Michigan football already has the 'Beat Ohio drill.' Here's the new one for this season

Michigan football's identity for nearly a decade under former coach Jim Harbaugh was that of a physical team.

It seems that hasn't exactly changed under his successor, Sherrone Moore, who coordinated the offense that embodied that mentality last season and has carried a years-long mantra of "smash."

While the offensive line generally leads that charge, perhaps the only person on the roster they would take a backseat to is tight end/fullback hybrid Max Bredeson. The senior spoke Monday and smiled when he described the mentality of spring practices.

"Electric, it's awesome," Bredeson said. "The smash personality is like a real thing and something I love doing and (it's what) this whole team revolves around."

It's not that the Wolverines weren't physical last season, but with the benefit of such depth and experience across the board, the Wolverines opted to put a value on health over contact.

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Michigan protected its valued quarterback J.J. McCarthy at all cost, and put bubble wrap on Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards as they recovered from injuries.

This year, U-M is replacing at least 18 players who went to the NFL combine and on its search to fill in the missing gaps left over from the best team in program history, has implemented yet another new practice period.

"Michigan is always iron sharpens irons. We have the classic 'Beat Ohio drill,' which is a staple of Michigan football," Bredeson. (Now we have) the 'Quest to Atlanta drill,' same thing. Just physical practices, ones-on-ones, you're practicing against guys who could be than then guys you play during the season.

"It just helps everyone get better, so I'd say it's as physical as it's ever been."

The "Beat Ohio drill," was a runs-only portion of practice, where the team would go nine-on-seven and only be allowed to call run plays between the tackles. Former offensive lineman Trevor Keegan said it was one of the most physical portions of practice and that players would "rip smelling salts" before hand to get ready.

The "Quest to Atlanta drill" — the site of next year's national championship game — is built off of that.

"It's 11-on-11 beat Ohio, basically," Bredeson said. "Four downs, just offense vs. defense. Downhill style plays. Win games."

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Longer, more hitting, more physical

Though he wasn't there in years prior to see exactly what those drills looked like, Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe has been part of a Big Ten offensive line for the past four years and knowns physical play.

The guard spoke with media for the first time since he joined the Wolverines back in January and noted a few of the differences in the programs since he left Evanston, Illinois, among the top he mentioned was the physicality.

"Just the intensity overall, I think," Priebe said. "With certain things there's more time invested. Certainly with the practices. They're longer, there's more hitting, there's more just physical contact. That's one of those things that I know is going to make me better as a player.

"The practices I can already tell will make the games feel a lot easier."

Priebe said for starters, that comes with the nature of the talent in the program. Priebe may have the toughest practice assignment in America; working mostly at left guard, the 6-foot-5, 310-pound has to line up against perhaps the best defensive tackle combination in the country.

"First off, going against guys like Mason Graham and KG," he laughed. "There's no way that's not going to make you better."

For Priebe, the reputation around Michigan's strength and conditioning program was among the reasons he was interested in Ann Arbor. Moore said the staff was open with Priebe about Harbaugh's status and that Moore could be a likely successor and keep a lot of the structure in place.

U-M could also point to a track record of recent successful offensive line transfers, like Olusegun Oluwatimi from Virginia (now on the Seattle Seahawks) and NFL draft prospects Drake Nugent and LaDarius Henderson.

"Definitely a factor," he said. "Guys had a fifth year, extra year where ... they wanted to take their game to the next level and every one of those guys was able to and was extremely successful here."

'Standard you have to match'

Priebe, a Northwestern team captain last season named to the All-Big Ten third team, played in 36 games with 29 starts along the interior offensive line across his four seasons in Evanston, is the front runner to anchor the left side of the line along with Myles Hinton.

The two are already working on their chemistry and have agreed to go fishing sometime later this spring, which is likely at least in part what the Edwardsburg native was referencing when he said he felt right at home with his move.

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"One of the things you worry about as a transfer is how will the guys view me or accept me," he said. "But everybody's welcomed me with open arms. There hasn't been any tension or awkwardness. I've only been here for like three months, but it feels like I've been here for a year.

"A lot of people talk about the culture here, but until you become part of it, you don't know how great it is."

It's guys like Bredeson who've set that culture as team-first players and know talent alone is not enough to win. The motivation began after 2020, a season where the program bottomed out, it ballooned after a 2021 CFP semifinal loss to Georgia and reached a crescendo after losing to TCU in the 2022 CFP semifinal as a touchdown favorite.

What's the motivation now?

"Now it's more about that you've created a standard you have to match," he said. "The experiences you got to feel, I'll never forget those wins and I'll do anything to get back so that same point. You just want to feel that feeling again. I mean, you come here to win and that's all you want to do."

Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Here's Michigan football's new drill to establish 'smash' mentality