ESPN’s Andy Katz comments on secret scrimmages of two schools that will be notable for Michigan this season and next (Stanford and Maryland).
Quick Synopsis - Maryland’s team is “more mature” and Stanford noted the new rules on when charges can be called and hand-checking forced them to play differently.
Interesting to wonder exactly how charges and hand-checks will be called in the B1G as Michigan uses charges regularly and OSU (read: Aaron Craft) has been getting away with robbery for the last 3 seasons.
Michigan will probably have to get to their charge-taking position earlier (or refrain from trying to draw as many charges) and Craft and MSU will probably have to hand-check/clutch-and-grab less. Honestly, both will be difficult, but I think Michigan has the easier of the 2 tasks.
Players just have to adapt. It’s the “coachable” teams that will be less affected than others. Highly doubt that Craft will change his mugging of the opposition. Hope that the refs will remind him of the new constraints by blowing the whistle. Sure would diminish his effectiveness.