Finding positives for a football team during this pandemic might be like searching for the needle in a haystack. But Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis has seemed to find some of the good in being away from campus and missing spring practices.

Obviously, having players and coaches working together during the spring season would’ve been ideal. The ability to learn while on the field is something that can’t be replicated by a Zoom meeting and virtual learning. But Gattis does admit that these virtual sessions have allowed for a bit of a longer learning process.

Michigan hasn’t been forced to rush through new installments during this time, whereas it might’ve had to do so if spring practice was still in place.

“I think the one thing this has given us is time and patience,” Gattis told Jon Jansen on the In the Trenches podcast. “Often times in football with installs you can rush through things. You’re installing one thing one day but yet you got to get to another install another day.

“This has allowed us to take time. We’ve been covering one install per week. So, we’ve really been able to dive into the details, dive into the what and why. We’ve been able to really make sure the kids don’t just know what their job is, what their responsibility is, but they know what the other people’s jobs around them are, so they can have a better understanding.”

Gattis said that, typically, a new installment comes every other day during spring practice, which sometimes forces teams to rush through the process.

A slower process could really benefit Michigan heading into the 2020 campaign, too. The Wolverines are replacing an entire offensive line, will be ushering in a new quarterback and have new pieces at the wide receiver and tight end position. There’s a lot to learn for so many players on that side of the football.

Michigan is scheduled to open the 2020 season against Washington.