And They're Off Comment Count

Brian

Note: MGoBlog did not manage to get on the right lists in time to be notified what was going down with the first practice and presser and whatnot and thus missed it. We should be set now and better able to act as a primary source on these things. For now we round up what other people saw.

I can haz secondary? Three items of personnel interest:

  • Jason Forcier has a locker but didn't practice. Michigan kind of thinks he might be eligible, then. He's not on the roster, though.
  • Marell Evans did practice. There were rumors he was briefly off the roster and may be flirting with a departure
  • Justin Turner and Adrian Witty did not practice, but remain on the roster and have lockers. Rodriguez thinks both will get cleared:
  • Still, Rodriguez remains hopeful both will be cleared to practice soon. He kept spots open for both on Michigan’s 105-man reporting roster, and both have stalls waiting in Michigan’s new locker room.

    “I’m pretty optimistic and hopefully (Turner’s) will be quicker,” Rodriguez said. “But wait and see.”

Speaking of said lockers, the Daily has a photoset from the day featuring Michigan's swanky new digs. But, uh, what doesn't belong in this picture?

University of Michigan's new practice facility was unveiled on August, 10th 2009. Among the new facilities was a new field and locker room August, 10th 2009. (SAM WOLSON/Daily)

Flat screen TV… beautiful wood paneling… futuristic labels… chairs you wouldn't seat your grandmother on even if you didn't like her, you cad. Someone get some Aeron in there.

Throwin'. AnnArbor.com got some footage of the QBs throwing, though it was apparently taken by Michael J Fox:

Forcier's throws, unsurprisingly, look the sharpest. Despite that, uh, this was written by the Daily's Ryan Kartje:

-Nick Sheridan probably looked the most comfortable and well-refined on the field, compared to Denard and Tate. But no one is matching Tate's enthusiasm which had him jumping up and down for a good portion of the drills.

Dude, man, even if that's true I want you to lie to me. This is what I want to hear:

I won’t make any bold predictions one practice into fall camp, but after watching Michigan work out for about an hour Monday without pads, I’d give Tate Forcier the easy edge in the battle to become the Wolverines starting quarterback.

The media was allowed to watch five periods of individual work Monday, and Forcier was much crisper in passing drills than fellow freshman Denard Robinson.

Kartje also reports that Robinson is fast but rusty and tends to throw screens way too high; Birkett says the quarterbacks are small, which uh yeah they are.

Eeeeeeee. Will Campbell at the Army game…

will-campbell-army 

…Will Campbell in spring…

Will_Campbell_and_Tate_Forcier

…and Will Campbell minus an average-sized fifth grader at practice:

will-campbell-skinny

Campbell has taken step one away from Gabe Watson-style disappointment*.

*(Not that Watson was exactly a disappointment: two-time All Conference and a solid NFL player. But he could have been All-American.)

Er? Is there a name in the wrong spot on this list?

The rough Day 1 depth chart at receiver: Greg Matthews went ahead of Junior Hemmingway in drills at one outside spot, and LaTerryal Savoy drilled ahead of James Rogers and Darryl Stonum at the other. At the slot, Martavious Odoms was first up in drills followed by Roy Roundtree and Terrence Robinson.

"Laterryal Savoy drilled ahead of Darryl Stonum" is only explicable if they did the order by numbers of Rs, Ys, and Ls in your first name. Other reports had Stonum dropping a lot of balls, which is not good if Michigan is going to have a deep threat this year.

They're going down in a blaze of glory. Michael Rothstein's come over to AnnArbor.com from his beat covering Notre Dame football at the Fort Wayne Gazette, so his viewpoint of the two programs will be an interesting one. Like for instance here:

At Notre Dame, the only music I ever remember hearing was on Thursdays, and that was a Charlie Weis-inspired playlist of Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen with a little bit of Crank Me Up worked in last year. At Michigan, music was going throughout a bunch of the practice that the media observed, everything from Soulja Boy to some old school rock. Definitely a variety for both the players and coaches.

No wonder ND can't run the ball.

Comments

UMaD

August 11th, 2009 at 3:41 PM ^

I'm not seeing the same thing. Besides some improved muscle tone in the arms perhaps, its hard to tell much of a difference considering the "after" shot is taken without pads and from the side (whereas the other two shots pretty much maximize the body width appearance). But whatever, I'd imagine his endurance and explodabilityness are being improved. Mass probably isn't so important for a DT. Other than as a general sign of fitness, I wouldn't care too much if he lost size.

maizenbluedevil

August 11th, 2009 at 6:59 PM ^

he's sportin in the first 2 pics is almost gone in the third pic. He's a lot slimmer in the mid section, a very impressive change in 4 months. (The spring game was in April, I think) Especially considering that usually when you're slimming down, the last thing you lose is the gut, that means he's dropped *a lot* of body fat. That's gonna make a big difference for him on the field.

UMaD

August 11th, 2009 at 7:41 PM ^

you're right. I can't really tell in the 2nd picture but in the 1st he does look somewhat flabby. In this photo he does not: http://www.tigerrag.com/wp-content/uploads/campbell_william1.jpg I'm not totally convinced, but he certainly does appear bigger in this one (again with pads and from the front) http://photos.mlive.com/photos/ann-arbor-news/196a85cd0e12ef93295e76611…

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

August 11th, 2009 at 7:00 PM ^

I think you have it backwards. I'd expect to see a potbelly much better if the picture is from the side instead of the front. The giant lolling gut is painfully obvious in the Army game picture even though it's not from the side. There is no gut now. The "fifth-grader" comment is obviously an exaggeration, but Campbell looks like he's lost 20 pounds of fat, easy.

Carl Spackler

August 11th, 2009 at 11:00 PM ^

Mass improves power. you wouldn't want a DT to be svelte. look at any super heavy weight in olympic weightlifting. they all have some bulk on them (i.e. guts) because it's needed to get the power to lift heavy weight. same can be applied to DT. i am sure big Will is extremely explosive and that's what matters.

Other Andrew

August 11th, 2009 at 3:26 PM ^

Sure, vertical stripes are slimming, but eeeEEEEE(!) Barwis. Wow. Bon Jovi? I have even less respect for Charlie Weis than I did this morning. What the hell is wrong with that guy?

BlockM

August 11th, 2009 at 3:28 PM ^

Aerons in the lockerroom? Dumb idea. Worst chair ever. (I may or may not be working for a furniture company other than Herman Miller right now.)

Bleedin9Blue

August 11th, 2009 at 4:09 PM ^

Are you sure that it's going to be stools, I know that if I just played a half of football I'd want something to rest against (like the back of a chair) rather than having to keep myself up. But maybe it's just Barwis continuing to work on strengthening the player's cores even when they're not working out.

The King of Belch

August 12th, 2009 at 6:01 AM ^

This is Barwis World and comfy chairs are the toys of the coddled cream puffs of Oregon. Plus, the stools are probably in place so the players don't relax too much and head right off to study hall!

hathachips

August 11th, 2009 at 7:52 PM ^

look to be like the ones you get from a rental company for your high school graduation party. I'm guessing they will bring in something nicer considering the Flat Screen TV and all that rich mahogany. I'm thinking Lazy Boys or a full size bed.

WildcatBlue

August 11th, 2009 at 4:09 PM ^

Wear Ugly until game day then change into Motherfucking Classic. It's a subtle psychological boost, akin to swimmers shaving before a big meet. Or Tressel wearing a freshly pressed vest. PS Tressel also shaves his bits. Pryor told me and he has to spot for him.

Blazefire

August 11th, 2009 at 4:16 PM ^

Question: Is that a Michigan playbook on that chair, and if so, shouldn't it be locked up when people you don't know with cameras and recording equipment are walking through the locker room?