Michigan Spring Thread

[Wolverine]

OFFENSE

QB Steven Threet

RB Brandon Minor

RB Kevin Grady (in a two-back set out of the shotgun)

WR Darryl Stonum

WR Greg Mathews

WR Toney Clemons (in the slot)

LT Mark Ortmann

LG Tim McAvoy

C David Moosman

RG Cory Zirbel

RT Stephen Schilling

FB/TE: Mark Moundros and Carson Butler if a fullback/tight end is in the formation.


DEFENSE

DE Brandon Graham

DT John Ferrara

DT Will Johnson

DE Tim Jamison

OLB Austin Panter

MLB Obi Ezeh

OLB Jonas Mouton

CB Donovan Warren

CB Morgan Trent

FS Stevie Brown

SS Charles Stewart

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../1054/SPORTS06

*FYI Terrence Taylor was hurt but he starts at DT.

The secondary is for sure the most experienced, despite Morgan Trent's awfulness.

[Wolverine]

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• Defensive lineman Terrance Taylor’s absence on the first team wasn’t all that surprising, but he did get back on with the first team later in the game and Morgan Trent confirmed after the game that he has been practicing with the first team most of the spring.


• The defense looked much faster as a whole and was flying around to the ball. They had a number of takeaways on the day including a pick-six by CB Troy Woolfork. Artis Chambers looked fast as the second team safety and had two interceptions of his own.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../1054/SPORTS06

[Wolverine]

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• The first-team offense looked good most of the day. It moved the ball down the field; the quarterbacks threw a lot of screen passes and the running backs ran the ball pretty well.

• Steven Threet is easily the most talented of the three quarterbacks. On screens and intermediate routes, he showed a quick release and great accuracy. But he made some bad decisions and let the ball slip out of hands a lot on long passes, due to the weather. He seemed like a good leader in the huddle as well. He's fairly mobile too; one time he was being chased by Obi Ezeh, and he got away from him and ran out of bounds.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../1054/SPORTS06

[Wolverine]

QBs Struggle

New Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez insists his first real depth chart will not arrive until late August, the week of the Utah opener.


So, until then, all Michigan has to show for quarterbacks is Saturday's controlled scrimmage and the bits of observations taken from it.

Redshirt freshman Steven Threet, who has missed practice time this spring with a deep thigh bruise, returned for Saturday's practice using what he called "the Robocop thigh pad" and led the first-team offense.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../1054/SPORTS06

[Wolverine]

Rodriguez Sees Rays of Hope in Transitioning Team

There were some skeptics when Rich Rodriguez took over the Michigan football team.


Some were his new players.

But after 14 spring practices, they're realizing the payoff.

"I was learning, and it just became second nature one practice ago," U-M senior defensive end Tim Jamison said Saturday, after the Wolverines' final spring scrimmage, held at Saline High School. "I was talking to the coach (defensive coordinator Scott Shafer) and was like, 'Man, at the beginning I felt I was playing slower, just learning the concept. Now I feel like I've got the game plan down.' They say that's how it usually is when you play a coaching style for four years and then come into your last year with a whole different coaching style."

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a.../1054/SPORTS06