On if Mike Hart will be ready to go versus Wisconsin:
" I get the trainer's report this afternoon, but I would suspect that
we'll have to see how he does tomorrow. So, I can't tell you. I really cannot
tell you."
On Doug Dutch:
"Dutch came down with a 103 degree temperature last Friday and was ruled
out of the game. I expect Doug back."
On if Mario Manningham played more because Breaston got dinged:
"No, [Breaston] didn't get dinged. We went into the game with the idea
that because of Adrian Arrington's absence, and certainly with Doug Dutch missing
the game, it gave us an opportunity that we really were looking for. That was
to play Mario Manningham more and to get Antonio Bass into the game. We were
able to do that. They made some mistakes in there. They are not where they need
to be in terms of understanding all of the things and all of the nuances of
their position. But certainly, they will learn from that experience. I think
both of them got the football and did some good things."
On Adam Kraus moving around on the offensive line:
"I thought he did a wonderful job moving to guard to replace Matt Lentz.
I think he played as well as we could have expected him to play. He made our
Victor's Club, which goes to those guys who have excellent performances. To
do that in his first start at the guard, I think he's a have very bright guy.
He, of course, came here as a tight end and played his freshman year, his redshirt
year, as a tight end. But we moved him inside and he's done a very good job.
He's a hard worker, and the guy loves to play the game. I saw him this morning
as I was coming into the office and I asked him, 'What do you like best?' He
said, 'I like them both.' See, he pays attention."
On Alex Mitchell:
"I think Alex Mitchell has very very good ability and I think he did
some very good things. But, you know, it's very typical. One of the problems
we've had these last two weeks is some of the protections have broken down.
Alex made a mistake early in that game on the first touchdown pass that went
to Jason Avant. His man came off and hit Chad Henne as hard as you can hit a
man. So [Alex] has got to learn from that. I think he made very good strides.
I think the first play he played in in the first game, he got a chance to go
in and he jumped off-sides. So every time you get the play, you learn something.
You're less nervous and you're more secure in what you're doing, and that really
is the good news about Saturday. We had a lot of guys get that get opportunity."
On the defensive line:
"Alan Branch has really stepped up. I think he's been very, very productive.
But we're not as deep inside as we would like to be. The good news is Terrance Taylor got to play I think 14 or 15 snaps in there on Saturday. He's a guy that
I think will get better and better. We need him to do that because it does give
us more depth. I think we're not as deep as we would like to be, but I don't
know that you're ever as deep as you want to be."
On Adam Stenavich:
"I think Adam has had a wonderful career at Michigan. He's a three-year
starter. He's a guy that's very smart. He's an outstanding technician. He takes
great pride in the way he does his job. He's a very good leader because of his
consistency. He's the same day-in and day-out. I never have to get on Adam Stenavich
because he hasn't been practicing hard, because he's been making mental mistakes,
or because he's not doing the things that he needs to do. He's been a lot of
fun to have around. He's the kind of guy that you know is part of the backbone
of our team from the standpoint of playing the game like you want a guy to play
the game."
On Brian Thompson:
"Brian Thompson, he's off to a wonderful start. You never know coming
off a foot injury, but he's an extremely tough competitor. All during training
camp he fought the discomfort of coming off that injury. He rehabbed it, I think,
as diligently as you could ask a guy to because he has a great desire to play.
He's tough and he knows what he's doing now. He was a tight end in high school
and played some fullback I think. Originally, we started him out at linebacker,
but I always like the idea of having him on offense because he's got very good
hands, and he is really playing well. He's had some great blocks on the perimeter,
he blocks well on the off-tackle play and on the isolation plays, and he can
catch the ball. I like Thompson a lot. I just hope he can continue to play and
stay healthy."
On Tim Jamison:
"I think he's a guy that has a lot of ability. The problem that he's
facing right now is that he missed almost all of the year ago. So from an experience
factor, he's not where he needs to be, but Tim is a very aggressive guy. He's
a guy that's going to give you everything he's got. I think he's going to develop
into a very good football player and he's the kind of an athlete that I think
against certain teams, there will be a role for him. And hopefully in the next
few weeks he's going to gain enough experience and confidence that he'll be
able to help us, because he's got ability."
On Steve Breaston's play at receiver:
"I think he's not played like he wants to play. He came into training
camp and was limited somewhat with a hamstring that slowed him down. I think
Steve Breaston is one of those guys that expects so much out of himself and
puts so much pressure on himself that if he doesn't do every single thing right,
it bothers him. You like that kind of an attitude in a guy. But I'm trying to
tell him just to relax and play and don't worry about all of the critics and
all of the people who say you're not this and you're not that because that's
almost a surefire way to not play like you're capable. I think Breaston will
be fine. I think he's just got to play like he's capable, and I think he will."
On Gabe Watson not starting the past two games:
"Well, I'm not going to say much about it. I can say it's not an easy
thing. I mean, it's a difficult thing for everybody. You have to start with
the fact that it's a competitive situation, and that's really what the game
is all about. Well, because any time the guy is in a position that there are
great expectations, and for whatever reason, sometimes it's an injury, sometimes
it's something else. So those are always tough for everybody. But it is what
is it. I'm not going to talk about some issues on a team. I don't feel any responsibility
to talk about certain things. The player/coach relationship is one of them."
On Matt Lentz dressing butnot playing against EMU:
"The reason he dressed was to see in warm-ups if he could go out and run,
loosen up, and then sometimes a guy can do that and feel much better. Because
24 hours, 48 hours, it's amazing the progress some of these injuries you can
make with them. We wanted him to loosen up and see how he felt. But there was
never any intention to play him."
On the running back situation if Mike Hart can't play:
"Well, Max got a lot of good work. I think Jerome Jackson has had a very
good fall. The key for us at that position is to have a guy that will protect
the quarterback and secure the football. We have been relatively careless with
the ball. Now, we didn't have any issues on Saturday, but I think at that position
we've got to take care of the football and we have to protect the quarterback.
If we can't do that, then we're going to really struggle offensively because
what we're trying to do is have some balance. We're trying to get the ball to
people that can do something with it. To do that you can't just line up and
run the tailback off-tackle. It's a little bit different world than that, and
Wisconsin is going to put more than the law allows close to the line of scrimmage.
I'm trying to get that rule changed where you can't put nine guys up there,
but that's what they do. So until the rules changes, we have to throw the ball.
We'd like to just run every down."
On Ryan Mundy's status:
"Mundy, I think will not play in game competition this fall."
On Ryan Mundy's injury:
"Well, there's nothing to take care of as far as…except that we've
tried to. We were hoping that he will be able to return. He has the kind of
an injury very similar to Lawrence Reid's. What he's decided, I think, is that
we would like to give it some rest so that we can see what happens in spring
practice. I'm not particularly encouraged. I'm disappointed that it just hasn't
come around."
On if Ryan Mundy eligible for a redshirt and Mike Kolodziej's injury:
"Yes, he is. He played as a true freshman. I can't be specific."
"Mike, it was nothing that happened (in practice). He just woke up last
Wednesday morning and didn't feel well. We're doing some things to try to find
out. I think he's fine, but other than that, I just don't know."