Wolverine Q&A: Tyrone Wheatley
3/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 10, 2015
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan running backs coach Tyrone Wheatley spoke after Tuesday's practice, which included time on the outdoor practice field with snow piled behind the sidelines and temperatures reaching 46 degrees on one of the warmest days in months. He discussed the progress Wolverine running backs are making during spring practice, the quest for a "2,000-yard rusher," and his son, Tyrone Jr., joining him here as a freshman tight end this summer.
Coach Wheatley rushed for 4,178 yards, 1991-94, and still holds the record for the highest yards-per-carry average in a single season with 7.34 in 1992, when he had five 100-yard rushing games, a pair of games of more than 200 yards and a career-best 1,357 yards. His college teammate, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, holds the school record with 1,818 yards in 1995.
Q. What's caught your eye the most about your running backs?
A. Talented group -- really talented. They really haven't scratched the surface. That's really what's caught my eye. Right now I'm sort of like an artist with a blank canvas. I can just have at it.
Q. What's it been like to return as a coach to the school where you played?
A. Haven't even thought about it to be honest because my focus is Big Ten championship, national championship, 2,000-yard rusher. I'm the type of person that when I left here, I left here for better things and the things that this place catapulted me onto do. That's what my mindset was. But now I'm back here for a totally different reason. So, I'm a coach now.
Q. Your son, Tyrone Jr., is a tight end who picked Michigan on national letter of intent signing day. What are your thoughts on your son joining you here?
A. It's a great thing. As a father, you're always happy when your child has success and the things that he's done. But once again, I'm just focused on the guys who are here right now. When he gets here, he'll have his time to get it.
Q. How different is Ty Isaac, a 6-3, 240-pound transfer from Southern Cal, from the other backs you have?
A. I don't think it's just Ty Isaac that is different. Each guy brings a different aspect to the game. He is the largest one out of the bunch. But in terms of difference, that would probably be it. He has great feet, good vision. He's a smooth runner. But I wouldn't say he's any different than any other guy.
Q. Will his size be a big asset?
A. Yeah, but it's still the early phases. Everybody has to prove who they are, what they are. So, I don't want to put the cart before the horse right now. But size does help.
Q. Is Derrick Green, who suffered a broken collarbone last year in the second Big Ten game at Rutgers, 100 percent and ready to go?
A. He practiced today and had a good practice.
Q. You mentioned feeling like an artisan with a blank canvas. You've just had your fourth practice. What does the canvas look like at this point, and what do you hope it looks like after spring practice?
A. If I was painting a house, I've got one brick, okay. But these guys are a talented bunch. I don't think they even understand who they are and what they can be at the end. It's a lot to work with, and I'm excited to work with these guys. Right now, we're just scratching the surface. We're in the infancy stages.
Q. What tricks will you use and what's a trick that perhaps helped you learn and get comfortable?
A. Those are tricks you don't reveal. So, you'll see.
Q. Do you want to have one lead back or will there be more rotation with the tailbacks?
A. You would like to say you want one back, but right now you really can't tell. We don't know who's going to emerge; we don't know what's going to emerge. You want great competition and every one to rise to the top. You want the decision to be the hardest decision to ever make.
Q. What are the characteristics of the running back you want?
A. A smart guy that handles not only the ball but can handle the game. Meaning that the game never gets too big, and that he can basically be a coach on the field, make corrections, see the game and make the game slow down for himself, understand the ebb and flow, situations. Sometimes a three-yard run is the best one you can have in a game -- not always looking to hit the home run. And pass protection -- just a real well-rounded back that is going to play within his talent level and take care and manage the game.
Q. What is the current role for Drake Johnson, who is recovering from knee surgery after rushing for 361 yards and a team-high 6.0 yards per carry?
A. Drake is like my coach. He's like my assistant; he's basically a tattletale: "He made a mistake. He did this wrong." But it's also keeping his mind sharp. He gets his mental reps and is my second set of eyes.
Q. You are coming in from a position as running backs coach of the Buffalo Bills. What can you impart on these running backs from that experience?
A. The thing you bring is what it actually takes to be a pro -- to approach the job every day, take care of your body, learning the playbook. And, even though you are in college, learning how to be a pro.
Q. Is it realistic to have one back emerge from the spring?
A. I wouldn't say realistic; that's why we also have fall ball. You would hope to have one, but you still have fall ball.
Q. This program hasn't had a great back in eight years, since Mike Hart. Do you feel any pressure to build a new legacy here for the running backs?
A. I wouldn't say feel a pressure because it's going to take some time. Once a person or a group of guys emerge, and once this thing turns, it'll come. The guys understand history. They understand who was before them, and I think that's a lot of times where you get them pressing, where they are trying to demonstrate and show they can be the backs of old. And I am trying to get them to understand that you can't be that until you understand who you are right now.
But is there pressure? Yeah, there's always pressure. And there's always pressure to get those guys going.
