Program Insight - Bored, I thought I'd post this

As some of you may know, I have some personal contacts that are very close to the program, so I often am lucky enough to gain some personal insight into the season ahead. I was on the phone yesterday with one of my contacts killing time while I was on my drive down to Memphis (business). A few things. Question: "Honestly, what record do the guys on the team think we'll have this year?" Answer: "Undefeated" He went on to say that there definitely isn't a game on the schedule that they shouldn't win - ND is at home and they are ND.......MSU, although on the road, is MSU/they're better under Dantonio, but who is playing Qb/Rb for them? last year all they had was Ringer and it was smoke & mirrors by Dantonio.......OSU, although a great program, is rebuilding alot more than people think/This game will be at home and will be the last game of the season, so our QB's will have had time to develop/Also, contrary to what people think - RichRod DOES put an emphasis on the OSU game, and I can assure you that they do have a bullseye on their heads - He just isn't a media whore like some other coaches we know and would rather get his team hyped the football way....He went on to say that if there's a game that we could lose, it's PSU - they're gonna be good this year. Question: "Honestly man, is the Barwis program that tough?" Answer: "Insanely tough - The team has NEVER done the same workout twice. From a running perspective, our linebackers and lineman are expected to hit sprint times that other programs reserve for running backs (making an illusion to a friend at another D1 program.) This team is definitely the most well conditioned team in college football - guaranteed (coming from a pretty humble guy, IMO)" Question: "Give me some tidbits - Who sticks out to you so far?" * Donovan Warren is one of the hardest workers ever. He is primed for a breakout season (living up to his HS hype) * Cam Gordon - Great player, has great size - He'll probably (likely) move to linebacker though. He can play WR, but his catching ability just isn't all that natural. * Denard Robinson - Hasn't practiced yet but there's been opportunity to see him throw to some receivers - He's got a really nice zing on the ball - That, coupled with his athleticism, should make him pretty scary Question - "Starting QB, honestly, who is it gonna be?" Answer "Tate - He'll be there, Sheridan will definitely play some though, at least until the Tate/Denard program takes hold. Don't count Sheridan all the way out though - He's definitely better than he was last year, his skills don't fit the system though" Most of this stuff is just random stuff that we already knew, but it's cool to hear it from someone close to the program. I was really impressed to hear their response on the record. The are a very confident bunch and strongly feel that there isn't a game on the schedule that they shoulnd't win - Obviously every team in America thinks that, but it feels pretty good to hear it from your boys.