On the upcoming season:
"I'm very excited about this Michigan team. We have an excellent nucleus
of returning players offensively, defensively, and in the kicking game. We've
had a great offseason, with the only disappointment being the loss of Antonio Bass in the spring. With that exception, we go into fall practice healthy. I
think we have a great attitude, a strong nucleus of leaders, and our goals are
extremely high."
“On defense, I think the strength of our team is going to be the front
four with LaMarr Woodley and Alan Branch - two of the finest defensive linemen
we've had at Michigan. I think Terrance Taylor is going to be an excellent nose
guard. He is a sophomore that got some experience a year ago. Tim Jamison from
here in Chicago, Rondell Biggs, and Will Johnson give us six big strong physical
guys that will hopefully allow us to get pressure with a four man rush, which
we were not able to do much of a year ago.”
“All of our linebackers are back. David Harris will start in the middle.
Shawn Crable, who has had a great spring and is a guy that I think has great
potential, will be our SAM linebacker. Chris Graham and Prescott Burgess will
compete for the other linebacker position.”
“Leon Hall has a chance to be one of the best corners in the country
- one of the best corners that we've had at Michigan. The other cornerback position
is up for grabs. Charles Stewart had a great spring. Johnny Sears is a very
talented guy. Morgan Trent played a year ago. All of those guys will play a
role, but somebody is going to have to win that other spot.”
“We have four safeties that are all experienced. Ryan Mundy, we’re
hoping will be healthy. He had a very good spring. He missed all of a year ago
after an injury in the opening game sidelined him for the year. Willis Barringer
got some starts as did Brandent Englemon. Jamar Adams is about 6-3, 215 and
I think he is ready to become an outstanding safety.”
“In the kicking game, Garrett Rivas is back and Ross Ryan, who did an
excellent job as our kickoff guy, is back. He will compete for the starting
punting job with Zoltan Mesko, a sophomore that has shown great promise. In
Steve Breaston I think you have one of the finer kick return guys in the nation.
Leon Hall has returned kicks and we have a freshman, Carlos Brown, that will
factor into that part of the game.”
“On offense, we have one spot that we’re going to have to determine
during fall practices. Mark Bihl will start at center, Adam Kraus at left guard,
and Jake Long, who missed much of a year ago, will be the starting left tackle.
On the right side, Rueben Riley has played both guard and tackle and will be
the starter at one of those positions. We’ll have a competition for the
other between Mike Kolodziej and Alex Mitchell.”
“Our tight ends are back. Tyler Ecker, Brian Thompson, and Mike Massey
all played a year ago. We have a talented young sophomore named Carson Butler
that will factor in as well.”
“At the wide receiver position everybody is back except for Jason Avant.
We have two young guys. LaTerryal Savoy, who was redshirted a year ago, will
factor in there. We have a freshman named Greg Mathews that has been in Ann
Arbor all summer, and I think he will factor in. With Breaston, Tabb, and Manningham,
we have a number of guys that have experience. Our receiving corps should be
very good.”
“At the fullback position, Obi Oluigbo had a great spring. Will Paul
moved from defense two years ago. I like our fullback position.”
“I think Mike Hart is a great football player - one of the best I've
coached. He is a great leader and he has no weaknesses. He can run the football,
he's a great pass receiver, a great pass protector, and a guy that plays with
great energy. When he's healthy he brings something special to the table. Kevin Grady has lost ten pounds. He is down around 216 – 217. We have a redshirt
freshman named Mister Simpson that I really like. I think he is going to play
an important on our team. And we have two very talented freshmen in Carlos Brown
and Brandon Minor. Our situation at runningback is probably as good as it has
been since I’ve been at Michigan from a depth standpoint.”
"Chad Henne is ready to take another step. I think at some point he'll
be a great quarterback. He's got everything it takes to be a great quarterback.
Jason Forcier will be the backup. We’re excited about the progress that
he has made, but we are inexperienced at that position."
On if he has circled the Penn State game:
“Well we’ve circled every date we have that occurs on Saturday.
I think we had a lot of great wins a year ago. We had three wins that occurred
on the very last play of the game. Certainly we had some losses at the end of
games. What we’re going to try to do this year is finish all of those
games. Certainly, Penn State – Michigan is a special game. It has turned
into a great rivalry. I think it’s a game that college football fans like
to see.”
On if there’s any reason that this team couldn’t come off a 5-3
finish in the Big Ten and win the national title the following year like the
97 squad did ten years ago:
“I think that will depend on how we coach, how we play, and our attitude
and work ethic. Our goals are extremely high. We think we’re capable of
doing a lot of special things. We’re going to work hard and do our best
to be the best team we can be.”
On what kind of message he took from so many of his players reporting
for spring practice in the best condition they’d ever been in:
“I think anytime you’re a program like we are at Michigan and
you have to deal with the disappointments that we dealt with, I think you find
out a lot about the type of people and the type of motivation you have. Certainly
the fact that we had a lot of guys that were willing to do the things that we
asked them to do as coaches, in terms of becoming a leaner quicker team, speaks
to their commitment. I’ve been very pleased with the response in that
area.”
On the guard positions:
“At left guard Adam Kraus started some games a year ago, but he had
some injuries. Adam came to Michigan as a tight end. We moved him two years
ago to the offensive line. He is big and strong now compared to where he was.
I think he is going to be an excellent guard. At right guard, Rueben Riley will
be either the right guard or the right tackle. He started at both positions.
Alex Mitchell and Justin Schifano will be competing at guard. Mike Kolodziej
and true freshman Steve Schilling will compete at the right tackle position.
We’ll make a decision sometime during training camp how we’re going
to go at that position.”
On the Notre Dame and Wisconsin games being back to back:
“I think it’s a major issue for our football team to get off to
a good start. I think if you look at teams that normally win the championship;
they get off to a good start. It’s very difficult to fight back if you
stumble early. Certainly from a national standpoint, going to Notre Dame for
the third game of the year will be a major test for our football team. And opening
the Big Ten season with Wisconsin is certainly a big game in terms of the conference
race. So it’s always great to get off to a good start, and yet, sometimes
things don’t go the way the way you want them. Then the measure of your
team is how they respond to the down times.”
On how he responded to the disappointments of last season and
how he thinks he did as a coach last year:
“The thing I will say about that team a year ago is they never stopped
fighting. There were times in there that were extremely trying. Everything that
happens with Michigan football is a reflection on me, so what happened in that
season is my responsibility.”
On what Chad Henne’s progress:
“I think he had some excellent games a year ago. I think he took a lot
of criticism that always goes with the quarterback position when things don’t
go well. When I evaluate his performance from a year ago, I think he was impacted
in a major way because of our inability to run the football. I think it put
a lot of pressure on our passing game. I think there were injuries on offensive
line didn’t afford him the protection that we’d like to give him.
But I thought he made some major strides a year ago. I think there are certain
throws, certain circumstances, and situations that he will learn from that hurt
a year ago. But I was very pleased with the way he played and the way he has
developed.