Rich Rod Monday Presser Notes 9-13
File photo courtesy of the Michigan Daily
A couple notes from Michigan's Sports Information Department: Redshirt freshman defensive end Anthony LaLota has asked for, and received a transfer release. Michigan's game against Bowling Green in a couple weeks will be a noon contest on either ESPN or ESPN2.
Notre Dame and UMass
Injuries: Mike Jones suffered broken leg, and is doubtful for the remainder of the season. Brandon Herron sprained his ankle, and is day-to-day. JB Fitzgerald, Mark Moundros, Kenny Demens, and Kevin Leach will step up a bit.
"Anybody that says they don't want to be liked is probably lying to you. Everybody wants to be liked" the only thing that matters is how you react to it. Positive press "It's like poison - just don't swallow it." On bandwagoners: "What I'm worried about is things I can control. Am I a different guy now than I was two weeks ago?" People's perception is whateva for him. "There's probably some people who will still be unhappy. No matter what we do. And they'll be unhappy for the rest of their lives."
The team played well enough to win Saturday, it's not a case of being good enough to win despite playing poorly. Would like to have some plays back, "we're still not good enough to play poorly and win... I still would not like to test that out." There were enough good things to say that the team didn't play poorly.
On penalties - "some of them I still question. Nonetheless, we had them." Late hit on Cullen Christian: "I couldn't tell initially." Coaches film revealed it was a close call, but an unnecessary thing for Christian to do.
Nobody really realized that TJ Jones dropped the ball before scoring the TD. Wouldn't have known anyway, with no video boards in ND Stadium. "It's certainly a teaching moment to tell our guys to run down and jump on the ball." Michigan shouldn't have an issue with dropping the ball before the endzone: "We hand the ball to the official. That would never happen to a Michigan guy."
Poise down the stretch on the road - "You learn a lot on the road... When it's a hostile environment and the crowd goes crazy every time they make a play." There were never any Michigan guys who seemed to be afraid when ND made plays. "Hey, let's go out there and play football" was their attitude.
"I didn't see any panic whatsoever on anybody on the sidelines" after ND took the late lead. Face adversity in every game, they'll learn how to deal with it with experience.
No turnovers - "Denard put it on the ground one time" he was holding it loose, and Vincent Smith's hustle bailed him out.
"Two weeks ago, I'm not sure we'd have been favored" against UMass. Rankings didn't matter then, and don't matter now. Shouldn't bother with polls until October.
RR will bring up Virginia Tech losing to James Madison to remind the guys not to overlook anyone. "Thee's already been what 5? 5 or 6 this year?" FCS beating FBS. In FCS level, the good teams are really really good. If you play an average or below average FCS team, the D-1 teams aren't going to have a problem. "We're playing a good one. UMass is one of the good teams in 1-AA."
"You don't have to be listed as a recruiting service 5-star recruit to be a very good college player or even an NFL guy." Parity b/w 1-A and 1-AA - there are more kids that are getting known now. "All the upgraded facilities." Everyone has somthing to sell to recruits, and kids want to go somewhere they'll play. "We sell the biggest stage and greatest education."
"We'll do whatever we've gotta do to win the game." In the UMass game, they'll do what it takes to get the W, even if it means lots of Denard.
Personnel
"I'm biased. I think we've got a bunch of good guys." Guys who succeed academically, athletically, and people who are just good guys. Some guys might be misunderstood (I assume he's talking about the Chris Henry, Pacman Jones, Demar Dorsey types), but some guys you know as soon as they're on campus, "this is a great guy." Denard was raised right, and has great family support. Loves football, loves playing at Michigan with his teammates.
Denard is continuing to grow and mature in the offense. Playing on the road was an experience that will help for the future. QBs haven't been hit in practice since camp started. They're not going to beat Denard up in practice. More worried about QBs throwing too much in practice.
Should they shield Denard from the attention? They've already talked about that. Everybody wants to talk to him. Good thing for him, family, and program. He's still got a full class load, practice, etc. "We're really gonna limit him. That's probably not going to make a lot of people happy." He's not seeking attention, though everyone likes being talked about in a positive way.
Denard's performance "continuation of the first game." He executed pretty well. He was hyped up to run at start of game, and would have taken a couple decisions back. Having such a young guy tear up opponents is a surprise. QB-centered offense though. "Denard's been taking a lot of threes" like a point guard who can make you pay for sagging off him.
On Denard's 57 carries - "You coach your team, I'll coach mine." [Ed: sounds like a snap back at Brian Kelly. Doesn't seem like there's much love lost there.] Lots of carries, but they do what it takes to win. Have two good backups. Denard getting better on run game reads and keeping his eyes in the right spot. He has great vision to read blocks - something they've been hamering him on since training camp.
"Some running backs, the more carries they get the better they go. Our running backs are fresh (laughs)."
RBs - They ran hard. There weren't missed reads, their lack of success was just due to the way ND was playing them. Opens up more things for the QB. Denard made a couple bad reads in the run game, but for the most part was sharp. "I think our biggest improvement in the runningback is to be involved not in the running, but the other aspects of it." They blocked well, and ran good routes. They can still block better.
Shaw and Smith "They're playing hard, not breaking a lot of big runs year but I like their effort." They understand the offense, are doing the little stuff, helping Denard with communication. "I'd like to get some of those other backs into the flow." Mike Cox, Stephen Hopkins, and Teric Jones might get into the flow. Fitzgerald Toussaint may be healthy enough to go this week.
Stephen Hopkins: "Yeah, every time he carries, he scores." He's a bigger back, but has a lot of 1-back skills. Getting closer to doing a lot of that stuff.
Roundtree's toughness: "He practiced all week." By Thursday he was doing everything, and there were no issues with the doctors. He made some nice plays. Receivers did a good job blocking downfield, but can still improve.
Outside WRs - "[Denard]'s got a lot of confidence with Roy, Martavious, Darryl Stonum." Hoping Hemingway will come back soon. Not a lot of depth out there. Tay and Stonum taking 80-some snaps - too many.
Downfield was blocking better than game one, but still can improve (from wideouts).
RR doesn't care who gets the yard if the team gets 500 rushing. "Would you like to have more balance? Yeah, if they give you that." "Denard wouldn't have whatever he's got rushing if he didn't have some dudes blocking for him up front."
Will Campbell and Quinton Washington couldn't wait for the game to start, and were hoping for a short-yardage situation. They have a few other packages that they're involved in.
Molk - "He and Steve Schilling are the two emotional leaders up front." Patrick Omameh - "He played better. And he'd be the first one to tell you the first game wasn't his best performance." He still has room to improve. The OL as a whole graded out "OK, it wasn't great. I thought Notre Dame's line got after us pretty good."
Defense good minus big plays - "you have to count the big plays in there." The D still held Notre Dame to six three-and-outs. There were lots of possessions though. They can play better, and missed more tackles than the first week (ND's players and technique issues in tackling were responsible for that). The three interceptions were huge.
Cam Gordon just made two bad plays. Just a technique thing where he misjudged the angles. "He'll be fine."
James Rogers - Really consistent. "He's seen the field, I've been really pleased with his play so far."
Kicking battle still open. Broekhuizen kicked the last extra point. Doesn't know today who will start on Sturday.
Hagerup will punt a lot better than he did on Saturday - just not on his game. "I didn't ask him" if it was technique or nerves "I just said 'can you kick a little better?'" Meram - hasn't been over as much with his soccer responsibilities.
Etc.
Expecting 30-some guys to show up for walkon tryouts "I think there's gonna be a lot of kickers." "Maybe there's another Kovacs in there. Gosh, would that be great?"
UM Transplant Center - "I know what they do and the lives that they save." Had a staffer at WVU need a transplant to save his life. "I'm an organ donor. It's easy to do on your driver's license." Wolverine-Buckeye challenge to sign up people for organ donor registry. 108k people waiting for a transplant "The entire Big House."
September 13th, 2010 at 1:34 PM ^
"We hand the ball to the official. That would never happen to a Michigan guy."
Love it.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:17 PM ^
I love this quote. Really flies in the face of the whole "RR destroys our culture" thing. I always like it when the players hand the FB to the ref, rather than pull some asshat arrogant move. Very respectful.
September 14th, 2010 at 1:44 AM ^
CLASS: Denard sprinting ALL the way to the endzone, letting up only after crossing the goal line and taking a sincere knee to thank God for the ability to do what he just did. Then he hands the ref the ball.
ASS: ND receiver letting up and dropping the ball before crossing the goal line - just to raise his hand to his ear to say, "Lets hear it for MEEEEEEE!!!!!" to the student section.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:25 PM ^
It's probably too haughty for RichRod, but I hope he someday feels comfortable replacing "Michigan guy" in these remarks with "Michigan man." But I have noticed the degree to which he has instilled a hand-the-ball-to-the-official mentality vs. the late Carr era.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:43 PM ^
Does RR let the officials know "We hand the ball to the official." I think I've seen serval instances where the officials perhaps need to remind our scoring players to hand them the ball (ND '09).
If so, Keyshawn would make a great Big Ten back judge.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:40 PM ^
played much better than I thought they would be. I'm very impressed with Mantei Te'o, he's most likely the best LB that Michigan is going to face all year(yes I know there's Greg Jones from MSU, but I think Te'o is better). Te'o is going to play on Sunday and I'm not so sure if he should be taking mormon mission since he has a future as a NFL LB. ND is going to be very good this year and would not be surprised if win 8-9 games this season.
I've noticed that ND defense went to even front with a lot of late shifting. That causes some confusion upfront for Michigan. Good thing that Michigan has Denard who basically outathleted defenders with the exception of Te'o who seems unfazed by Robinson.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:57 PM ^
I agree. At the beginning of the year, I thought Utah, Pitt and USC were sure losses for ND, but I think they have a good chance to win those games now.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:48 PM ^
This doesn't take away from a great win but Jesus Christ, this player movement is way more than average attrition, and IME can't be attributed to only individual factors. But I have no idea what is is, so will retreat to my shelter and just say WTF.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:27 PM ^
Lalota came in smaller and slower than advertised. He was going to be a project to begin with given his short football history. I believe he was beginning to realize than he probably would never be a major contributor at this level -- See J. Black passing him on the chart as a true frosh.
IMO - It still wouldn't suck to get a FREE U of M (out of state even) degree - But maybe Anthony will be happier elsewhere closer to home maybe and somewhere he will get to play.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:53 PM ^
Cam Gordon just made 2 bad plays. Just a technique thing where he misjudged the angles. "He'll be fine."James Rogers - Really consistent. "He's seen the field, I've been really pleased with his play so far.
read: "we just conjured a functional secondary out of spare parts. Woo!!"
Cam is about what we thought- athletic, but raw. Rogers being decent to good is still blowing my mind.
September 13th, 2010 at 1:52 PM ^
there has to be something going on behind the scenes im not sure what it is… i was looking forward to lalota, well i guess winning mask everything. GO BLUE
September 13th, 2010 at 2:09 PM ^
My take would be that with the past few seasons of Michigan football you have recruits that picked UM because they thought they could have immediate playing time. As we get young athletes that begin to separate themselves at their position the guys that have found themselves behind are going to transfer to another school rather than fight for the position. I wish they would stay and fight as it would make the team better in the end but I think the players that came expecting to play right away will leave because there is now a new obstacle.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^
Hey, again I'll take this blessing in disguise. something that NFL teams do all the time and college coaches wish they could do ( but won't publicly say) is cut the bottom of the roster and get better talent. RR knows that if hes going to be back next year its probably becasue this was a some what successful year which will bring on better recruits. The problem is we might not have that many scholarships to give out. So when a player ( who doesn't show a lot of promiss for playing time now or in the future) want to transfer, they're not to hesitant to let him go. If this was a second stringer or raw younger player, it would be a problem, but he's not and although Im sure RR loves all his players ( like all coaches do) hes not losing sleep over it, but instead dreaming about that extra 4/5 recruit might get out of hm.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:23 PM ^
The publicly posted depth chart is not behind the scenes (nor are the guys we see getting playing time on Saturdays). If you look at it, you realize Lalota was behind about a dozen guys at the various OLB/DE spots, including walk-ons and true freshmen. When confronted with being the last man on the totem pole, he decided he would rather go to a school that in his mind gave him a better chance to see the field. End of story. Lalota had an understandable reaction to his situation and the coaches are allowing him to do what he feels is best for his future. This happens everywhere and doesn't look like a bad move for either party. Can we all relax now?
September 13th, 2010 at 4:43 PM ^
Has anyone done a diary before on MI's attrition post-transition vs. other major football powers. It feels abnormally high, but I think a lot of us having been paying closer attention to the guys further down the depth chart in the last couple of years.
September 13th, 2010 at 5:36 PM ^
I think the attrition has more to do with our lack of experienced upperclassmen the past few years, not necessarily something going on behind the scenes. It’s difficult when you come in as the bright shiny new toy and then a year later a newer, more shiny toy comes along. When you have a cupboard full of experienced players in front of you from the get go it’s an easier transition to come to the realization that you’re going to have to wait your turn. Imagine if you’re up for a promotion and it’s between yourself, a co-worker who started a year after you, and one who has 10+ years of tenure. Aren’t you a little more salty if the individual who started after you gets the promotion instead of the colleague with more tenure than you both?
September 13th, 2010 at 1:54 PM ^
Expecting 30some guys to show up for walkon tryouts "I think there's gonna be a lot of kickers." "Maybe there's another Kovacs in there. Gosh, would that be great?"
I just picture a random 150 lb. dude on campus reading this and immediately doing sprints and push-ups on the track with his old high school jersey on.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:06 PM ^
First off, +1 for you avatar. Second, if said 150 lb kid can kick a 40 yard FG, bring it on.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:16 PM ^
playing a hobbit. He kicked an orc's head about twenty yards, but the helmet was still on.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:00 PM ^
Should read: "I play football for Michigan. I'm the ball."
September 13th, 2010 at 1:58 PM ^
Love all the guys saying they dont care about being the the top 25. Staying focused.
Denard along with being an outstanding QB seems like such a good kid. Humble guy, love it.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:01 PM ^
Now lists Denard Robinson hotness as "volcanic"
http://www.google.com/trends/hottrends?q=denard+robinson&date=2010-9-11&sa=X
September 13th, 2010 at 2:02 PM ^
come on down!
September 13th, 2010 at 2:04 PM ^
For the 502 errors, too.
(Seriously, what's up with that? Maybe the UFRs need to wait, till people can get on the site at high traffic times....it's costing Brian dolla dolla bills, y'all!)
And as Glutton says, the quote is awesome. A bit inflammatory to ND, but, well, F'em.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:48 PM ^
Go Kovacs go. RR giving Kovacs some well deserved props.
Maybe we can find another Kovacs, god wouldn't that be great
I'm paraphrasing RR talking about tryouts for football during presser
September 13th, 2010 at 2:44 PM ^
Does anyone out there feel like they are warming up to Coach Rodriguez now after being skeptical or even negative after the first two years? I've been a fan since the beginning, believing him to be a good coach and just needing the right players, but I'm wondering if any naysayers out there are changing their opinion . . .
September 13th, 2010 at 2:44 PM ^
If you play an average or below average FCS team, the D-1 teams aren't going to have a problem.
I guess with no Little Brown Jug game this year, Rodriguez skipped over the Minnesota game film.
September 13th, 2010 at 2:53 PM ^
Are we in trouble?
September 13th, 2010 at 2:57 PM ^
"We hand the ball to the official. That would never happen to a Michigan guy."
Love it.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:13 PM ^
is it just me, or is RR a pretty funny guy when he's not stressed out of his mind?
September 13th, 2010 at 3:20 PM ^
"On Denard's 57 carries - "You coach your team, I'll coach mine." [Ed: sounds like a snap back at Brian Kelly. Doesn't seem like there's much love lost there.]"
Why di RR say that? Somebody please fill me in.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:13 PM ^
From ESPN:
"I think he's a tough kid," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "When you run a quarterback 25 times, you've got to have toughness. I'll let Coach [Rodriguez] figure out whether that's the case for 10 games. Coach Rodriguez knows better than I do. But we hit him pretty hard today."
September 13th, 2010 at 8:57 PM ^
Oh, well. Coach Rod knows what he's doing. 2-1 against ND while at Michigan!!!
Go Bluuuuuue!!!!!!!!
September 13th, 2010 at 11:30 PM ^
The really ironic thing about Kelly's statement is the fact that HE is the one who actually jeopardized his QB because his other QB's sucked The coach who put his concussed QB back in the game was taking a shot at RR - implying that Rod put his QB at jeopardy just to win that game and that he sold his soul in essence to beat Notre Dame at the exepnse of the rest of the season. He is implying that RR could not have won fair and square and that he overused Denard.
Get used to this new meme. RR will not be given any credit for developing Robinson and fitting him into RR's own system. When M wins it will because his players overcame RR. Robinson will in essence have transcended the system and apparently won despite it. There will always be a reason to put an asterisk after RR's success now and until M wins with Robinson having less than even decent numbers. Of course what this meme will ignore is that other teams don't have to apologize for their good qb play. Did Florida ever get less credit because Tebow changed the world. Did Tressel get less credit because Troy Smith was a magician. Ditto Vince Young's Texas, or Michael Vick's VT. No of course not because those coaches were not the national whipping boy.
That is what was so great about the Rittenberg post in side bar. Rittenberg gets taht everything Robinson is doing is because he is put in a position to do it in RR's system.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:37 PM ^
One good thing about the attrition going forward is that it opens up more slots in this coming recruiting class. Michigan is getting a lot of positive press and is ranked again, and that will only lead to positive things in the game of recruiting. I wish Anthony the best going forward, sorry it didn't work out for you here at Michigan. Obviously there was something wrong with him when a true frosh comes in and is immediately ahead of him on the depth chart. We can use all the extra spots we can get for this next class, which will fill in a lot of depth on the defensive side of the ball. I wouldn't read into it too much, these things happen. I'm so excited for the future of this team, and so should everyone else! It's great to be a Meeeeeechigan Wolverine!
September 13th, 2010 at 3:43 PM ^
Where is your God now?
September 14th, 2010 at 2:15 AM ^
In the epic UM-OSU battle for the services of fey, uber literate songsmiths, I am sorry to say that OSU has carried the day.
Perhaps Belle or Sebastian will sign with UM?
September 13th, 2010 at 3:52 PM ^
Nobody really realized that TJ Jones dropped the ball before scoring the TD. Wouldn't have known anyway, with no video boards in ND Stadium. "It's certainly a teaching moment to tell our guys to run down and jump on the ball.
I wonder if we're really going to see that in the next games.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:40 PM ^
Then no, we won't.
That works both ways, obviously.
September 13th, 2010 at 3:54 PM ^
We have our first RichRod era rock star. Every running back in the country has thought of himself and Denard in the backfield. A few good old fashioned Michigan kicks the stuffing out of teams performances and recruits will forget the last two years.
September 13th, 2010 at 4:48 PM ^
I thought Anthony was originally an OL prospect. Was he given a shot there?
September 13th, 2010 at 11:32 PM ^
who is a candidate on both sides of the ball.
September 14th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
RR has us going in the right direction. Things will turn up from here. LaLota just leaves us with another Scholorship.
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