In the Trenches 585 - Blake Frazier Transcript
5/6/2026 9:28:00 AM | MGoBlue Podcasts
Jon Jansen • 00:00
Well, we sure got a lot to get to today. We're going to talk schedule, we'll talk strengths of weaknesses on both sides of the football here for Michigan Football. But the headliner today is an offensive lineman and a guy that I've known for a long time, Blake Frazier, offensive tackle going into another year here at Michigan Football. His third year with a lot of experience. He's going to join me after seven from seventy seven on In the Trenches.
[music builds]
Jeff Laurence • 00:28
Welcome to the official podcast of Michigan Football in the Trenches with Jon Jansen presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. Nobody covers Michigan football better than the two time captain, national champion and Michigan athletics hall of honor inductee.
Blake Frazier • 00:50
We know we're going to be able to run the ball. We know that we can rush for as many as we need to. But at the end of the day in this league you have to be able to throw the football. And that was something that we've struggle with as long as I've been here. So that's, that's been our big focus is maintaining the pocket for Bryce.
Jeff Laurence • 01:04
This is in the Trenches presented by Meijer. Once again, here's Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 01:10
Welcome back friends. And yes, the countdown has begun. One hundred twenty two days. That takes us right up to kickoff and I don't know what time it's going to be against Western Michigan in the big house. The pregame will begin three hours ahead of time. Tailgate show, pregame, all that stuff you'll hear Jason Avant, Brian Boesch, myself, Doug Karsch, the entire, Jack Miller, the entire team will be there. So I have already started preparation. I hope you guys have as well. Again, one hundred twenty two days and we'll get to the aforementioned Brian Boesch in just a moment. But hey, already out. Want to let you know what's going on at M GO Blue podcast. Defend the Block with Kyle Church. He's an assistant coach and general manager for Michigan men's basketball. Still to come on Conqu'ring Heroes on Thursday. Hey, it's baseball season and our team is rolling right along.
Jon Jansen • 02:07
We're going to have ace Kurt Barr. He's going to join us and the the Wolverines right now pushing for a Big Ten tournament where they are going to be positioned and hopefully a spot in the NC two A tournament. So a lot going on still in Michigan athletics at this time. I want to bring in the man I already mentioned who was going to join us september fifth. Hey, mister Brian Boesch, how you doing?
Brian Boesch • 02:32
You know, it's funny you mentioned the kickoff times. I did go back to look because we're going to start looking ahead more. Right. The next real key juncture for the team is fall camp, which I still always love. Fall camp starts in the heart of summer, but last year the, I think it was five or six games that were coming out for the start time was late May. So again, this is just a guess. I, I still think we have a few more weeks to go. What I wish, Jon Jansen is that we could get a draft like coverage of how they figure out what of these networks get a chance to do these games. We all know what the number one overall pick is from Fox with Michigan, Ohio State. But with some of the behind the scenes NFL draft stuff that's come out here, some interesting Cowboys intel that we've seen from them. How about that video of them and the Dolphins going down to the very, very end for that one pick swap?
Jon Jansen • 03:29
Yeah.
Brian Boesch • 03:30
An elaborate way to try to stall and then have the Cowboys swing in there and make their pick. But we're getting there soon. But I would eat up what it would be like to break down what game times are set. I know you'd be sitting there with your, your twelve oh one shirt on.
Jon Jansen • 03:45
Oh yeah, absolutely. Yeah. And my James Franklin pom poms, I mean, hey, cheering for those, those noon starts. And he'll never get a free pass on, on this program. There's no question about it.
Brian Boesch • 03:59
And so yeah, Virginia Tech coverage here on in the Trenches.
Jon Jansen • 04:02
Right. But so I, I go through the schedule, right. And I'm starting to think, okay, which ones could be night games and what other parameters are in place. Like it's, it's unique that the Michigan State game is in November and when that game happens after the time change, daylight savings time turns to wintertime, then all of a sudden, hey, that game can no longer be a night game. The latest it could be is a three thirty start, maybe a four o'. Clock. So you start to get some idea of if that one's off the board for a night game. And you're looking at, well, you know, we've had a whole bunch of these, you know, game one week, one night games. I do think Western Michigan will probably be one of those that starts a little bit later and then you're hosting Oklahoma. What do they do with that one? Does that become a Fox big noon kickoff? Like I haven't gone the deep dive in to see who else is playing in week two, but you know, I do play those games.
Jon Jansen • 05:00
Throughout the course of, of the next one hundred twenty two days. Because I want to find out, hey, what are the odds of this one being a noon game or maybe a three thirty start? And which ones are we going to have to sit around all day and just simply wait?
Brian Boesch • 05:19
I would be pretty surprised if Fox among there because they don't get just the first pick. They've got a pretty good amount of, what do you want to call it, Tier one, round one type of games. I would be pretty surprised just guessing, no inside information here. If the Oklahoma game or anything other than noon. That feels like potentially the number two or three pick for Fox. After of course number one being Michigan, Ohio State. But yeah, the reality with how this places out for week one, there just aren't very many good games for a Big Ten team in week one. On Saturday just pulling up the schedule. I mean the only power conference clashes for a Big Ten team in week one is UCLA at Cal.
Jon Jansen • 06:05
Ohio State play Texas again?
Brian Boesch • 06:08
No, they do, but it's not week one. Oh, or do they play Texas week this year?
Jon Jansen • 06:15
I, I thought that was a, a home and home it is for them. I could be wrong. I'm not sure if, if, if, if your little magic fingers can, can do the work for us.
Brian Boesch • 06:26
Week two, they are in Austin. So I again I can almost guarantee you based on that that Michigan, Oklahoma will be the noon kick. And then because the SEC gets the, the rights to Ohio State at Texas unless Amazon pops in if following that basketball story, they would get that night game with Fowler, Herbstreit, all of that. But yeah, I mean outside of the only other game that really has some juice to it is Boise State at Oregon. Maybe that's the NBC seven hundred thirty, but I think those are the only two kind of marquee games. Washington State at Washington, week one. Like you're just not. The one game that has some juice in the Big Ten is Notre Dame against Wisconsin at Lambeau. But that's Sunday. Doesn't matter.
Jon Jansen • 07:11
Yeah, so it's, yeah, there's, there's a
Brian Boesch • 07:13
lot of talk about this.
Jon Jansen • 07:15
Yes, yes.
Jon Jansen • 07:15
But hey, I got to get my notes ready now for the pregame show, the tailgate show, the broadcast. Like it all the, all that preparation begins. It's never too early to start thinking about those Broncos of Western Michigan.
Brian Boesch • 07:30
And hey, it's here and not far away. So that's.
Jon Jansen • 07:33
That's right.
Jon Jansen • 07:34
Yes.
Brian Boesch • 07:35
Eight home games starting september fifth. Let's get into our seven from seventy seven because when we do sit here in early May, that means a Graduation weekend has come and gone in Ann Arbor. Of course, we focus on the football side here and in the trenches ninety nine point nine percent of the time. Same on the basketball side with Defend the Block, Conqu'ring Heroes, all of it. But hey, a degree from the University of Michigan, invaluable. It's one hell of an accomplishment. So as, as a Michigan graduate, what comes to mind when you have, what just took place here, other than what I'll always say is I've, I've been here now for what, seven years in town every graduation weekend has had bad to awful weather. And that would continue this, this time around. It was quite chilly for early May. But what comes to mind, well, it
Jon Jansen • 08:20
all depends on what you feel is bad weather. I mean, hey, a chilly graduation if you're going to be in your cap and gown and I'd rather be cool and, and possibly cold versus, you know, sweating my, my, my butt off.
Brian Boesch • 08:35
So Jon, you will be cool?
Jon Jansen • 08:38
I, I, well, yeah, that day is not today. Hopefully it's september fifth, one hundred and twenty two days away. Funny you should mention it, Brian, but it's, you know, so the memories that, that of Ann Arbor, it's some of, okay, I'll, I'll go through some of them that you kind of, if you've been to graduation weekend in Ann Arbor, you know that there's absolutely nowhere to park and move in and move out of the dorms is absolute insanity. And that, I mean, that's all part of the equation. People moving out of their, their, their houses and, and you know, others moving in. As you're trying to find a renter for the summer because you don't want to be paying for, you know, rent throughout the course of the summer when you're at home, all of those things are going on. So there's a lot of hustle and bustle and I always love seeing the cap and gowns walking around town.
Jon Jansen • 09:30
I didn't walk. And it, it's kind, I don't necessarily know that I regret it. If I had to go back and do it again, I would probably do it. And here's something that they have that they didn't have when I was a student athlete is the student athlete graduation, which I think is really cool. All the athletes are in one spot and you know, you got somebody, I've emceed it before. They do a tremendous job of celebrating because every, every school is going to have their graduation, right? Kinesiology has theirs, Ellison A is going to have theirs. And then you have the big One on Saturday. So all of those things are going on and you can never celebrate. I think, you know, graduating college too many times. So if you're doing the student athlete one, you're doing your school one, you do the big one. Like, it's, it's a lot to expect the parents and more to expect of siblings.
Jon Jansen • 10:19
But, hey, we graduated, right? It's the last time. But the, the student athlete graduation, it's just unique because there are a lot of things that you do throughout your career at Michigan where you're crossing paths with a lot of the athletes and you socialize together and you get to know them and then all of a sudden, hey, your paths don't cross for a year. But then you see everybody at graduation and it's just, it's one of those. It brings back memories of whether you've been there four years, five years help. Seven or eight years these days, it doesn't matter. You just have more memories. But it's, it's. Those are some of the things that, that I think about when graduation weekend comes around.
Brian Boesch • 11:00
I was worried you were not going to get a job as a recruiter there for the University of Michigan after the first part of your answer. Well, the traffic sucks, parking's awful, movement's bad. But hey, go blue.
Jon Jansen • 11:12
If you want the straight truth, the God's honest truth of what's going on, I'll always shoot you straight. There's always good and bad and, but, but the thing about it is when I, I tried to, you know, buffer it a little bit about talking about the, the hustle and bustle around a college town, because when it's done now, Ann Arbors never becomes a ghost town. But when you can drive down State street and find a parking spot, all right, there's not a lot of people in town. If you're driving up, you know, hill or, or any of those streets and you're, you're, you don't have to slam on the brakes because a pedestrian walks right in front of you, like, quote, unquote, it's a ghost town. And I love the fact that it's kind of that last little bit before we get to the fall where all the students are there, families are there. It's a time of celebration. And yeah, there's a lot going on.
Jon Jansen • 12:06
And you can talk about the parking, the traffic, all that stuff, but there's a certain fun to all of that chaos.
Brian Boesch • 12:13
No doubt. All right, number two on our seven from seventy seven, we're going to ask you to tell it like it is to shoot everybody straight as we talk about where this team is now after spring ball. And it's a good checkpoint for us. Of course, May a big recruiting month for the coaches, for the players, a chance to reset a little bit. So status check time, strengths and weaknesses, offense and defense. We'll start with the offense and with strengths. How would you, how would you perceive Michigan's offensive strengths to look right now?
Jon Jansen • 12:43
I think, okay, so I'm going to say experience is going to be one which should cut down on a lot of the mistakes and you would expect with the new staff, new system, some of those mistakes happen in that western game. You want to get them out of the way before you play Oklahoma. But the experience of, you know, Bryce now all of a sudden, hey, second year quarterback, still a work in progress, there's no question about that. But he's got those games from last year and the experience of playing against Oklahoma, the experience of playing against Ohio State and all of those different things that should pay off. It's Jordan Marshall in the backfield, like he was what, sixteen yards away from a thousand yard season last year. He got some great experience. Blake Frazier, Sprague, Guarnera up front, those guys. You know, Blake was thrown into it midseason, but great experience for him.
Jon Jansen • 13:36
And then you start thinking about the three different positions at the guard, you know, two different positions, but three guys that we kind of think are going to be competing for him. A phobia link. And Norton, again, you've got really good experience. Zach Marshall at tight end, getting Hogan Hansen back, who had experience two years ago. Like when you start going through the list of players that are going to be fresh on the scene, you're talking about a guy like Salesi Moa, who's a freshman, but he was here for spring ball. And so JJ Buchanan, while he's new to the program, he's not new to college football. So you've got experience there as well. Jamie Ffrench, Andrew Marsh in his second year, like this should be a very experienced offense. So I think even though it's still young, having that experience is a huge positive for this football team.
Jon Jansen • 14:29
And you know, just to capitalize on that, when you have a running back like Jordan Marshall and a quarterback that has the ability to run and then throw in their Savion Hiter and you know, okay, we don't know exactly what we have in Savion Hiter, I think this guy is the limit. But to have the threat of the quarterback run, and we heard it from Coach Whittingham we heard it from Jason Beck, like they're going to utilize his legs this year. You pair that with the run game, it will help the pass game. Like I think that is a huge strength, you know, going into this year.
Brian Boesch • 15:05
All right, number three on our seven from seventy seven. Let's flip it. Stay on the offense. But some areas of improvement needed and what realistically can be done between now and camp to get some of those things at least improved, if not completely cleaned up.
Jon Jansen • 15:19
So I started talking about Bryce. I'll talk about him some more. And it's just the mechanics, it's footwork, it's all the things that we didn't expect him to be perfect as a freshman. Some did, but the realistic expectations went, hey, it's a learning curve now. Taking what he saw and focusing on how he's supposed to, you know, even just receive the ball from center in a shotgun, you know, what do you do as soon as you get the ball? Where do your hands go on the ball? You know, how are you setting your feet if it's, if you're, you're setting back two steps, like what is, what does it look like to set on that right foot and then move forward? All of those things and then the throwing mechanics, those are things that he's going to have to work on through his entire career. But to getting to a baseline where we expect him to be a great player and you've got to have those mechanics in place.
Jon Jansen • 16:11
It will help the offense. It will. And most importantly, it's going to help him complete more balls to our team and, and just be in better position throughout the course of, of running those, those passing routes. And when I talk about, you know, techniques like that's really where I see the biggest need on the, on this offense. You've. The pass protection during the spring game wasn't ideal and it wasn't ideal with rushing four and it was, you know, twists. You don't really see anybody losing one on one battles. But how am I setting the awareness of what a pre snap look looks like and you know, anticipating is this, you know, end that's in front of me. Is he going to pinch across my face or is he going to, you know, is he going to stay in as an outside rusher? All of those things need to continue to progress. So if you know what's going to happen before the snap of the ball now I could get myself in a better position.
Jon Jansen • 17:14
Doesn't mean it's exactly what's going to happen, but you got to have some of that anticipation and then just fine tuning the offense, the verbiage, all of the different things. And, and it's, it's not just the players that got to pick up the new offense and learn new things. It's the coaching staff that is continually learning what's the best skill set that each guy has. How can I put them in position to be successful? What does that look like when I put all of it together as an offense? And so those are some of the things that I wouldn't necessarily call them weaknesses. I would just say things that need to continue to be tinkered with throughout the course of the off season.
Brian Boesch • 17:53
We will do the defensive side of things, strengths and weaknesses momentarily. But first, Jon, a word from our friends at Original Roofing Company.
Jon Jansen • 18:00
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Brian Boesch • 18:47
All right, number four on our seven from seventy seven strengths defense for twenty twenty six as we sit here now, Jon Jansen.
Jon Jansen • 18:54
Well, as I look at it, I think that one of the strengths should be the ability to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks. And we have, we didn't get a chance to see John Henry Daley on the field in the spring ball. By all reports, you know, he's talked about it, coaches talked about it. June first is a big checkup for him if he gets the clearance. Now all of a sudden you've got John Henry Daley, Cam Brandt, Nate Marshall, Dom Nichols. We'll take a look at Carter Meadows when he gets on campus. But I think there's plenty of options at the defensive edge position to apply pressure. Now inside we talk about the, you know, hey Jay Hill defensive quarter said they're they, they should have two elite defensive tackles, Trey Pierce and Enow Etta. I'm not expecting those guys to have high sack numbers but what I do expect, those are two big powerful bodies that they are going to collapse the pocket so the quarterback doesn't have Any room to step up, they are going to push the depth of that pocket and push that quarterback out to those edge guys.
Jon Jansen • 19:59
That's where you get those double digit sack numbers. And even if it's not one guy that's over double digit sex. I know John Henry Daley's coming in. I think he had eleven and a half or ten and a half last year at Utah. You know you should have a whole bunch, you should have three or four guys that are right in that minimum six to ten or eleven sacks. And if you can do that, that to me is. And I expect that. That's why I'm talking about it as a strength. I think that's going to be huge for this defense. And on the back end you've got some really good high end talent. And you know, hey Sug, we've talked about him for a couple of years now. His talent has never been a question. What I saw in spring ball, what I've seen through him for is, is a kid that's really the, I don't want to say the light bulb's going on because we've seen it before, but it's a level of consistency that he was playing with and just his temperament around the building seems like it.
Jon Jansen • 20:57
This is one that I expect big things out of him. Zeke Berry, another guy where he's played every position in the secondary and, and I think he is, is primed for a big year.
Brian Boesch • 21:11
All right, number five, Jon. Areas to improve on that defensive side of things. Obviously Michigan twenty twenty five season was leaned upon with the defense that took a little bit of time to get going. How do they avoid that here in twenty six?
Jon Jansen • 21:27
Well, so I don't know if these are necessarily need improvement, but they're just question marks and I, I have a lot of excitement about this linebacker group. Chase Taylor I think is going to be an absolute stud. Troy Bowles, with his football iq, what we saw last year, Owusu-Boateng I'm really excited to see but there's a question mark in regards to, hey, who are the starters going to be and what level of play? Nathaniel Staehling, the transfer from, from North Dakota State, I, I think he kind of reminds me how he plays and his numbers kind of represent what we got from Cole Sullivan last year. And I think that might be. I don't know if it's a one for one swap but I've got a lot of expectations for him. And so yeah there's, there's a question mark because it's not necessarily proven and a Lot of the guys that we were talking about last year are no longer with the program.
Jon Jansen • 22:24
So that to me is, is something that I just want to see those guys really get into the playbook because when we heard from Jay Hill, he talked about how complicated this defense can be. You're going to have to have not just great play from your linebackers, but you're going to have to get great football awareness. And hey, they're the ones that connect the back end and the front end, like the communication from, hey, this is what we're doing. And tell the defensive lineman, here's the play call, here's the personnel letting the, the secondary know and making sure that everybody is on the same page. That to me is, is just, I need to see it. And then in the secondary, I know Rod talks about he, he's going to be a full go Rod Moore. I, I just, I, I want to see it. It's been two years and if he is, that's going to be a huge positive, you know. And, and I just, I mentioned the, the fact that Jyaire Hill has all the talent now.
Jon Jansen • 23:23
I need to see it and it needs to progress. Same thing with Zeke Barry, but I think with, with Smith Snowden at one of the corner or nickel positions, Jo'Ziah Edmond, Jamarion Vincent, Shamari Earls, there's just on. I used experience as a positive on the offense. I just haven't seen it from some of those guys. Like Shamari was hurt at the beginning of last year and it, it set him back a little bit. I just need to see a little bit more. Chris Bracy, the transfer from Memphis, I think he's going to be a huge addition. Mason Curtis, he's got some experience, he adds to that, to that room. But it's just a matter of I only need to see it. I have expectations, but I just don't know what it's going to look like.
Brian Boesch • 24:11
Yeah, the Rod Moore storyline is so simple in that it really is a matter of if he's healthy. We could talk about it if we wanted to and, and discuss his potential impact, but we all know if healthy, Rod Moore is going to have a huge impact on the team. So I don't want to undersell that. It's just as we've discussed in the past, it's tough for us to really break down because it's really, in a lot of ways it's pass fail. Right. If Rod Moore plays and plays a full season, Rod Moore's probably going to have a huge impact on this team. On this defense and if he doesn't, then obviously that changes the math pretty significantly. But I just wanted to underline, italicize the Rod Moore point. Not a whole lot to break down, but if he plays, he's going to have a chance to really impact things here. Number six on our seven from seventy seven. We're four months away from the opener, so I wanted to talk a little bit about the schedule we did off the top of the show.
Jon Jansen • 25:04
I gave you the exact days.
Brian Boesch • 25:07
Hey, four months.
Jon Jansen • 25:08
One hundred twenty two days.
Brian Boesch • 25:09
Twenty two days. Thank you. Math hashtag. I want to gauge what games you expect Michigan to be an underdog in and realizing that the look ahead lines that, that are out or will be out are obviously subject to change.
Jon Jansen • 25:24
Yes.
Brian Boesch • 25:25
So let's talk about when we get to game week. Which games do you expect Michigan to be an underdog in which I think adds to the layer of this to discuss is how much of an ascending team do you expect Michigan to be? And are you of the belief that the tier one in the Big Ten, from what I've seen a lot, is some combination of Ohio State, Oregon and Indiana, all of whom are on Michigan schedule?
Jon Jansen • 25:55
Yep. And so I, I, I, I one hundred percent agree with that assessment. And I'll throw another team in there that I think is there's question marks and they need to prove it. But they've got a very, an experienced quarterback coming back in, Jayden Maiava, and that's usc. I think they are primed to have a big year. And so I, I think they're going to be in the mix. And when you look at a lot of these, you know, hey, you know, futures and you look at what the expectations are, they're kind of in that same, same area of Michigan where the, the questions about Michigan is, hey, new coaching staff, a lot of new players, a lot of fresh blood and, and the whole new player fresh blood that's across college football. And so you could kind of make that a blanket statement, but I am curious to see what Lincoln Riley and this version of USC is going to be with Jayden Maiava under center or at least in the shotgun.
Jon Jansen • 26:58
But I think as I go through the original question, I believe was which ones do I expect to be underdogs in? And I would expect in week two, Michigan will be an underdog against Oklahoma. There were, you know, college Football playoff team.
Brian Boesch • 27:13
Interesting. So right now, and that's the one line that is out there, at least that I can see. And Michigan is a two and a half point favorite. Okay, so, so that One is out. I, I don't, obviously we'll, we'll see what happens. Week one. Something can change and, and, and money can change it all that. But right now Michigan is a slight, Basically Vegas is telling you it's a push, they believe it's a push on a neutral field and giving the, the home field advantage aspect to Michigan. Oklahoma plays UTEP Week one. Michigan plays Western Michigan. Don't anticipate a whole lot of information to be gleaned. But yes, right now Michigan's a favorite.
Jon Jansen • 27:53
I think, I think common sense would tell you that by the time you get to October, all of these numbers are going to change. And if, if all the lines are out before the, before the season starts, Indiana is going to be a favorite coming to Ann Arbor when we get there. I don't necessarily know that it's going to be the case because there's, there's some expectations. Obviously the defending national championship has, or national champion has. But when you look at, you know, Indiana in regards to Josh Hoover, you know, he's a transfer, he's coming in from tcu, a high profile transfer. We saw what, what it meant for, for Indiana last year. They lost a lot on their offensive line. They lost a lot of lot on that on the, in their entire defense. When you talk about defensive tackles, signal caller and playmaker as a linebacker on the back end, they lost some playmakers.
Jon Jansen • 28:53
And I, and I do think that they, I don't think that they repeat as national champs. I don't even know that they repeat as Big Ten champs by the time we get there with what I think Michigan should be and what I think Indiana probably will be, there's a chance. Michigan's favorite in that game, but going into it, you know, won't be favored Oregon. Michigan will be a dog going into that game. You know, it's the whole time zone thing, it's Dante Moore, it's everything that Oregon is and making that trip out there. And I'm guessing Ohio State, there'll probably be dogs in that game too, but we know what that means. Not a damn thing.
Brian Boesch • 29:29
Tell them. All right, number seven on our seven from seventy seven. We got Blake Frazier coming up on the audio side and then about five minutes or so, got a few good questions to get to hang tight. We'll do that on the live YouTube stream here momentarily. So you mentioned those games Oklahoma, Indiana at Oregon at Ohio State. Those are clear pivot points on the schedule. With this schedule, ten and two. However Michigan gets there or better would get Michigan into The College Football Playoff, I think almost certainly. Right. We all know that weird stuff could take place with what the data we have on, on a twelve team playoff model. If Michigan with this schedule goes ten and two or better, they're going to be in the playoff. So the overly simplistic way to look at this is split those four win out. I'm going to take out. I didn't realize UTEP plays both Michigan and Oklahoma.
Brian Boesch • 30:19
Week one at Oklahoma, Week three at Michigan and I'll also take out the Western Michigan game the other six. So the, the, the three Big Ten games were discarding the, the pivot points. I just want you to get one to ten. How worried are you for these following games Based on that theory of hey, if you want to get to the playoff, almost certainly you're going to have to win every one of these games starting with home against Iowa week four.
Jon Jansen • 30:49
So one to ten, I'll give that one least concern.
Brian Boesch • 30:53
Ten being most concerned.
Jon Jansen • 30:57
I'll give that one a six. And we know that coach Parker, the defensive coordinator is going to, is always going to have a solid defense offensively. Last year, and this is something I didn't know until I started, you know, doing some research on this, the Iowa offense last year with. I think it's. Is it Heck Linsky? Yeah. Heck Linsky is their quarterback. They averaged just over twenty nine points a game and they scored over thirty five. I want to say it was like three times. And to me that, that blew my mind. Like I, that's not something you think about when you think about a Kirk Ferentz coached Iowa offense. It just isn't. If they continue that and you pair that with a good defense, hey, yeah, they're coming to the big house. They're always going to be physical. I think Michigan matches up with them extremely well. So I'm going to give it a six. So it's, it's, you know, I'm certainly not panicked but you've got to be aware when they show up that it's going to be a slugfest.
Brian Boesch • 32:00
They have the type of game that travels well.
Jon Jansen • 32:03
Yes.
Brian Boesch • 32:03
And I keep thinking back to last year. I mean Iowa, their losses came against some of the cream of the crop. They were the closest team until Miami of beating Indiana or Penn State. I guess Penn State was pretty close, but that did not happen obviously. But yeah, I, that one concerns me a little bit. Especially, especially if Michigan falters in week two against Oklahoma. If you're sitting there where that could be a real. If Michigan's three, zero at that point, obviously you don't want to, you want to keep pushing the envelope. But if you get to that point where it could very much be to the perception of others, a an announcement of which of those two teams is a real playoff threat in, in the Big Ten, that could be it. Road at Minnesota. This will be Michigan's first road game. Rowing the boat up to Minneapolis.
Jon Jansen • 32:52
Probably a two a big talent drop off in the last couple of years for Minnesota. You know, in the, in recent history, right, they've had a couple of playmakers in the secondary. They've had. I've always going to have a big offensive line, but we match up size for size with them and you know, you even have to go back maybe four or five years to where they had some guys that were playmakers on the edge as receivers. Now, I'm not saying that they're, they're not going to show up, but I, I just don't see that as, as a huge concern for Michigan. We'll be able to row that boat up there and row right on back. In fact, let's motorboat back
Brian Boesch • 33:34
four months. Four months. All right. Penn State at home. This one feels like the one that could fluctuate the most between now and its arrival because this is Penn State's start of the schedule and I'm not going to knock Coach Campbell out there for this because you don't really have much of a say in your schedule early on in a. A ten year coaching. But home against Marshall, against Temple, I. That's in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial, home of the Eagles, home against Buffalo, home against Wisconsin at Northwestern, home against un usc. So obviously that, you know that, that USC game will be important. Maybe that'll be the Whiteout game. I don't know if that's come out yet. But I mean they're not going to be all that tested until the week before. How would you gauge all that Penn State has added with basically just a little bit of Iowa State East.
Jon Jansen • 34:32
And so I think the biggest transfer to keep an eye on in the Big Ten is going to be Rocco Becht, quarterback. He's coming like he's very familiar with the system. He's coming in to operate as a transfer that he was with Matt Campbell with that staff, with a lot of the players that, that he's going to be playing with in Happy Valley, in Ames. And so I think that is, I think that was a huge poll and not a surprise, right, that your quarterback would come with you. But how does his game translate to the Big Ten. And so that's going to be a big question mark and we will get a chance to see what that looks like. I'm just, I'm so glad that they play USC the week before. USC is going to have some speed. They've gotten bigger up front. What does this Penn State team look like with all the Iowa State transfers, with all the other transfers that came in along with some of the guys that stuck around that were already in Happy Valley, like they had a lot of talent to begin with, just didn't do much with it.
Jon Jansen • 35:32
What does that look like for a coach they've got a lot of respect for?
Brian Boesch • 35:36
And Michigan will be coming off a buy. They have that road game at Minnesota, october third, bye week, and then it's Penn State. So give me a number for Penn State.
Jon Jansen • 35:44
Oh, Penn State. Shoot, that, that one is so tough. I'd probably put them on par with, with Iowa. Right. It's, it's, it's probably a six. I think there are going to be some bumps in the transition with the new program. I don't think he goes there like Curt Cignetti did to Indiana. Even though, you know, you would think that that would translate extremely well. What, what happened in Indiana is just so unique.
Brian Boesch • 36:08
Sure. Yeah. As we talked about, it's broken college football in a lot of ways. But Penn State schedule, I'll tell you, it's pretty manageable. After Michigan, home against Purdue, at Washington, home against Minnesota, home against Rutgers at Maryland. From a schedule standpoint, year one, Penn State could be this year's Indiana from two years ago, where, hey, last year's Indiana, that's an all time team. I will, I will tip my cap. Two years ago, Indiana, there was some fraudulence to it because of the schedule that could be outside of that back to back home against usc, at Michigan. I mean it's.
Jon Jansen • 36:42
I was listening to you and I know they play Washington, but I didn't pick up where that game was.
Brian Boesch • 36:47
That is in Seattle. So that is, that is the third toughest game again. Yeah, not saying that. That's not like that's a tough game. But if, if you're, if that's your top three, home against USC, at Michigan and at Washington. And your fourth toughest game of the season is what? At Maryland?
Jon Jansen • 37:10
Those angry turtles.
Brian Boesch • 37:12
Well, they will, they will eventually approach you.
Jon Jansen • 37:15
Yes.
Brian Boesch • 37:16
Road at Rutgers. And I'm not talking about your travel for the week.
Jon Jansen • 37:20
Oh, come on. Everybody loves this getaway.
Brian Boesch • 37:23
Yes, indeed. It can't. So for me, I'm more worried about Minnesota than Rutgers. And you gave Minnesota two. Is this a one?
Jon Jansen • 37:32
Yeah, I'd give him a one. And I think, you know, Greg Schiano is going to throw everything he possibly can at this season because the clock is ticking there at Rutgers. And it's the one thing that I do know is they're going to throw the kitchen sink at you. And they did it even, you know, without this being a make it or break it season for, for Coach Schiano. They're a team that loves the trick plays. They love a lot of things and they, they always take on a lot of transfers. They have some talent and they're going to be physical. That's the one thing that, you know you're going to be in a fist fight with the Scarlet Knights. But I just don't, I don't think that there's nothing about that Rutgers team that concerns. I don't think anybody.
Brian Boesch • 38:14
Home against Michigan State and first year head coach Pat Fitzgerald one ten.
Jon Jansen • 38:19
This one is interesting and I would give it out of respect for the rivalry, the respect I have for Pat Fitzgerald. I think they're going to be a little bit challenged in terms of the level of talent that they have on the team this year. But I do know that they're going to be disciplined. I do know that they're going to be a physical football team. So I'm going to give this one, put this one just underneath Iowa and I'm going to say a five. And it's, it's. Some of that's a rivalry, some of it's the coach. In another couple of years, I think that number greatly changes. But for this year I'm going to go with the five. Especially since that's a home game in November for Michigan and then home against
Brian Boesch • 39:04
ucla the game before the game. Anything other than just that reality of a potential look ahead that concerns you about the Bruins coming to town?
Jon Jansen • 39:14
Not a lot. I know that they got a lot of juice at the end of last year in, you know, hey, they made some changes and you could look at that as. I'm going to give that one a three only because it's sandwiched in between a trip to Eugene and then a trip down to Columbus. It's, it's your typical, right? Hey, it's, that's, that's, that's Maryland before you play Ohio State. It's, it's Illinois when they weren't, you know, a world beaters to. Before you play Ohio State. Like that game, you've got to make sure that you're absolutely dialed in because UCLA at that time, I don't think they'll be fighting for a bowl game. I don't know that they're going to get to six wins, but that's going to be. And I don't know who else they play on their schedule. That's going to be one where Coach Chesney, their new head coach, is looking at going, hey, if we can go and just put a really good performance on the field in Ann Arbor, like, that'll be a win.
Jon Jansen • 40:16
If we could scare them, if we could possibly. If they could come away with a win in that one, like, they're going to be a desperate fight, throw everything at you type of team at that time. So I'll give them about a. I'll give them a three.
Brian Boesch • 40:32
All right, we'll see how it all plays out. We'll have plenty more scheduled talk as we continue along just how many days.
Jon Jansen • 40:37
Jon Jansen, one hundred twenty two and counting. Tick tock.
Brian Boesch • 40:40
We are less than one hundred twenty two seconds from visiting with Blake Frazier on the audio side.
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Jon Jansen • 40:56
Joined now by an offensive lineman that's going to his third year. That's Blake Frazier. And Blake, last year you got thrown
Jon Jansen • 41:04
into the fire at the end of the season, and you did a tremendous job.
Jon Jansen • 41:08
What was it like for you now that you've had a chance to go
Jon Jansen • 41:11
back and look at film and think a little bit more about how things went?
Blake Frazier • 41:17
It was good. It was great, actually. You know, obviously, dream come true. But I think now I'm more past the, you know, starstruck phase and really focused on making sure that this year is a breakout year for me, you know, fitting into that leadership role that I see myself taking over and just excited to see how good we can be make, you know, this unit and ultimately this team.
Jon Jansen • 41:39
When you looked back on that film,
Jon Jansen • 41:41
what were some of the things that you've been working on this offseason?
Jon Jansen • 41:44
I know we're in the middle of
Jon Jansen • 41:45
spring ball, but what were some of the goals that you wanted to accomplish getting into spring ball? And now that you're in it, what are you working on?
Blake Frazier • 41:51
I think putting on weight was the big one. There were a lot of times that, you know, even when I had, you know, I wouldn't say perfect technique, but, you know, I was doing my job technique wise. There were still times that, you know, I was just getting overpowered. So that was the big thing that I focused on up to this point, and after that, you know, hands inside. But a big thing for me as well is understanding, you know, where I can lose guys in the run game, you know, making sure my hat's in the right spot, understanding the scheme overall and not just, you know, my job individually. So those have been, you know, a couple things I've been looking at from old film and making sure I don't repeat those mistakes this spring.
Jon Jansen • 42:27
I'm glad.
Jon Jansen • 42:28
It seems like some of those things are habit and it's just from my experience, like when you say hands inside, like that's going to be something your entire career that you are fighting and where to lose a guy, all of that stuff. And in regards to, like, some of that stuff where you're talking about your helmet placement, how much different is it
Jon Jansen • 42:44
now knowing that you have the confidence
Jon Jansen • 42:46
and you saw what happened.
Jon Jansen • 42:47
But new offense, it's also a lot of different bodies that you're working with
Jon Jansen • 42:51
at the guard position. How have you been able to take
Jon Jansen • 42:53
all of that and then go out
Jon Jansen • 42:56
there and get your work done at practice?
Blake Frazier • 42:57
I think Coach Harding's done a great job of, you know, not dumbing down the offense, but, you know, coming in and adopting some of our on field calls so that we have to learn more of a scheme and less of, you know, what are we doing when we get to the field. Because at the end of the day, as long as we can communicate with each other on the field and understand what the scheme is, we're going to be all right. So I think he did a good job of simplifying things for us as far as that goes. When it comes to working with other guys, you know, you just have to get reps at it. You know, playing next to, you know, Avery Gach is going to be a little bit different than playing next to Efobi. And it's not because one's better than the other, but just because they play a little bit differently. So just getting those reps, getting more consistent, comfortable with those guys and just being able to communicate and roll.
Jon Jansen • 43:40
What are.
Jon Jansen • 43:40
Is there anything that you guys are doing?
Jon Jansen • 43:42
Because there are different bodies that are
Jon Jansen • 43:44
going to be in there. I know Jake's moved to center, but
Jon Jansen • 43:48
that you guys are doing, whether it's on field, off field, that can help
Jon Jansen • 43:52
build some of those relationships.
Blake Frazier • 43:53
I think we just hang out all the time. Like, you know, we have probably. I'd argue that besides maybe the tight ends, we've got one of the closest units on the team. We're with each other off the field all the time. And I think that that's something that people overlook in, you know, your chemistry on the field. Is how well do you know the guy off the field? Because you can play next to a guy for, you know, ten years, but if you don't hang off, hang out with him off the field, it's a little bit harder to, you know, have that chemistry when it comes to playing in games. So I think that that's something we do well is, you know, just enjoying each other's company.
Jon Jansen • 44:26
You mentioned putting on weight this off season. And I mean there's a big difference between doing it at nineteen and twenty versus seventeen and eighteen. How dialed in do you have to be in nutrition? Is it simply a matter of amount of calories or are you, are you overanalyzing every single thing that goes in?
Blake Frazier • 44:47
I would argue that, you know, my body composition is the hardest thing that I do when it comes to being a football player. I think it's harder than the practices, it's harder than the lifts. It is. You know, I have to drink two gallons of electrolyte packed liquid a day. I have to eat at least four full meals with snacks in between. I lose anywhere from twelve to eighteen pounds in a practice. So if I don't do that on our off days and even you know, the night after a practice this, then I'm going to come in lighter the next day. So. Abigail, Casey, Kaylee, you know, our nutrition staff have done an unbelievable job of, you know, helping me understand my body and understand what I need to do. And you know, being here over two years now, I'm really at the point where if I don't have as good of a recovery, I know exactly what I did or didn't do that, you know, got me that result.
Blake Frazier • 45:39
So I think it's by far the biggest thing that I have to focus on on. But I think I'm at the most comfortable point with it.
Jon Jansen • 45:46
When you eat that much that frequently, it variety can become an issue. Is there something like that is just your go to for a certain meal of a day or do you try and switch it up as much as possible?
Blake Frazier • 46:00
My breakfast is pretty consistent. I'll have four fried eggs, a waffle or two, some hash browns, some bacon. But then lunch, I'll try to switch it up. If the food in Shem is something that I think I can get down, then I'll stick with that. If not, I'll go to like Cane's or Zingerman's, you know, just something high carb load. But dinner's usually pretty consistent with whatever's in the building. But then that late night snack is Jersey Mike's is usually the go to because it's high calorie, high carb, it's consistent. But yeah, I think it just kind of depends on the mood for the day.
Jon Jansen • 46:38
Oh, man. To have the, the metabolism of a
Jon Jansen • 46:41
twenty year old again.
Jon Jansen • 46:43
Sounds amazing.
Blake Frazier • 46:44
And a curse.
Jon Jansen • 46:45
Yeah, well, it's a blessing now to
Jon Jansen • 46:46
be a curse later, trust me.
Jon Jansen • 46:48
How about sweets?
Jon Jansen • 46:49
Are you a sweets guy at all?
Blake Frazier • 46:51
Not particularly. Every once in a while I'll hit a Culver's concrete mixer or Abigail would make me a shake if I had a high weight loss practice. But not a huge sweets guy. Used to be, but I guess now that it's a little bit less of a. I don't want to say a prize, but, you know, it's not as. It's not as enjoyable as it used to be. You know, it feels a lot more forced. So I do it if I need some heavy calories, but not necessarily a go to.
Jon Jansen • 47:23
So we already mentioned Jim Harding a couple of times. What's it like having a new voice in the room?
Blake Frazier • 47:28
Oh, he's unbelievable. He has been just such a breath of fresh air. I think he's done a really good job of understanding every individual's personality and kind of figuring out how to work with each of us. Like, he works with me different than he works with Sprague. And it's not because, you know, he feels differently about us, but just because we respond to different things, we play differently. So he's done a great job of that. He listens to, you know, what things we feel like we need to work on. He's teaching us new techniques that, you know, I personally have not had the chance to develop. So it's been really nice to, you know, get to try new things and figure out, you know, how can I make my game as good as it can be?
Jon Jansen • 48:11
What's what, where is this offensive line and what do you expect to see?
Blake Frazier • 48:15
We're going to be able to run the ball. That's the thing that we know for sure right now. Our focus has been pass protection and, you know, straining for those, you know, five, six, seven seconds that, you know, we got to give Bryce if we need to. So we know we're going to be able to run the ball. We know that we can rush for as many as we need to, but at the end of the day in this league, you have to be able to throw the football. And that was something that we've struggled with as long as I've been here. So that's, that's Been our, our big focus is, is maintaining the pocket for
Jon Jansen • 48:44
Bryce from an offensive lineman's perspective. Because you're going to hear, I'm like, you see it and I see you guys.
Jon Jansen • 48:50
Maybe you're huddling up a little bit
Jon Jansen • 48:51
more than you have, but there's going to be times where you huddle. There's going to be times, times where it's called the line of scrimmage. How have you seen Bryce grow from what you felt and saw on the field last year to what he's doing now in practice?
Blake Frazier • 49:06
He seems a lot more composed, you know, a lot more comfortable with what's going on. Not that he wasn't last year, but obviously, you know, having a true freshman out there for game one is, is not something you see very often, and it's for a reason. So he just seems more in control of the offense. He, he understands, you know, the guys that he's got out there with him, what they're good at. And, you know, he just knows what to look for. It looks like he's a lot more comfortable diagnosing defenses and just knowing where he's going to put the ball post snap.
Jon Jansen • 49:35
I know Jake is not a guy, at least from the outside looking in, that's a very vocal individual on a, on a minute by minute basis. During the day, when he gets in the meetings, I know he talks a lot.
Jon Jansen • 49:46
He gets on the feedback.
Jon Jansen • 49:48
That's something I know he's working on. What's it been like to have him, etcetera. He played in the Texas game, but for the most part it was Crip last year. What's the difference of having him at center now?
Blake Frazier • 49:58
I think the difference is, and not that Crip didn't know his stuff, because Crip's one of the smartest football players I've ever played with, but I think that Jake does a really good job of just getting up to the line and making a call. People that have played offensive line will understand that, you know, if you're all wrong, you're all right. And sometimes a defense is going to be moving around, they're not going to be set. There's not necessarily a perfect call every play. So just getting to the line, you know, making a call, making sure everybody's on the same page, because at the end of the day, you can correct stuff post snap. But if everybody's not on the same page pre snap, it's really hard to get things rolling once the ball is snapped. So I think Jake does a really good job of that. And to Your point with the, you know, vocal leadership. He.
Blake Frazier • 50:40
He's not a guy that's going to be screaming every play, but he is definitely a guy that, you know, when he does say something, people are listening because they know that he's. He's serious about whatever it is.
Jon Jansen • 50:48
I've asked a lot of the guys,
Jon Jansen • 50:50
a lot of new guys, about what it's like to be here. What's it like to have so many new teammates? It's. It's different than when you're a freshman because your eyes are. Are so much more wide open. What's it been like to have the turnover not just in the coaching staff, but on the roster?
Blake Frazier • 51:04
I think it's been. It's been a good thing for sure. Overall, I think at the beginning, it was a little bit more difficult just because there's so many new faces that you're seeing every day. You're not necessarily comfortable with everybody yet. But I think the fact that we kept, you know, pretty much all of our offensive line unit has been a really good thing for me personally, because we have those guys to still fall back on when we need them. But then on top of that, you have a group of guys that know each other, love each other, and are able to bring these new guys along with us and, and show them, okay, this is Michigan football. This is how things are going to be done. And, you know, we're going to win games, but it's going to be done a certain way. So I think that it's been good getting to know new people and bringing them along, but also understanding that, you know, the standard is not going to change just because we've got, you know, forty new people on the team.
Jon Jansen • 51:52
What have you guys, as an offensive line talked about in terms of where you are now and where you need to get to in the fall and how you're going to do it.
Blake Frazier • 52:00
I mean, the Joe Moore Award is the ultimate goal. Like that is when you play offensive line, that is your end all, be all. And, you know, we talk about it all the time, like we absolutely have the potential to do it, but we have to stay consistent. And there's no, you know, Coach Harding talks all the time about you can't piss a day away. And that's been a big focus of ours, unfortunately. We've had maybe a couple practices that, you know, we so called piss the day away. But I think the big thing that's come out of that is, you know, when we get to the meeting, we're really diving into, you know, what went wrong and how can we fix it? And that's been something I've really noticed is we're not making the same mistakes. And that's just something you can't do at the end of the day is if you make one mistake, you gotta, you know, let it roll off your back. Finish the practice strong and get to the meeting.
Blake Frazier • 52:47
Make sure you don't make the same mistake again.
Jon Jansen • 52:48
Well, Blake, I appreciate your time. Best of luck, stay healthy and we'll talk to you again soon.
Blake Frazier • 52:53
Absolutely. I appreciate it.
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Jon Jansen • 52:59
Well, thanks to Blake for his time. Boy, I'm sure excited about the season that's ahead for him, this offensive line and really this entire team. Really excited that, hey, we are finally in the final stretches of this off season. I know it seems like a long ways away, but it will be here before you know it and we'll kick off another season of Michigan football. One hundred and twenty two days. If you missed it at any point throughout the course, that's the countdown is on for me. For everything that's going on in and around Michigan football, keep it locked in here on in the Trenches.
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Jeff Laurence • 53:31
Thanks for listening to this edition of in the Trenches with Jon Jansen, presented by Meijer, presenting sponsor of the twenty twenty six Michigan football season, and proud supporter of hundreds of local sports teams across the Midwest. In the trenches. This is part of our Michigan athletics podcast network, M GO Blue Podcast. The preceding is a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
