, Sherrone Moore, and the other coaches are at least thinking about it.

Earlier today, transfer tight end AJ Barner met the media — there, he gave the latest on the 2023 Michigan football passing attack, describing it as “very dangerous” and more.

“I think very dangerous. Having (JJ McCarthy) back there slinging the rock — he’s looked incredible all spring,” new transfer tight end AJ Barner said. “He’s a tremendous leader, tremendous football player. The O-line has looked incredible and they’re gonna give us time to do that and then we have plenty of weapons — whether it’s on the perimeter with CJ (Cornelius Johnson), Roman (Wilson), the freshman receivers, and then the tight ends also.

“So I think that’ll be a great thing for us and like you mentioned running the ball, that’s not going anywhere. And I think for me, that’ll pop on tape too. I think that’s something that I’ve really improved at, and something that I’m striving for is just to be the best blocking and receiving tight end in the country.”

JJ McCarthy is gaining confidence

That’s good news for Wolverines fans as their team heads into a crucial season; however, it also means that JJ McCarthy has to be on his A-game when game time rolls around.

“(JJ McCarthy is) a more confident guy,” senior wide receiver Roman Wilson said of JJ McCarthy earlier this month. “He always had the tools last year — running out to the left, throwing the ball to the right, stepping up to the pocket, deep ball, all that — he’s special, he’s different. He stepped up big time this year, I’ve seen a lot.”

Michigan football is striving for offensive balance, according to Sherrone Moore and others

Additionally, as AJ Barner mentioned, improving the passing attack does not mean taking away from the elite Michigan football rushing attack. As Sherrone Moore points out, this year’s offense is striving to be as balanced as it can possibly be in hopes of torching defenses and breaking through the Wolverines’ glass ceiling.

“We want to be 50/50 (pass and run),” Sherrone Moore explained. “I think there’s going to be games where that might not happen. We might see that the defense is taking one thing away, we might do the other. But we want to be as balanced as possible with sets, with the formations, how we do things making everything look the same. Very conscious of that when we put together the game plans and that’s something we’re very focused on doing throughout training camp.”

Thank you for reading Blue by Ninety. For more Michigan Athletics and Big Ten content from Blue by Ninety, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also subscribe to our YouTube Channel. For feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at Cj@BluebyNinety.com. Also, be sure to check out our shop and our podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all other streaming platforms. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing and most influential Michigan media outlets there is!