Bullets:
- Boo boos are the worst.
- Fitz Toussaint has been named the starter at tailback. Act surprised.
- Ryan Glasgow and Willie Henry are backing up Jibreel Black at 3-tech. Wormley is strictly a 5-tech, and Tom Strobel has fallen off the depth chart it would appear.
- Heitzman, Wormley, and Godin are rotating at the 5-tech.
- Blake Countess is the nickel corner for the nickel package. That tentatively means Michigan is experimenting with a nickel package of Raymon Taylor (CB), Delonte Hollowell (CB), Blake Countess (NB), Thomas Gordon (S), and Courtney Avery (S).
- Cam Gordon has been proclaimed the No. 1 guy at SAM. I've been strongly predicting Beyer to beat out Cam Gordon, but perhaps this will not be case. We'll see what happens once game day rolls around, but for now I'll concede that I was wrong.
- In things I'm not so willing to concede, Hoke says that Ben Braden has moved to tackle (he and Magnuson are third in the tackle pecking order) yet remains a guard. While Braden certainly has the ability to play guard (and took snaps there in the scrimmage when Bryant was out), he has not been taking practice reps there for two weeks now, suggesting that Michigan wants him at tackle. Ultimately, none of this matters. It's Bryant or busted assignments.
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Opening remarks:
"We had our last two-a-day practice. I thought we ended that part of it, as far as the two practices a day, in pretty good shape. Did a lot this morning. Physical this morning, physical this afternoon. I like how the kids are coming out and how they're competing with each other. We have 11 days until we kick the ball off, so we have to make sure our timing, playing with speed, playing fast, playing physical like we want to -- we get all those things accomplished. I like the leadership and where we're at."
Do you wish the weather had been this warm earlier in camp?
"Yeah. It would have been nice if it had a little more heat, and I think we'll get some more this week, which will be good for us."
Have you made any personnel decisions yet? Center? SDE?
"Jack [Miller] and Graham [Glasgow], obviously. Chris [Bryant] didn't participate the other night, but he's back out there today. We played Graham at a lot of guard, so today we played them both in there at center a little bit more. I think we're getting closer."
What did you think of the scrimmage on Saturday?
"I thought it was really physical. I thought how they prepared -- we set up the day a lot like how the night game for Notre Dame will be as far as the two walkthroughs, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Just started our routine and really was pleased with how they approached the day, how they approached that night. Probably the most important thing was how they went out and competed."
What other position battles have you decided on already?
"I think we're close. I don't think it's the right time to say, 'This guy is the guy.' "
Is it fair to say Fitz Toussaint is gaining ground for the starting tailback spot?
"Yeah, that would be very true. In fact the other night, on Saturday, it was great to get him back up in the stadium and great to see him run and do some things that he did. Protection-wise, running the ball-wise, he really looks good."
Do you anticipate him starting?
"Yeah. If we're going to get technical about it, Fitz would be the starter."
Can you talk about the battle at center a little more? Why hasn't someone emerged yet?
"I think both of them have had consistently good days. At the same time, when Chris Bryant was out for a couple days, we moved Graham into the guard position to battle there a little bit with Ben [Braden]. And then at the same time, we give Taylor [Lewan] a little rest in there and put Ben out to left tackle. Taylor's played a multitude of snaps, so you want to give the young guys as much in pressure situations as you can. That's probably as much as [we can do without] saying, 'Here it is.' "
Did Shane Morris play in the scrimmage?
"He didn't. He hit his finger a little bit and we just thought it was best -- he could have, probably. He was throwing it before, but we just decided not to put him in there."
Were there any other injuries coming out of scrimmage?
"Well, Darboh got banged up a little bit. You always ask me that and I usually forget, to be honest with you. But Darboh got beat up a little bit. Don't know how he'll be. [Allen] Gant got a bruise. I'm trying to think. I know there's one more I'm forgetting, but we had about three guys get a little banged up."
With Shane not participating, does that settle things at all with the No. 2 QB spot?
"No, because he's participated in every other situational thing that we do."
MGoQuestion: From the highlight video that you released, we didn't get to see much of Jibreel Black. Did he participate in the scrimmage?
"Jibreel we held out. He got a little dinger there so we held him out."
MGoFollowup: Who's backing him up at the 3-tech position?
"Ryan Glasgow and Willie Henry."
You said Amara got banged up. Is he practicing this week?
"No. He's still banged up." =(
Do you anticipate him back by the first game?
"I think I said I don't know how long he'll be out." =(
Are there any scrimmages planned for this week?
"We'll do some things."
How has Michael Schofield done this fall?
"I think Mike's done a great job. Mike plays a lot of right tackle obviously, but flips over and plays left in certain situations, you know, to get him some looks from there. I thought in the bowl game when Taylor was out a couple of plays, I thought Mike went over there and did a great job. I think it just shows how important he is to his team."
What did Kyle Kalis do to lock down his position so quickly?
"If you would ask him, you'd probably think he would have liked to play a year ago. I think it's just his consistency from spring, what he's done physically with his body, because he's a guy who is really eating better and the body fat and all that -- he really has just been so consistent. He's a strong guy. When he gets on you, he's a pretty good road grader."
How has Fitz distinguished himself? What have you seen in practice?
"Sometimes it's a mind set that guys have. The challenge for him started after the Iowa game. It was 'I want to get back. I've got to get back. How am I going to get back?' I can tell you he was here every day, either through rehab, through whatever they needed to do. Down here, pushing himself from a standpoint of his conditioning and his mindset."
Is he that far ahead of the rest of the backs?
"Well I think Drake Johnson, Thomas [Rawls] had a good run the other night, Justice [Hayes] has had some good runs in there. But I think there's a clear separation that Fitz is the guy."
What about the freshmen?
"Deveon [Smith] and Derrick [Green] -- Derrick's had limited practice. A lot of those guys [have to] finish school. He hasn't had a lot of reps. He had a little bit of an ankle early. We just have to get him more reps."
Would Derrick benefit from taking a week or two off? Is that an option?
"I think our doctors and trainers all feel that he's not doing anything worsen to it."
We heard good things about Chris Wormley. Do you see him getting significant playing time?
"There's group of guys at our strong end, with [Keith] Heitzman, Chris, and [Matt] Godin. I think all three of those guys are guys who have had good fall camps. If we can get to the point where we want to with rotating guys in, which I think we're close to doing that, he'll have some real valuable snaps."
Tell us about Heitzman.
"Keith doesn't do anything flashy. He just gets his job done. He's just truly one of those lunch pail guys who goes to work every day. Doesn't say much. Doesn't talk much. Just goes out and plays. He's a guy who's been in the program two years. There's a maturity level there. Had some limited snaps a year ago, but I think he's growing. His attitude has always been good, but I think the older you get, you get a little more mature."
Who would your third offensive tackle be right now?
"Third offensive tackle would either be Magnuson or Braden."
How has Raymon Taylor looked?
"I think both of those two are doing a really good job. Blake [Countess] at corner and in nickel, because we're playing him a little bit at both because he's good on a slot [receiver]. I think Ray has been very consistent. He's shown great leadership. He's physical. I think they both have done a good job."
MGoQuestion: What does Jarrod Wilson have to do to solidify his spot at safety?
"He's got to have production."
MGoFollowup: Have you been worried about his lack of production?
"No, we just think that we have good competition and there's guys having some production. He's got to have more."
Were you impressed with the speed of the defense?
"Yeah I don't know if our speed is all -- I don't know how good our speed is, to be honest with you. I think there was a concerted effort by 11 winged helmets to get to the football."
Is it fair to say you have your starting lineup on both sides of the ball penciled in and you're just not telling us?
"I take offense to that. You would be the first I would tell. Uh, I would say no."
How many spots are still in question?
"Probably four or five."
Are you feeling better about your team speed?
"I don't know if I feel better. I like how they went about their business on Saturday, you know? It's just not what they did up there. It's how they prepared to go up there, because when you go up to that stadium, that's a game day experience."
What led to the decision to take your team bowling yesterday instead of practicing?
"Well, number one you see what non-athletes [Ed: ?] we have. No, they've been working hard. It's 17 days of practices -- or 18 -- of getting after it. Get their minds to have some fun ... it just seemed like a good idea."
Would you say Braden's moved to tackle or is he still at guard?
"Both."
MGoQuestion: Is Brennen Beyer still limited at all?
"No. He's been back."
MGoFollowup: Is there separation between him and Cam Gordon at this point?
"Well, I think Cam is a guy who would be the No. 1 guy, but Brennen is a very good football player and he's got experience."
MGoFollowup: What about the competition at middle linebacker between Joe Bolden and Desmond Morgan?
"Desmond's always been the guy who's kind of been the starter, and he's had a good fall camp."
Still shooting for October for Jake Ryan?
"Yeah. I haven't tweaked it yet, but yeah, we'll see. Hope so."