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Jacoby, a former undrafted free agent out of the University of Louisville in 1981, was one of the key players on a Washington offensive line that dominated the 1980s and early 1990s.
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Previously: 2004 Michigan State, 1992-93 Rose Bowl We're back to break down another vintage Michigan Football game. This is the third game of the series and today we are jumping back in time another substantial amount to cover the 1978 clash between Michigan and Notre Dame in South Bend. It features a matchup of famed quarterbacks in Joe Montana of Notre Dame and Rick Leach of Michigan and is our first game of both the 1970s and Bo Schembechler's tenure as coach. It's also a significant game for historical purposes, as it was the first edition in the re-started rivalry between the two sides, the first meeting between Michigan and Notre Dame in 35 years. After this 1978 meeting, the Wolverines and Fighting Irish would play nearly every year for four decades before the end of the rivalry in the 2020s. The team: Michigan came into 1978 on the heels of back-to-back Big Ten Championships, which included wins over Ohio State. The 1976 and 1977 seasons were close to identical, perfect non-conference slates, 7-1 records in conference featuring one random loss but wins over both MSU/OSU, and then a loss in the Rose Bowl (to USC in '76 and to Washington in '77). The 1978 season was to be Rick Leach's senior year, the starting QB entering his fourth season at the helm of Bo Schembechler's option offense. Leach was one piece of the previous year's rushing attack that mostly all returned for '78, starting tailback Harlan Huckleby (743 rushing yards in '77) and fullback Russell Davis (1013 yards), as well as reserve back Roosevelt Smith (308 yards). Both Davis and Huckleby had been All-Big Ten in 1977, as had Leach. The blockers in front of them had seen some changeover. Just two returning starters rolled over to 1978, the right side of the line featuring Bill Dufek and John Powers, while the remainder of the line had headed off to the draft (LT Mike Kenn had gone on to be picked in the first round, starting an illustrious pro career). Thus, new starters Steve Nauta (C), Greg Bartnick (LG), and John Giesler (LT) were filling in on an offensive line. Due to the new faces, 1978 would be an offensive line that Craig would remember as "pedestrian". Michigan didn't pass the ball much during this period of the Schembechler era, Leach attempting 147 total passes in 1977 over 12 games (he'd up that to 158 in 1978), but when he did throw he would be targeting returning starters at receiver spots. TE Gene Johnson was back for his senior season, while 1977's leading receiver Ralph Clayton (wingback) was also a senior starter. The 1978 team would give more attention to some relatively new faces, Doug Marsh being a breakout contributor at TE and true freshman tailback Butch Woolfolk seizing a key part of the offense (Lawrence Reid re-emerged to get 50 carries as well). The Wolverines had cobbled together a good offense in '77, but these new contributors and increased experience at the skill positions would take it to another gear, from 17th in scoring offense to 4th in 1978. [Bentley Historical Library] On defense, Michigan was still running a 3-4 under DC Bill McCartney (Jack Harbaugh was DBs coach at this time). Along the line, Dale Keitz and Curtis Greer were returning starters at middle guard and shortside tackle, respectively, with Greer becoming the star of the line in 1978. Chris Godfrey rounded out the defensive front, but more stars were found at the ILB/OLB level. Ron Simpkins was a returning starter at ILB and like Greer, he'd raise his game to superstar status in 1978 en route to being an All-American in '79. Bob Hollway, Mark DeSantis, Tom Seabron, and Jerry Meter were part of the group rounding out this position, Meter also earning All-Big Ten honors in 1978. The defensive backfield featured 1st Team All-Big Ten honoree Mike Jolly and a combination of Mark Braman and Gerald Diggs stepping up to take a starting role at halfback (corner in modern terms). Mike Harden was a fresh-faced starter at free safety and would earn all-conference honors, while the strong safety spot (known as the "wolf" at the time) entered the year with a competition between Stuart Harris and Dan Murray. As a whole, only five starters returned on defense but it wouldn't matter, Michigan finishing with the second-best scoring defense in the country in 1978, allowing only 8.8 points per game against. As Craig remembers the depth chart: "when you just look at the names, the offense was better. But the defense really achieved, except against MSU. Nobody moved the ball but MSU on us". Not bad. [AFTER THE JUMP: The game]
The University of Michigan has certainly produced its share of stars in NFL history. There are numerous former Wolverines in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The new phonebook's here, but since they don't list weight changes in spring there's even less than usual to glean from the updated rosters. The big notes: Jalen Perry is gone. Alessandro Lorenzetti moved to DL. Kalel Mullings is an LB/RB. Order of the positions seems significant? The new guys have numbers, and some of them have interesting weights. Also there were some position changes among younger players. So let's be thorough anyways. DEPARTURES One guy in Michigan remembers Perry. [Patrick Barron] The only one that wasn't announced already was cornerback Jalen Perry. Can't say that's much of a surprise since he barely played in four years, and when he'd get mention it was behind all the freshmen. Aside from his special teams work (see photo above), he did get in as Michigan's backup nickel last year, in non-competitive situations. Here's the the full list of guys not back from last year's roster, with destinations and years of eligibility remaining where applicable. Quarterback: Cade McNamara (Iowa, 2), Alan Bowman (Oklahoma State, 1), and walk-ons Peyton Smith and Andy Maddox Running Back: Everybody's back. Wide Receiver: Ronnie Bell (NFL, 1), Andrel Anthony (Oklahoma, 2), Matthew Harrison Tight End: Luke Schoonmaker (NFL, 1), Erick All (Iowa, 2), Joel Honigford, Louis Hansen (UConn, 3), and Carter Selzer. Offensive Line: Olu Oluwatimi, Ryan Hayes (NFL, 1), Mica Gelb, and Kraig Correll Defensive Tackle: Mazi Smith (NFL, 2), George Rooks (Boston College, 3) Edge: Mike Morris (NFL, 2), Eyabi Okie (Charlotte, 1), Taylor Upshaw (Colorado, 1), Julius Welschof (Charlotte, 1) Linebacker: Deuce Spurlock (Florida, 4), Ryan Zimmerman Safety: Everybody's back. Cornerback/Nickel: DJ Turner (NFL, 2), Gemon Green (NFL, 1), Jalen Perry (Unknown, 2), Jahre Fish. Specialists: Jake Moody, Brad Robbins, and Rhett Anderson POSITION CHANGES Everybody give a demi-yay for for Mullings being an "LB/RB" now. [Bryan Fuller] The big one everyone's talking about is Amorion Walker to cornerback. He's listed as a WR/DB on the roster. The big one that we didn't know about is Alessandro Lorenzetti has been moved to defensive line in place of Dominick Giudice, whose move to offensive line was known about last year. I don't know what to make of Lorenzetti. This program does try its deep depth at other positions sometimes, if only to get them some snaps, and Lorenzetti came in more of a raw frame than a football player. It probably means they feel Lorenzetti is years away from helping on the offensive line, and that they want to shore up depth at defensive tackle after moving Giudice and coming up one guy short at the position in recruiting. It probably downgrades Lorenzetti's ceiling a few notches, since deep depth positions switches are often the first step to irrelevance (see: Jack Stewart, Phil Paea). Of particular interest to me is Chibi Anwunah moving to tight end. Chibi was a super under-the-radar guy they found who's rumored to have Ojabo-level athleticism. Both positions require lots of it, but the fact that Elston was willing to let him try something else suggests he maybe preferred to focus on the almost-as-raw recruits he brought in. Kalel Mullings is officially an "LB/RB." Half-Yay! issued: Ya It's interesting that they list LB first; that position is suddenly stacked, while he's probably the #3 guy at running back if that's his focus, with a clear path to starting next year if/when Corum/Edwards leave. Micah Pollard moved from Edge to LB. This was something that happened during the season, since they needed linebackers, and he was always kind of a Jaylen Harrell-esque tweener. Noah Stewart moved from OL to TE. Stewart was a 6'7"/283 offensive tackle last year, his fourth in the program. With a redshirt and a COVID year he's got a couple years left. Probably nothing, but he also could be their Honigford this season. And for completion's sake, James Kavouklis is just a long-snapper now (lost his OL/ designation) and walk-on center Peter Simmons was moved to defensive tackle. He was a 6'2"/291 redshirt sophomore last year. [After THE JUMP: The new numbers, weight changes, twelves.]
The freshman class that Michigan signed last week is ranked 17th in the 247 composite rankings, 17th to Rivals, and 19th to On3, The class has, pending their pursuit of 5-star Nyckoles Harbor in the later signing period, zero top-100 players. This is quite clearly below the level Michigan normally recruits at. To have a class like that after a second straight year of beating Ohio State by three scores, winning the Big Ten championship, and going to the Playoff is, without question, a disappointment. I'm one of the people who kept saying over the first half-decade of Harbaugh that beating Ohio State was the key to unlocking a higher level of recruiting. So far, it has not. This has led to two major questions about the 2023 class, which might be seen as the optimistic and pessimistic versions of the same question: Pessimist: Why is a 13-0 Michigan recruiting like 8-5 Michigan? Optimist: Is this class like the 2018 class? Every other question is another form of what this all signifies. Is Michigan doing something wrong? Is Michigan systemically disadvantaged in a new pay-for-play world? Was this wound self-inflicted, bad luck, overstated, or even worth discussing? Is Warde Manuel a second Fritz Crisler who's too cheap, too conservative, and too obstinately attached to outdated ideals of amateurism to keep up in a landscape rapidly reshaping to a new more capitalist order, while simultaneously too revered to be dispensed with? I can't answer all of that. But I can tell you what happened with the 2018 class, and what that means for the very similar 2022 class. [After THE JUMP: the 2018 recruiting tag is revived]
As expected, six finalists were announced for the fourth Bill Fralic Memorial Award, which honors the top senior football interior lineman in the WPIAL.