I (sort of) work with the parent of a current Michigan football player (not directly, but I have occasional contact with her in my field of work). I saw her this morning and we chit-chatted a little about football practice and the new coaching staff. There's nothing earth-shattering here so please lower your expectations, but here are some bits of info she shared with me:

• The offensive players were given lots of Stanford film to watch over the summer. It sounded from her description like they were given video files with the name of the play superimposed over video of Stanford players actually running the play during a game. I asked if they were given any 49ers film to watch and she said she wasn't sure but didn't think so. 

• I asked her about the "country club atmosphere" comments that have been thrown around lately. She scoffed at that, saying the reality was quite the opposite. She said practices under Brady Hoke's staff were so unbelievably physical that the guys frequently entered game day so bruised and banged up that it limited their production and ability to play. Players complained to the staff about this early on during Hoke's tenure but stopped once it was clear that doing so would just cause their toughness to be questioned. After that the physical practices just became part of the program culture. She said coach Harbaugh's practices are also physical but she's encouraged because his staff has also emphasized the need for players to enter games with "fresh bodies." Caveat: Keep in mind that this is all through the lens of a mother with a child on the team, so it's possible she's describing normal football stuff that doesn't sit well with her momma-bear instinct (this has sometimes been the case with mothers in my own family). 

• She was unable to confirm the "Gentry to TE" stuff from yesterday, and I got the sense she wasn't entirely sure who he was. She knows many of the current and former players but doesn't exactly follow recruiting like we do.