The Hoke Identity

Brian at MGoBlog brought up an interesting discussion of how the Michigan offense will evolve under Brady Hoke and Al Borges:

Rodriguez was an attempt to do the latter. Hoke is an attempt to do the former, or at least he seems like it. Borges is a wildcard. Maybe he's content to ramp his offense down into Tressel/Lloydball territory once the defense is truly locked in, but maybe Michigan will morph into a team with an identity on offense, even if that identity is the amorphous, ever-shifting non-identity Boise State and Stanford have used lately.

He concludes:

The early returns here are inconclusive since Borges is biding his time with Denard while recruiting Shane Morris. But they are encouraging, both when it comes to Hoke's game theory aggression and Borges's tendency to keep the pedal depressed when it makes sense to. Buried deep in his own territory up 17 against a Nebraska team that has struggled to move the ball, he'll run-run-punt; staked to a three point lead against Ohio State second down is for moving chains.

This discussion was spurred by the SmartFootball article on recruiting the spread versus the pro-style offense and specifically LSU and Alabama:

For the truly elite-level recruiting teams, I think the agnosticism of pro-style treats them well because they basically recruit incredible players and then figure out the system and scheme later. Moreover, spread offenses, option offenses, and really any pass-first offense (including West Coast attacks of which I’d put Georgia in the category) require very good quarterback play. Alabama and LSU are basically designed to win in spite of their quarterbacks; Nick Saban does not want to return an all world defense with a bunch of five-star playmakers and lose because his QB was a junior and had some “growing pains”, which absolutely happens at every level. … 

For everyone else having an identity and being somewhat contrarian helps a lot because it allows you to focus your recruiting on guys that can help you, and in many cases it means you don’t have to compete with some other teams for those guys. … Moreover, because you have a system with specific skills required, you can develop those skills. There are many examples, but think about how those Texas Tech teams under Leach always had four guys who could contribute and were open, even against the best Big 12 teams, because they’d worked on those skills every day for two years before they got in the game and had countless reps.

I believe Michigan is developing an identity. While Michigan is going to switch from the spread to the pro-style offense, I don't think the plays are the obstacle. Brian brings up the fact that Hoke is an aggressive play caller when it comes to game theory. Hoke has a penchant for going for it on fourth down and is not afraid to trust his defense. That's where the identity is coming from on a macro-level.

The style of play also reflects this aggression. Hoke has made it an emphasis to dominate the line play. He has also talked about running Power and playing Manball. This isn't necessarily about the play-calling so much as the style of play. Even with a mobile quarterback whose runs are more predicated on his speed and elusiveness, Hoke has talked about running with power and aggression. In reality, Power and Manball are symbolic of that aggressive style.

Michigan is going to win games by being stronger and more aggressive and by winning the battle of wills. That is what Hoke is trying to get his team to do. That's why Michigan is recruiting the players its recruiting. That's why Hoke is trying to bring in all of these large offensive and defensive linemen. These players reflect the style of play that Hoke wants Michigan to play. He wants players who are not only physically strong, but also players with mean streaks. A player like Erik Magnuson perfectly fits the Hoke idea of Michigan football.

As the defense gets stronger and better, I don't think Hoke will play a conservative football style similar to LSU and Alabama. I don't think he's afraid to try to score points. In fact, his strategy might be at the opposite end of the spectrum. Rather than having a restricted offense that relies on his defense to win games, he might be more aggressive with his offense because the defense can win games by shutting down the opponent.

As Brian mentions, Hoke will need the talent to make this happen. Right now, it's too early to project how Michigan will be, even with promising recruiting classes on the way. In an early verdict, I would say that Hoke is developing an identity at Michigan. As he brings in players that fit his system, we will see more of that. Even in the time being though, we're seeing the macro influence of Hoke's aggressive style.

That will be Michigan football.