I had the privilege of attending Michigan’s first spring practice yesterday, along with Rich Rodriguez’s press conference. Before I get into my quick analysis of the presser and practice, I should make note of one thing: the media access to practice was limited to a 12-minute period when the team was split into position groups and doing drills. Between trying to get some decent photos and trying to decipher which drill I should be paying attention to (not to mention trying to figure out, with my complete lack of football-playing background, if players were actually doing the drills correctly), it was hard to glean much information of note from the actual practice. In fact, I really only took one thing away from the practice session itself, a point I’ll bring up later. I think I can speak for pretty much all the media in attendance when I say not to put a whole lot of stock into what you read about this spring practice — again, we saw 12 minutes of drills with the team split into position groups and spread across two football fields. Just making a note of that before I go into what I saw, and heard, yesterday.

With that out of the way, I’ll break down the one thing of note I saw and post some pictures, as well as give some highlights from the presser and new numbers/weights from the spankin’ new official spring roster.

THE THING OF NOTE

When I realized that I had no hope of seeing or understanding even 10% of what was happening in practice, I turned my focus to the quarterbacks and watched them go through a few drills. It didn’t take a Lombardian knowledge of football to see who will be the clear-cut starter for Michigan next season: Tate Forcier simply threw the best ball of any of the quarterbacks, and it wasn’t close. We all knew he would be the most accurate quarterback, but the zip he put on his throws also was very impressive — it’s safe to say his shoulder has healed up just fine.

Tell me something I don’t already know, you say. Well, for one, Devin Gardner’s mechanics have definitely improved since the end of his senior season at Inkster — he is releasing the ball at a much higher point than in any of his highlight videos from high school. Watching him throw, however, you can tell that he’s still really thinking about the mechanics of throwing, and his accuracy just isn’t at the level he’d need it to be to seriously challenge for playing time. Now, all of the drills we were able to see involved the quarterback throwing from the pocket, so we didn’t get to see Gardner show off his athleticism and ability to throw on the run, but after watching Gardner today I’d be very surprised if he got extended playing time unless Forcier goes down with an injury. It looks like he could really use a redshirt year to get his mechanics to the point where his throwing motion comes naturally to him, as well as to learn the offense.

As for Denard Robinson, he also had some struggles with accuracy, especially on deep passes. Rich Rodriguez was with the quarterbacks during the drills that we watched, and kept harping on the quarterbacks to “drop the ball in the bucket” — in other words, to put a lot of air under the ball so it “drops” into the receiver’s hands. Gardner and Robinson had their struggles with that concept, and both quarterbacks also missed a few intermediate throws that you’d hope they will hit once the spring game, and obviously the fall, comes around. The good news is that both quarterbacks, as well as Forcier, did well hitting tailbacks in stride when they practiced swing passes out of the backfield. That may seem trivial, but those passes are an important part of this offense, and hitting a running back in stride can be the difference between a big gain and a backwards lateral (think Notre Dame, 2008).

RICH ROD’S PRESSER

I’ll keep this rather brief, as Tim has already posted a very thorough rundown over at MGoBlog, but here are some of the highlights from Rodriguez’s pre-practice press conference:

• Vincent Smith and David Molk are both out for the spring with knee injuries, but Rodriguez said they were progressing well in rehab and expected them to do “limited activities” by the end of spring ball.
• Rodriguez said he expected to “do some different things with Denard,” since he thought a player with Robinson’s athletic and football abilities shouldn’t be spending too much time on the bench. He also clarified that Denard would likely be seeing those extra snaps at receiver, since the Wolverines already have a lot of bodies at running back.
• Nick Sheridan will not be playing this season — he is finishing up school and preparing for a career in coaching. It sounds like he’ll be a graduate assistant at some point, but Sheridan can’t be a GA right now since he’s finishing up his undergraduate degree. He was hanging around practice in street clothes, however. Bryan Wright will also not be using his final season of eligibility, citing back problems as the reason to end his playing career.
• There will be an emphasis on playing more people on defense this season, now that there is a healthy amount of competition at pretty much every position. Rodriguez said Greg Robinson will be working on keeping his schemes relatively simple so the plethora of freshmen competing for spots can contribute immediately.
• Both Troy Woolfolk and Justin Turner are practicing at cornerback, but Rodriguez did say there was a possibility of either player also seeing time at safety.

NEW SPRING ROSTER

MGoBlog also has a breakdown of the weight changes in the new spring roster, so I won’t go into too much detail here either, but I thought I’d mention these interesting points:

• When asked if any players stood out for their offseason condition, Rodriguez cited a trio of redshirt freshmen linemen: Quinton Washington, Taylor Lewan, and Michael Schofield. Washington dropped an impressive amount of weight, going from 325 down to 307, while Lewan (283, up from 268) and Schofield (281, also up from 268) each added some needed pounds. Washington slimming down should immediately put him in the running for a starting role, while Lewan and Schofield probably still need to add a couple pounds (certainly possible before the fall) before they’re in that same discussion.
• There were gains pretty much across the board on both sides of the ball. Junior Hemingway is now a very robust 227 pounds — I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing or not until we see him running full speed. Forcier gained six pounds, up to 194, which hopefully will protect him a little bit more from injury. On defense, Will Campbell is now up to 324 pounds, and he certainly passed the eye test — the guy is a physical specimen now and is worlds away from how he looked when he enrolled as a freshman. Craig Roh also added weight, and at 249 pounds he is now in the discussion at defensive end, a spot he was far too light for last season (Rodriguez specifically stated that Roh could see snaps at DE in the presser).
• Forcier still is wearing 5, even though I saw some rumors floating around that he would be switching to 4, his high school number. Instead, Cameron Gordon has taken that number, as he has switched officially over to safety. Teric Jones has also moved to safety, and Brandin Hawthorne is listed at the position as well — with Michigan slightly tweaking their defense, I’m pretty sure Stevie Brown’s position was reclassified from linebacker to safety, although I could be wrong there. If that is in fact true, it looks like that position battle will come down to Hawthorne, Mike Williams, and possibly Jordan Kovacs. Isaiah Bell is now up to 237 pounds and is listed at linebacker, as is Mike Jones, despite being only 207 right now.

FRESHMAN NUMBERS [end_columns]

PHOTOS

If you want to see more photos from today’s practice, I put up an album over on photobucket. They’re mostly of the quarterbacks, since that’s who I was watching for most of the time. If you want to see why Devin Gardner is such an intriguing prospect, check out the last photo: he just towers over everybody else.

That’s all I have for now. I’ll be updating the projected depth chart by the end of this weekend to reflect any changes in position or number. Enjoy your St. Patrick’s Day (in a safe but enjoyable fashion, I hope).

Similar Posts:

• The Foundation: A Look at the 2009 Recruiting Class
• 2010 Official Depth Chart Breakdown: Offense
• Spring Football: Five Players I’ll Be Watching
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I’ll get this out of the way: this post is entirely based on a hypothetical situation in which Tate Forcier is either (a) more seriously hurt than is currently thought or (b) he reaggravates his injury against MSU and is unable to return to the game, and (c) Rich Rodriguez decides to go with Denard Robinson as his full-time quarterback as a result. I fully expect Forcier to play Saturday, but the news that his arm is currently in a sling (I’m among the probably thousands of people who know somebody who has seen Forcier on campus today with one) is cause for a some concern; the injury is obviously causing him pain, and who knows how well he’ll be able to take a hit come Saturday.

I do not even want to entertain the thought of Nick Sheridan taking the reigns in Forcier’s (again, hypothetical) absence — we’ve seen what Sheridan can (and cannot) do in a full-time role. But what about Denard Robinson, who thus far has seen sporadic action that mostly involves taking the snap and running as fast as he can downfield? Using a combination MGoBlog’s incomparable Upon Further Review and ESPN.com’s play-by-play feature, I have done my best to chart every drive where Robinson is the only QB in the game (excluding plays where both he and Forcier are on the field, since obviously that can’t happen in this scenario, as well as the drive against Indiana when Moosman snapped the ball 20 yards backwards since it really skews the numbers and please don’t let that happen again please):

Drive One (Western): 1 play, 48 yards, TD by Robinson
Drive Two (Western): 6 plays, 21 yards (cedes to Forcier)
Drive Three (Western): 3 plays, 6 yards (ditto)
Drive Four (Western): 5 plays, 13 yards (Punt)
Drive Five (Western): 3 plays, 0 yards (Punt)

Drive One (Notre Dame): 1 play, 15 yards (cedes to Forcier)
Drive Two (Notre Dame): 1 play, 5 yards (ditto)
Drive Three (Notre Dame): 1 play, 1 yard (ditto)

Drive One (EMU): 5 plays, 10 yards, INT
Drive Two (EMU): 2 plays, 21 yards, TD by Robinson
Drive Three (EMU): 2 plays, 46 yards, TD by Robinson
Drive Four (EMU): 2 plays, 0 yards, INT

Drive One (Indiana): 7 plays, 65 yards, TD by Minor
Drive Two (Indiana): 3 plays, 4 yards, Fumble by Robinson
Not Counting 3 play appearance with bad snap (if you’re curious — 3 plays, -13 yards, punt)
Drive Three (Indiana): 4 plays, 16 yards (cedes to Forcier)

TOTAL: 46 plays, 271 yards, 4 TD, 3TO, 5.9 yards per play
Denard Robinson’s Season Statistics: 4-11, 57 yards, 5.2 yards/attempt, 0 TD, 2 INT, 29 rushes, 179 yards, 6.2 yards per carry, 3 TD

I was surprised to find that Michigan’s offense performs nearly as well with Robinson (5.9 yards per play) as they do normally (6.05, according to the NCAA). However, there are three big concerns if Denard takes over as QB full-time:

1. Turnovers — With Michigan’s defense, you can’t turn the ball over nearly as many times as you score. If that happens, Michigan will lose, barring a complete implosion by State’s quarterbacks.
2. Consistency — Robinson has only put together one drive where Michigan marched down the field with some consistency (his first drive against Indiana). Other than that, it’s been either boom (usually in the form of a long TD run by Robinson himself) or bust.
3. Predictability — We all know what Robinson brings to the offense: a lot of running, with passing usually a last resort on third down and long. Will defenses be able to adjust to Robinson while seeing him for a large chunk of playing time?

My guess is all three of those issues would again rise to the surface (if not become magnified) if Robinson is called upon to relieve Forcier. Yes, we’d probably see a few tremendous runs that would hopefully result in points, but the chances of the offense getting bogged down under Robinson are much greater than with Forcier taking snaps. So I’ll state the blindingly obvious: we should all hope that Forcier really will be ready to play against Michigan State. The game likely depends on it.

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The Michigan football season begins tomorrow (for those of you who live under a rock, in which case, I’m impressed you have internet access), and, despite the naming of a starting quarterback, there are still a ton of questions to be answered about this team. Here are five things I hope to see out of the Wolverines against Western:

1. Minimal turnovers from the quarterbacks — With two true freshmen slated to play, I’m not going to be unrealistic and hope for a mistake-free game. However, if Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson (yes, and Nick Sheridan) manage to get through their first game without any egregious errors, I’ll be happy, especially if they’re making plays in the process.
2. Solid play from the starting corners — Donovan Warren needs to prove himself worthy of his high school accolades after a sophomore season marred by injury, and Michigan will need him to be a five-star corner if the defense is going to have any hope of stopping the pass. Across the field, sophomore Boubacar Cissoko will need to make the leap from freshman contributor to reliable starter. If Warren and Cissoko are at their best, jamming receivers and playing lockdown coverage, the defense could go from bad to good in a hurry.
3. An outside receiver steps up — Coming into this season, Michigan has no clear-cut number one outside receiver. Greg Mathews, by virtue of seniority, is the default top option, but he lacks top-end speed and is more suited to be a second banana to a guy with more big-play potential. If Darryl Stonum or Junior Hemingway can come through with some big gains, it’ll be huge for Michigan’s offense and the confidence of the freshmen QBs.
4. Michigan gets pressure on Tim Hiller — With only three men down on the line, Michigan will be bringing a variety of blitzes to put pressure on the quarterback. Brandon Graham will make his fair share of plays, but who else will step up and keep offenses from keying solely on BG? If Ryan Van Bergen, Brandon Herron, Craig Roh, or another front seven player makes his presence felt in the backfield, Michigan is in good shape.
5. The offense opens up — We’re now in year two of the Rich Rod era. Even though Michigan will be starting a true freshman, the offense should still have more variety and explosiveness than we saw in 2008. How much of that depends on the maturation of Forcier and Robinson, and the confidence the coaching staff has in them and the rest of the offense. If Michigan breaks out a few new wrinkles against Western, and shows that they can adapt and attack much better than last year (having mobile quarterbacks will help in this regard) than I’ll be confident that Michigan can move the ball against better squads.

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Football:

• QB rotations are a bad idea, but it’s right for Michigan at the moment — Detroit Free Press — Detroit sports radio mainstay Jamie Samuelsen is surprised to find that he isn’t against playing three quarterbacks to start the season for Michigan. I’m still a little wary, and would like to see Forcier and Robinson get a shot before resorting to Sheridan, but I’m going to trust the coaches on this one until I see it in action.
• OK, Michigan’s Sheridan-as-starter meme isn’t funny anymore — Dr. Saturday — The Doc points out just how historically awful Nick Sheridan was last season (81.09 quarterback efficiency in 2008; the next-worst in the Big 10 by a qualifying QB was 105.26 by … Steven Threet), and makes it clear that if Michigan is relying on Sheridan as anything but a worst-case backup plan, things won’t improve a whole lot from last season. If this wasn’t the internet, I’d have stamped his article with a giant “co-sign”.
• Weekly Recruiting Wrap — The Wolverine — Josh Helmholdt takes a look at each of Michigan’s 18 verbal commits for 2010 and lays out his expectations for their senior seasons in high school. Many of M’s commits have a lot to prove in their final season, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on them to see if fans’ consternation about the quality of the class is legit.
• U-M football officials pleased with suite commitments — Detroit News — There’s a ton of content out about the new suites after the athletic department took the media on a tour this week. Michigan has sold 70% of the suites with a year to spare before they open, which bodes very well for the AD. Those who were not on board with the renovations should really reconsider … the suites look great (can you really complain about the exterior brickwork?), and should bring in a lot of money for the school.
• Unverified Voracity Deletes Six Jokes — MGoBlog — Just click. You’ll thank me later … namely when Penn State comes to town in October. Like Brian, I will refrain from comment as long as anything I write on this site can later be attributed to my real name.
• Birk’s Eye View: Six position battles to watch as Michigan breaks football camp — AnnArbor.com — With all the focus on the quarterback, two battles to really look for are the kicker (obviously, as covered on this site before) and the running backs. Even with all the hype around Brandon Minor, he hasn’t been healthy all camp (or his entire career, really) and if Carlos Brown can stay healthy we could see a real battle for carries this fall.
• U-M OL Cory Zirbel can’t play, so he’ll coach — Detroit Free Press — I’ll make no further comment than what Zirbel himself said: “I’ve had people come up to me and say, ‘How can you be a part of that coaching staff?’ Those people aren’t true Michigan fans. … People don’t understand how I accept my role, but those people don’t know.
  “It’s an honor. It’s Michigan, always going to be Michigan. Coach Rodriguez is a great guy, presented me an opportunity, and I took it.”
• Mesko Named Candidate for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team — MGoBlue — Good Works Team now, Supreme Ruler of the Universe tomorrow.

Basketball:

• Beilein wants back at work after big season — Detroit Free Press — I can’t express how much I like Beilein as Michigan’s coach: he runs a clean program, directs teams that are fun to watch, and lives and breathes basketball. Also, a very interesting quote here: “I didn’t write it down,” [Beilein] said. “But coming back from the Alaska trip (two years ago) was an eye-opener for us. We lost to Boston College and Harvard back-to-back after that. If you would have told me you’ll be .500 and go to the NIT in the second year, I would have said, alright. I thought we had a long way to go but some pieces fell into place.” Yeah, no kidding.
• Position by Position: Zack Novak — UMHoops — Dylan begins his breakdown of Michigan’s basketball squad by looking at … Zack Novak, because he can play more than half the positions on the court. Dylan likes him at the power forward, but I’m hoping he’ll play more 2 and 3 this season if one of the freshman bigs can develop into a viable option in the post.
• The Eight Steps … Ben Cronin’s Journey Back — MGoBlue — Hey, a viable big (maybe)! Cronin has been through a lot before really having a chance to contribute at Michigan, thanks to a hip injury that forced the team to shut him down for his freshman season. Cronin seems to have a great attitude and a drive to compete, and if he could contribute as a rotation player this season it would be a huge boost for Michigan’s frontcourt depth.

Other Sports:

• Volleyball Stuns Huskers — MGoBlog — The Michigan volleyball team notched a historic victory yesterday as they defeated #3 Nebraska in Omaha three sets to none in the top regular season tournament in college volleyball, the Runza/AVCA Challenge. This is the type of victory a program can look back on as a turning point towards national prominence … Michigan may not be a title contender this season (according to formerlyanonymous, who I will defer to as the expert here, since I can’t say I follow volleyball much at all) but this victory is huge nonetheless.

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Last week, I gave you five hopeful predictions for the 2009 season. Unfortunately, as we all know, Michigan is a rather flawed team with a whole lot of question marks surrounding them. Therefore, it’s time for some critical self-reflection as I give my five “less hopeful” predictions for 2009.

1. We see Nick Sheridan in at least three of the first four games — One outstanding characteristic of football coaches is that, almost to a man, they’re loyal to a fault towards veteran players. With Rich Rodriguez reiterating that he will play all three quarterbacks in the Western Michigan game, it is clear that this is the case with him and Nick Sheridan. I would love to see Rodriguez start Tate Forcier and stick with him as he battles through some freshman mistakes (which are inevitable) instead of throwing in Sheridan when his ceiling is hovering somewhere around “at least he only throws one pick a game”. However, all the preseason buzz and my gut instinct tells me that Sheridan will be on the field in the early going instead of holding a clipboard.
2. Michigan loses to a team that wins five or fewer games — Last week I predicted Michigan would beat one of the four toughest Big Ten teams on their schedule (Ohio State, Penn State, Iowa, Illinois). However, I also think they’ll drop a game to a team they shouldn’t. Whether it’s the quarterbacks making untimely errors, or returners putting the ball on the ground, or the secondary giving up a few huge plays, this seems like a team with too many flaws to be able to consistently perform every week. I’m certainly not predicting a Delaware State victory, but a team like Indiana, Purdue, or even Wisconsin (if they collapse, which isn’t entirely unfeasible) could pose a dangerous threat to Michigan’s bowl hopes.
3. Michigan converts less than 65% of their field goals this season — The battle nobody seems to be focused on (or worried about) is the one for starting placekicker. Word out of camp is Brendan Gibbons, the scholarship freshman everyone expected to step up and take the job, has not shown the consistency necessary to earn a place on the field. That leaves Jason Olesnavage, a 5th year senior walk-on who has never attempted a field goal, with the inside track to earning kicking duties this fall. Does that scare the crap out of anybody else, or is it just me?
4. Greg Mathews ends his career as a backup — The senior has not impressed in fall camp, and his uninspired play leaves a lot to be desired out of a guy who came into this year as the clear number one outside receiver. With Junior Hemingway coming back from a medical redshirt, LaTerryal Savoy pushing for a starting role, the talented Darryl Stonum entering his sophomore season, and freshmen Je’Ron Stokes and Cameron Gordon on campus, Mathews could see his role severely diminish if he doesn’t step it up in September.
5. Michigan finishes (again) with a negative turnover margin — I realize that turnover margin, as a general rule, fluctuates from year to year and at some level seems completely random (I’d provide a link, but I just spent 20 minutes trying to find the article I was thinking of and finally gave up). However, with punt returners dropping punts in practice, Michigan playing two freshmen and Nick Sheridan at quarterback, and the defense fielding an inexperienced secondary, I have a hard time seeing Michigan come out positive when it comes to turnovers. I really hope I’m wrong here, as this could be the difference between an 8-4 bowl team and a 5-7 disaster.

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With football season a mere two weeks away, it’s about time to start making some predictions. Today, I will make five optimistic predictions for Michigan’s season. Next week (I’m taking a brief vacation this weekend) I’ll hit you with the other side of the coin, making five more pessimistic predictions. On with the show!

1. Michigan upsets a top 15 team — By my count, there are four squads that Michigan could face that would be ranked in the top 15: Penn State, Ohio State, Illinois, and Iowa. Of those, Michigan gets the two toughest (PSU and OSU) at home. By the time they play any of those teams, Michigan should have an established starting quarterback and a decent comfort level with both the offense and defense. Personally, I think our best chance is against Iowa (as stated earlier on this blog, I think they’re overrated), but, last season aside, we own Penn State, and boy are we ever due for an upset against the Buckeyes. I like Michigan’s chances of taking at least one of those games.
2. Tate Forcier completes 60% of his passes — Boy, could this one make me look stupid, but between his performance in the Spring Game and fall practices, I’m pushing for the driver’s seat on the Tate Forcier bandwagon. Accuracy is probably his best attribute, and Rich Rodriguez’s bubble screens and quick passes should help bolster Forcier’s completion percentage while he gets comfortable at the college level. No, Forcier doesn’t have an elite NFL talent like Braylon Edwards at receiver, like Chad Henne did as a freshman, but he is surrounded by a lot of serviceable weapons (Minor, Brown, Mathews, Hemingway, Odoms, Gallon, Grady, Smith, etc.), which should help ease his transition.
3. Craig Roh records at least five sacks — Not a whole lot is known about Roh’s role at this point, as he wasn’t one of the early enrollees from this year’s freshman class. However, he is a pass-rushing demon who seems like the perfect fit at the ‘quick’ position, especially as a situational pass rusher. His size (listed at 6-4, 238 on the official roster) is far too small to play DE in Greg Robinson’s system, but he should have no problem rushing from a two-point stance off the edge.
4. Kelvin Grady catches at least 20 passes — This sounds a bit bold, to say the least, since only Martavious Odoms and Greg Mathews had more than 20 receptions last year, and Grady spent the last two years on the hardwood, not the gridiron. However, Grady has impressed in fall camp, and from what I’ve seen of him he has a very impressive set of hands to go along with the speed and quickness we all witnessed while he played point guard for John Beilein. He could be very dangerous in the open field, and should be one of several players (including Odoms, obviously, as well as Jeremy Gallon, Roy Roundtree, and maybe Terrence Robinson) to see significant time in the slot. I’d love to see what he can do with a well-executed bubble screen; he could be a home-run threat for the Michigan offense.
5. As a team, Michigan averages over 5 yards per carry — The Wolverines’ offensive line will be much-improved from last season (they have to be, right?), and with Brandon Minor, Carlos Brown, and Michael Shaw all returning (plus the arrival of freshman Vincent Smith, a spring standout), Michigan should improve markedly on their 3.9 yards per carry average from last season. Don’t forget that Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson will be running the quarterback keepers instead of Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan. Plus, with a full year under Rich Rodriguez’s offense, Michigan should be ready to bust out some trickery this season, and we should see more big runs from a team whose longest run in 2008 came from the plodding Threet (58 yards against Wisconsin). All this adds up to at least a one-yard improvement per run this season.

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I attended practice today, and was able to observe five practice segments with the rest of the media. I focused on watching the offense, and mainly the quarterbacks. Here are my impressions, and a few photos will be posted after the jump:

• The player that stood out to me most today was Kelvin Grady. He has great hands (only dropped one ball that I saw, and that was out of probably 15-20 passes), catches the ball with his hands instead of his body, and seems to be picking stuff up pretty well. Coach Magee worked with Kelvin on routes a couple of times, and each time he caught on quickly. I would never have guessed this before fall camp, but it looks like the younger Grady will contribute this season.
• Mike Cox also looks good. He has nice hands out of the backfield … probably the best I saw during drills today. He also stood out in the one blocking drill I watched … got a nice pop when he blocked his man, and one of the assistants looked very pleased with his effort.
• Tate Forcier throws the best ball of any of the quarterbacks. He has great zip on his passes and is probably the most accurate. I will say this, though: in terms of passing, Nick Sheridan has improved a ton. He still doesn’t get a lot of force behind his throws, but they aren’t the ducks he was throwing last year, and he was almost as accurate as Forcier in the few drills I saw today.
• Denard Robinson, on the other hand, has some work to do passing the ball. Power isn’t the issue … he just needs to work on his precision. Throwing the ball downfield, he threw at players’ knees a few times, and sailed a couple as well. On swing routes, he was throwing behind guys a lot (shades of last year), while Forcier was doing a great job of hitting guys in stride and putting the ball ahead of them.

That’s about all I could glean out of today’s action, as (unfortunately) there wasn’t a Michigan drill today and I didn’t have time to wander over to the defensive side of the ball. However, all the guys from The Wolverine were there, and will be posting their impressions as well, so you should head over there if you want more. Practice photos after the jump:

Similar Posts:

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Fall practice begins today (actually, it began about an hour-and-a-half ago), and there are a ton of unanswered questions when it comes to the Michigan football team. Here are five things I’m keeping a close eye on as fall practice progresses:

1. The quarterback situation — Well, duh. All eyes will be on Tate Forcier as practice begins, and they should be: he holds the key to Michigan’s success this season. However, I’m just as interested in the backup quarterback situation. If Denard Robinson comes in and establishes himself as the backup, I’ll be pleased. If Nick Sheridan still holds the backup spot when fall practice ends, I’ll be very concerned. It’s as simple as that. Also, we’ll see how many specific packages (if any) are designed specifically for Robinson.
2. Which receivers emerge? — Besides Greg Mathews and Martavious Odoms, there really isn’t a receiver on the roster who is guaranteed anything in terms of playing time, and even those two will have to battle for their starting spots. Will Junior Hemingway bounce back from a season lost to injury and illness? Who, out of Hemingway, Darryl Stonum, LaTerryal Savoy, and Je’Ron Stokes, will step up and take the second starting spot on the outside? Can Terrence Robinson or Jeremy Gallon make an immediate impact in the slot? Hopefully, all these questions will be answered by the time Michigan takes the field on Sept. 5.
3. The safeties — The scariest position group on the team right now (for Michigan fans) is at safety, where currently a true freshman (Vlad Emilien) and a converted corner (Troy Woolfolk) are slated to start. No matter what, the Wolverines will have two first-time starters in the last line of defense. If the news out of fall is anything but great regarding the safety play, there is much reason for consternation about the defense.
4. Impact freshmen — I’ve already mentioned Stokes, Gallon, and Emilien as freshmen who could contribute immediately. Will Campbell will almost certainly see significant playing time at the thin defensive tackle spot. Tailback Vincent Smith had a very strong spring and is vying for playing time in a crowded backfield. Will players like Craig Roh (quick), Fitzgerald Toussaint (tailback), or Justin Turner (DB, assuming he qualifies) push for playing time as well?
5. Stevie Brown — The much-maligned safety is now at the spinner (LB/S hybrid) position, and could be the key to a successful defense. Fans could not be pleased with his performance in the spring game, as he was undressed by David Cone, of all people, giving up a 40-yard run to a quarterback whose 40 time is on the wrong side of five seconds. Will this be the season he finally stops giving up big plays and performs at the high level he was expected to play at two years ago?

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• Early Guess at the Football Depth Chart: Now Updated for Spring

Football:

• Elite 11: Ranking the Quarterbacks ($) — Rivals.com — Premium content here, so I won’t pull any direct quotes. However, Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Barry Every ranked the Elite 11 quarterbacks, and Devin Gardner came out on top, with Every comparing him to Jason Campbell, Vince Young (!), and (sigh) Terrelle Pryor. PSU commit Robert Bolden came in third, and MSU commit Joe Boisture 12th (out of 12). Gardner was also named by camp counselors as having the best feet and being the best in the classroom.
• Las Vegas Sets Michigan’s 2009 Over/Under — MVictors — Vegas sets U-M at 6 wins this year. If I was a betting man, I’d take the over. Also, odds of winning the national title are at 150/1. Don’t even think about it.
• U-M’s running backs offer variety — Detroit Free Press — Fred Jackson compares this crop of backs to 1992, when Michigan had Tyrone Wheatley, Ricky Powers, Ed Davis, and Jesse Johnson. High praise there, although I don’t see an elite back in this year’s group yet. However, Wheatley wasn’t elite until 1992, as a sophomore. Hopefully Minor, Brown, or Shaw can step up and be that guy.
• Remember when Chris Perry… — Spawn of MZone — Speaking of elite backs … nice video of Chris Perry’s ridiculous 51-carry game against Michigan State in 2003. Without that performance, I don’t think Perry comes close to the Doak Walker Award. What a game.
• Jarrett Irons: Walking Away From the NFL – Lost Lettermen — Great blog post from Irons on leaving his NFL dreams behind to enroll in grad school at Michigan. Awesome to read about how he lived and died with the team on Saturdays while taking business classes and doing a little radio on the side. A Michigan Man, to say the least.
• Football recruiting updates: Hagan likely to pick Ohio State — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette — Ignore Hagan. CB Cullen Christian once again reaffirms Michigan’s place at the top of his list, and teammate Brandon Ifill (WR/DB) plans to visit Michigan on July 31. Ifill says Michigan and Maryland stand out among the teams recruiting him right now.
• Michigan could look here for 2010 opener — ESPN.com — Adam Rittenberg suggests four teams Michigan could schedule for the first game in the renovated Michigan Stadium: Virginia, Duke, Oregon State and Pitt. Out of those teams, I’d prefer Pitt … it makes sense geographically, and I’m sure Rich Rodriguez would love to beat his former rival, especially since they knocked West Virginia out of the national title game in 2007.
• Prater trims list to six; Shrock names new favorite — ESPN.com — Bill Kurelic reports that Rivals.com’s No. 1 wide receiver, Kyle Prater, has cut down his list to six teams, and Michigan is not among them. Although Michigan certainly has no need for another wideout in this class, Prater would have been a huge get, so this is a little disappointing. However, receiver is not a huge need, so this is by no means a crushing blow.
• Nick Sheridan’s goal: To start at quarterback for University of Michigan football team — AnnArbor.com — Good lord, who wrote that headline? Anyways, the headline pretty much says it all. Some good quotes from Sheridan; like I’ve said before, I really like him as a leader on this team, and as a future coach. I just hope somebody else starts, unless Sheridan has improved so much that he is completely unrecognizable.

Basketball:

• No visit from Sparty next season — The Columbus Dispatch (via MGoBlog) — The Dispatch compiles a list of all the “one-plays” for the 2009-10 season, and Michigan catches  a couple big scheduling breaks. We will not be facing Illinois on the road this year, and will only have one game against Purdue (albeit in their place). This is great for piling up the conference wins, although I hope it won’t end up being a big knock on our resume if we end up being a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

Hockey:

• Alumni Set to Return for 2009 Summer Hockey Showcase — MGoBlue — Friday, July 31 at Yost, fo’ free. Fans will be treated to two alumni games, the first a 35-and-over game, the second featuring the younger guys. Highlights include Red Berenson (!) skating with the 35-and-older guys, and 2008 Hobey Baker Award winner Kevin Porter in the other game. Should be a fun night of hockey.
• 2009-10 Michigan Ice Hockey Roster — MGoBlue — Get your freshman numbers! Hot off the presses! Freshman numbers!
• Hurricanes reaquire Ward from Bruins in trade — TSN — Former M defenseman Aaron Ward traded to Carolina. Interesting side story here, since in game 5 of the Bruins-Canes playoff series this year Ward was “sucker-punched” by Scott Walker of Carolina. They’re now teammates. Ward previously played for Caroline from 2001-2006 (with one year in Germany during the lockout).

Other sports:

• Lacrosse recruiting — Varsity Blue — Tim Sullivan puts together a complete list of Michigan’s incoming recruits, which is ridiculous, because it’s lacrosse and nobody knows this stuff except the coaches and apparently Tim. I can vouch for Cy Abdelnour though … I got to see the kid play at Pioneer (my alma mater) while my brother played there. He’s a dynamite goalie, and tough as all hell, making first team All-State in 2008 at 5-6, 150. I’m rooting for him to see the field at Michigan, though it will be tough, since Michigan also pulled in Conor McGee, a goalie from a Baltimore powerhouse who is the top-rated goalie in the country to go to a club team.

Similar Posts:

• Wolverines on the Web Watches People Run
• Wild Recruiting Weekend Recap
• Red Berenson Signs Three-Year Extension
• “We’re Still Climbing”
• Hockey Preview with The Wolverine’s Michael Spath

Football:

• eBay Watch: Harmon Jitterbugs with Joan & Jinx (1941) — MVictors — Don’t ask me how Greg manages to find all these great eBay auctions … I think he might secretly be selling all this stuff himself in some diabolical plan to get traffic. Dammit Greg, it’s working. The above photo, depicting Tom Harmon during the filming of the 1941 film Harmon on Michigan, is available for auction until July 20. Nobody has bid yet. Do your thing, Michigan fans.
• Recapping RichRod, Pt. 2 — Wolverine Liberation Army — chitownblue forges on with his review of Year One of the RichRod Era, looking at game strategy, maintaining tradition, handling the media, and “avoiding a potty-mouth”. Again, scores are done via molotov cocktails.
• Mark Messner believes Scott Shafer deserved more time — UMGoBlog — Agree to disagree, Mr. Messner. Agree to disagree.
• U-M’s Nick Sheridan primed for competition — Detroit News — Agree to … ha, just kidding. This is really a great read from Angelique Chengelis. Despite hoping we don’t have to put him out on the football field again, I have the utmost respect for Nick Sheridan. I can’t imagine how much crap he took last year when he got tossed into the starting role, and now he is an afterthought behind two true freshmen, but he still handles himself with a ton of class. I really hope he ends up coaching here when his playing career is over.
• Ranking my favorite Big Ten stadiums — ESPN.com — Adam Rittenberg, um, ranks the Big Ten stadiums. Michigan Stadium comes in fifth, and the main knock is the lack of noise. Hopefully we’ll end up a little higher after the renovations, both because they make the stadium look damn impressive, and because they’ll supposedly hold more noise in. We can only hope.
• Custom Covers — Spawn of MZone — For the video gamers out there, Spawn of MZone has posted a Brandon Minor custom cover for NCAA ’10, as well as a link to other Michigan covers. These look great, so if you want to show your school spirit with your game cover, head over there.

Basketball:

• LeBron James Skills Academy Player Profiles — DraftExpress — Manny Harris impresses at the LeBron James camp, showing off his scoring ability, as well as a great first step and vertical leap. [HT: MGoBlog via UMHoops]
• Camp Report: LeBron James Skills Academy/King City Classic — SlamOnline — Gotta scroll down a bit, but somewhere in there you’ll find praise for both Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims for their performances in the same camp as above. Is it too early to get excited for basketball season? [HT: MGoBlog via UMHoops]

Hockey:

• Michigan pipeline continues for Coyotes — The Arizona Republic — Via MGoBlog, it sounds like the Phoenix Coyotes expect incoming freshman Chris Brown to leave school early. An in, GM Don Maloney said he’d be “stunned” if Brown stayed all four years. To his credit, Brown says he’s planning on staying in school “right now”, but that quote offers little comfort. Enjoy him while you can.

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• Wolverines on the Web Tries to Catch Up
• Weekend Recap: Graham & Hoops Dominate, Hockey Splits
• Michigan Football YouTube Bracket: Spectacular Plays 4 vs. 5
• Impressions from the First Spring Practice
• On Memorial Day, Remembering Two Michigan Greats