Rich Rodriguez Press Conference Notes 9-30 Comment Count

Tim

Short and sweet today:

  • Injuries: Tate Forcier practiced yesterday. He should be able to do everything today, and will play against the Spartans. His throwing shoulder is sore, Rodriguez isn't an expert so he doesn't want to give a diagnosis. Jon Conover was ruled out earlier in the week, but it now looks like he could play. Brandon Minor is practicing today after resting Monday and Tuesday (which he has done in past weeks). Hopefully in future weeks, he'll be able to go the whole week. Mike Williams has practiced and will be able to play: "Mike's good to go."
  • 2nd Corner position: Boubacar Cissoko and JT Floyd will compete in practice over the next couple days for the starting spot. Their playing time may depend on game situations. Justin Turner is still a little ways off, but his playing time will increase as he gets comfortable.
  • Special teams: Greg Mathews is doing a good job on punt returns, Martavious Odoms and JR Hemingway are taking reps back there. The team has gone after punts a couple times this year and been close, but they haven't blocked one yet. At kick return, Darryl Stonum has really come into his own. He was just one defender away from taking a couple back against Indiana.
  • On MSU and bulletin board material: "I don't think any of our players have said anything disrespectful. I think we respect their program and their players." The Michigan team focuses on themselves and what they can do. Does the team use bulletin board material during the week? "Maybe" (sheepish grin). It's more useful helping the players focus on the game during the week of practice. Once the gametime rolls around, nobody needs a quote to get hyped up. The guys understand the importance of the rivalry - and if they don't, the older guys are quick to fill them in.
  • The team will head to East Lansing Friday. It's nice, because the trip is a little shorter and easier. The team will not go through a full walkthrough in Spartan Stadium - just let guys get a feel for the natural surface, see which side of the field they'll be on, etc.
  • They've worked on a couple technique things with David Moosman's snaps. Some of the fumbles on Saturday may have been the QBs' fault. Moos's snaps have been looking good, and they've practiced with wet balls in case of rain.


Comments

Catchafire

September 30th, 2009 at 4:09 PM ^

I enjoy reading these and was wondering if we can get our opposing teams press conference notes the week before we play them. It would be nice to see what/how they are doing.

benpom

September 30th, 2009 at 5:41 PM ^

All right, so contrary to my pre-season hopes, Minor is not in the running for the Heisman this year.

But Im wondering if his ankles are keeping him from getting a healthy amount of touches during the games. Obviously, Carlos is doing a fine job and i'm glad hes healthy, but is Minor really still hurt?

Could coach be keeping him out of line-up to make sure he's healthy for heavy end of schedule (Oct 24th through Nov 21)?

Any thoughts?

ajscipione

September 30th, 2009 at 9:18 PM ^

So now Dantonio is playing the "disrepect" card. I thought Rodney Dangerfield was the only comic that never got any respect. Dantonio is nothing but a weasel. I hope M kicks State's butt!