UMGOBLUE.COM Michigan Wolverine Football & Basketball
By Fans…For Fans Since 1999
A quarterback battle is brewing in Ann Arbor.
A surprise contender has emerged to compete at quarterback with Devin Gardner and Shane Morris.
Gardner revealed he’s not only sharing first-team reps with Morris but freshman Wilton Speight as well.
The honeymoon is over for Brady Hoke in Ann Arbor, Mich. The universal adulation he enjoyed after his 11-2 first season waned during the 8-5 campaign which followed and completely evaporated after last year’s 7-6 finish.
Three critical games will determine the success of this season. The challenge for Hoke is that even a 9-3 finish will be considered a failure if his team loses to all three of its traditional rivals.
The Michigan football team returned to the field for its first full-contact practice since bowl preparations last year.
The one consistent theme repeated by almost every player interviewed after Tuesday’s practice is the desire “to move on” and not dwell on last year’s disappointing 7-6 season.
“Michigan is about running the ball, and this unit is going to bring it back,“ said Green, who looks noticeably leaner and says that he is 20 pounds lighter than when he struggled for playing time last year. “I feel a lot faster, stronger; my body feels a lot better than last season.”
Michigan enters spring practice with numerous questions on offense, the result of a late season swoon that cost offensive coordinator Al Borges his job. Head Coach Brady Hoke raided Alabama for a replacement, luring Doug Nussmeier to overhaul the offense. Nussmeier arrived in Ann Arbor to find quarterback Devin Gardner still on crutches, a lackluster offensive line that needs to replace its two best players from last season and no clear downfield threat with the graduation of wide receiver Jeremy Gallon.