Spring Football Practice pictures- revised edition

Above are some of the photographs I took at the final Spring Practice on April 14, 2007. This is a revised version of an earlier post. Go Blue!

Review of Spring Practice on 4-14-07

I did not take many handwritten notes as I watched yesterday's practice as I preferred to keep my gloves on as I observed the goings-on from my vantage point in section three. As for the mental notes I made, I mostly concentrated on the new components of the kicking game, the quarterbacks, the tight ends, and the wide receivers. Here are my general impressions of what I observed yesterday:

• True freshman sensation QB Ryan Mallett needs to develop some touch on his passes. He can definitely rifle the ball and his arm strength lived up to what was advertised but he lacked any touch on his throws. He tried to drill every throw he attempted. Also, a couple of his deep throws fluttered a bit. Not wounded ducks but not exactly tight spirals either. Overall, however, I was very impressed.


• QB Jason Forcier was listed on the blue Spring Practice roster that was handed out as I entered the stadium and Coach Carr referenced Forcier in his pre-scrimmage press comments as if Forcier were still a member of the team. Thus, I do not know what to make of the rumors that Forcier has decided to transfer to Stanford at the end of the spring semester. I did not see Forcier at the practice nor did anyone else as far as I know. I am so confused.


• Sean Griffin seems to have established himself as the Long Snapper on kicks. There was, however, one botched placement and Coach Carr started yelling at Griffin which made it seem as if it was the snapper's fault rather than the holder's fault that the ball did not get placed down cleanly for the kicker. Coach Carr then had the kick re-done and the play was done cleanly on the do-over. On the day, the snaps were quite good and Griffin seems like he will be able to fill the void left by the departure of Turner Booth.


• The kicking game is spotty at this point in time. The competition is between Bryan Wright and K.C. Lopata. Jason Olesnavage was also kicking (if you can call it that) but was a disaster both on kickoffs and field goal attempts. I think Olesnavage should stick to charity visits. As for Wright and Lopata, they were each short on kickoffs as they struggled to put the ball inside the ten yard line. As for field goals, Lopata was more impressive although he missed one badly when he drilled one of his kicks off the helmet of an offensive lineman.


• The holders on field goals/point-after-attempts were Zoltan Mesko, David Cone, and Nick Sheridan respectively. Mesko handled the most kicks and appears to be the #1 holder assuming the job vacated by Ross Ryan. On the one botched attempt, a quick thinking Mesko scooped up the ball and ran with it in an attempt to make a pass downfield but the ad-hoc play never really materialized.


• Converted Tight Ends Chris McLaurin and Andre Criswell cannot catch the ball to save their lives. The Wolverines desperately need Mike Massey back in the fall. I'm sorry that I ever posted a picture of Massey dropping a sure TD pass in last year's season opener. Please forgive me. Just come back. NOW!


• Speaking of dropped passes, what was with wide receivers LaTerryal Savoy and Greg Mathews? I like both of these players a lot and feel that they could be starting for most Big 10 schools. However, they did not look so hot yesterday.


• Coach Carr announced that Justin Boren will be the starting Center in 2007. Last year, Boren became only the fourth player in Wolverine history to start a game on the offensive line as a true freshman.


• About twenty minutes before the practice ended (while David Cone was quarterbacking and Chad Henne was done for the day), Chad Henne's high school coach Jim Cantafio walked by me up the section three stairs. He was wearing a Big Ten Conference jacket rather than being decked out in Michigan gear as he is sometimes apt to do. Also spotted, down on the defensive (east) sidelines, was future NFL-star Alan Branch.

Those are the "mental notes" I made. Now it is time to start counting down the days until Fall practice begins. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo of Alan Branch (South Pole sweatshirt) by mzgoblue; click on picture for a larger (and clearer) version.

Young players tried to make an impression in final spring practice

Michigan concluded its Spring Practice schedule yesterday with a spring practice session at The Big House that included a controlled intra-squad scrimmage. The session was open to the public and drew about 5,500 dedicated fans to the two-hour practice. Many of the Wolverines' stars (e.g., Mike Hart, Mario Manningham, Jamar Adams, etc.) sat out the practice which gave the youngsters on the roster a chance in the spotlight. Prior to the commencement of yesterday's practice, Coach Carr answered questions from the media regarding the state of the team. As for the practice, check out the following photo galleries that will make you feel as if you attended the practice session: MGoBlue, The Detroit News, and The Detroit Free Press. Also, you can read a blow-by-blow description of the 4-14-07 practice, as Scott Bell of the Michigan Daily live blogged the practice session.

After the conclusion of yesterday's Spring Practice session, Michigan announced the recipients of three awards presented following spring drills. Senior QB Chad Henne won the Meyer Morton Award presented to the football player who shows the greatest development and most promise as a result of the annual spring practice. DT Will Johnson won the Frederick Matthaei Award presented to the junior-to-be gridder who has displayed leadership, drive and achievement on the athletic field and in the classroom. WR Greg Mathews won the John F. Maulbetsch Award presented to the freshman football candidate after spring practice on the basis of desire, character, capacity for leadership and future success both on and off the gridiron. Go Blue!

*Note: Photo of Coach Carr at 4-14-07 Spring Practice scrimmage by John T. Greilick/The Detroit News

Spring Football "Game" set for April 14, 2007

Michigan has announced that Spring Football Practice will commence March 17, 2007. The Spring Football "Game" is set for April 14, 2007 with the time to be determined. This will be the fans first opportunity to watch Ryan Mallett (an early enrollee) workout in a Michigan uniform. The Spring Football practice schedule looks as follows: the team is allotted 15 days, three of which are without any pads, helmets only. Two of those will be the two opening practices held on the weekend (Sat., March 17th and Sun., March 18th). Then the team will get into the schedule basically of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for the next four weeks. The Spring Football practice season concludes with the scrimmage on April 14th which is open to the public. Go Blue!