Final Spring Practice Quotes -- Head Coach Lloyd Carr
4/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Final Spring Practice Comments from
U-M Head Football Coach Lloyd Carr
Opening statement ... "Well, I hope you all had a good day. It was a nice sunny, very hot day out there, probably the hottest spring practice day we've ever had here. We got a lot of work done. We have a lot of work left to do. We'll see what happens between now and September in terms of summer conditioning and all those things. We made a lot of progress; the only downside was the number of injuries we had in terms of guys missing a lot of practice. The good news is they'll all be back."
On the running backs ... "Kevin Grady the last two days has really been hobbled. He has a very tender elbow. He did not run today like he was run before. He had an excellent spring. I think he'll play a very important role on our team. Max Martin the last two or three weeks has really come on. Even last fall he had some trouble taking care of the football. I think he has done some really good things improving there. He has not fumbled the football the last three weeks which is always relatively important. You don't play if you fumble the ball, you know. But Max had an excellent spring. Our situation in the backfield has the potential to be as good as we've had in quite some time. They're all tough, they are all guys that can make the cuts, and they are all guys that run with passion. I think Michael Hart improved significantly as a pass receiver this spring. They've all gotten better, but certainly I like the way Kevin Grady and Max Martin have come on."
On the center position ... "Rueben Riley missed a lot of spring practice, which we didn't need to have happen. We're going to be unsettled at center until we get into training camp. As long as Rueben was there he looked very good. We still have to do some things to solidify that position. Rueben certainly has the athletic ability. He's smart. It is a tough place to play. We moved Alex Mitchell in there this week just to see how he looked. I think Alex Mitchell has everything it takes to someday be a great player. He's big and powerful. He came in way overweight last fall. He's really worked hard, his weight is down. Mitchell could play a significant role this fall."
On his touchdown catch ... "It was a great catch wasn't it For me, it was, believe me. The only thing I could think about was if I dropped it I'd be listening to it for a long time. It certainly wasn't anything to write home about, but I didn't drop it."
On the defensive line ... "My expectation is that the defensive line is going to be one of the strengths of our team. I think Pat Massey has had an absolute wonderful spring. I think Gabe Watson has all the potential. I think Gabe is committed to doing the things from a conditioning standpoint that will enable him to really take a big step. LaMarr Woodley has had a great spring. You can go down the line there. Tim Jamison has had an excellent spring. He missed the first two weeks, but he's shown some explosiveness and very good ability. Will Johnson has had a very good spring. I think we're going to be stronger there because everyone is a year older. I'm encouraged by that. I think what Steve Stripling brings is that he is an excellent pass rush guy too. I think we're going to have better pressure. That really when it comes down to it was a major problem we had last year. We were young and were not as strong as we needed to be and we wore down. I am hoping that is going to be a different story this year."
On Chad Henne ... "I think the biggest improvement Chad made is that he is much stronger through the hips, through the legs than he was a year ago. As a result of that he is throwing the football better because he is stronger through the hips. You throw the ball through the legs to a great extent. I think his entire understanding of what we are trying to is significantly improved from where it was last fall. I think he's just more comfortable and more confident in ball handling. When you play action pass, I think a young quarterback does not understand the importance of really being a great ball handler. Scot (Loeffler) has worked really hard with him on that part of the game. A lot of times in play action passing, if you hold that linebacker one instant longer it creates more space for your tight end. I think he's improved significantly."
On Matt Gutierrez ... "Well what he missed was contact and scrimmage, we couldn't get him that. Considering where we thought he'd be at this time, I think he got a lot of repetitions. He got a lot of work on ball handling. It's different when you don't hear the pads crashing and all kinds of things happening around you. That part of it we couldn't get done with him. But he had a lot of that before he got hurt. When we start the fall, he should be ready to go."
On Dutch, Arrington and Tabb's springs ... "I think Doug Dutch lost a few pounds, and he really showed some speed and explosiveness. Doug Dutch can run. I think he is only going to get better. He has a real upside. Adrian Arrington was hampered by a hamstring much of the spring. But up until the point where he did miss some practice, he's showed he has wonderful hands, he's tough. He has the opportunity to really contribute. Carl Tabb had a good spring. We've got some depth there. We don't have a guy like Braylon who at this stage can just take over a game, although (Steve) Breaston and (Jason) Avant are certainly good football players. Breaston is a big play guy anytime he touches the football. We do have a lot of guys who've been around and we have a couple of young guys with some talent, and we've got a couple of guys who'll be in the mix this fall as freshman."
On the linebackers ... "Chris Graham had a very good spring. He's going to be one of those guys who is very hard to keep out of the lineup. I think David Harris had a very good spring. Of course Scott McClintock is back, but it is an open competition. I think we'll have to see in the fall. The other positions, Prescott Burgess and Shawn Crable, both had very productive springs. Crable particularly is getting comfortable. He has really explosive speed. I think there are a lot of things we can do with him that are going to get us the ability to be a much quicker faster defense."
On the safety position ... "Brandent Englemon had a really good spring as did Jamar Adamas. That strong safety position is probably in today's football with the exception of the offensive line, the most difficult position to learn, and that is because you have so many variables in terms of formations and personnel groupings. That is why I think you see so many big plays in today's football. People shift, they motion, they line up with no backs in the backfield. When the ball is snapped if you are one or two steps out of position, then you are vulnerable. We just have to continue to improve this summer. That is always a time when you get a lot of reps, on those days when our offense throws, our secondary guys work against them so hopefully they can make some progress there. We're going to be young in the secondary, but I think Englemon has had a good spring, I think Jamar will play an important role regardless of what happens. I think Ryan Mundy has really shown up this spring."
On injuries ... "We have not had any injuries in spring practice. We've got some guys who've had surgeries. Leo Henige is still not where he needs to be, but he will be. Jake Long, Adam Kraus, Jeremy Van Alstyne we expect all those guys to be back, but you just have to see. From everything we can see I don't anticipate we could lose a guy for the season, except for one guy because of a nerve problem. But I don't want to comment on that because our doctors are still looking at that."
On the Michigan drill ... "It is really the most basic drill in football. You've got an offensive blocker and you've got a defensive guy. The essence of blocking is to try and get into a guy and sustain and knock him off the ball. If you can do that you can create movement and room for a back to run the football. Defensively you are trying to do the same thing. You are trying to hold your ground. Ideally you want to knock the offensive lineman backwards. Either way you've got a winner. If you don't get movement than normally it is the defensive guy that wins that battle, if he can get off the block. That is the purpose of the ball carrier, to find out if the defensive guy can control the blocker and now find the football and come off of the side that he makes the cut. It's a great drill and it's a competitive drill. We do it almost every day during the spring. The really important fundamental it teaches either offensively or defensively, is pad level leverage and hand placement. The toughest thing to teach young kids is to get their hands in the proper space, whether you are a blocker or a defender. The guy who gets his hands inside has got the best chance to win. It's a great drill because it is full contact but is not a high injury factor. You can get a lot done one on one without injuring players."
On the fullback position ... "We missed Brian Thompson. I think Obi (Oluigbo) has had a good spring in some ways. I think he's got to do the things we want to do in that position. He's got to work hard this spring and this summer on catching the football. We're going to have to see at that position how it turns out in fall. If you saw another one of those young guys who made great strides today was Mike Massey. I think Mike Massey is going to play an important role on this football team. In a lot of regards, the tight end is interchangeable in our scheme with the fullback so it could well mean that Massey will play a role there. We'll just have to see."
On playing both Grady and Hart together ... "We'll have to see how that develops. Normally if you get two guys that can really catch the football and two guys that both can block, then that becomes a great set. I think we've got some guys who can do that."
On who handles kickoffs ... I think (Ross) Ryan at this stage has the edge as the kickoff guy. But Garrett (Rivas) has improved a lot this spring. His leg strength has gotten a lot better. So we'll have to see how that competition goes in the fall. Ryan has got a powerful leg and what I like is he gets great elevation on his kickoffs, which really is a great advantage for your coverage team."
On Steve Breaston ... "I think he's certainly in position from experience, he's physically much improved from the day he walked in here. He's a smart guy. I think you saw late in the season some of the things he is capable of. I don't like to predict because so often people think it has to be done statistically. I think he certainly has the potential to be a game breaking football player. And I think he's going to make us a much better football team offensively from the standpoint that if you want to single cover him he's going to be able to hurt you. If you double cover him, then it really opens up the running game for us. I think from that standpoint he's going to impact every game. He can catch the football in front of you and still make a big play. That is where he is special. He's got the speed to get by you, but anytime someone can catch the football in front of you and make something happen that is really special. If he can stay healthy he'll be in the position to do that."
On Leon Hall ... "I think Leon Hall has the chance to be one of the better corners we've had here. He's made dramatic improvements. He's tough, he's smart, and what he's done this spring is impressive. If he can stay healthy, he's 195 pounds now with great speed, I like him a lot."
On Grant Mason ... "Grant has got competition for that spot. Grant has done some great things, I think he has to win the position and keep it. And that means doing the things we need to do with him, the framework of what we are trying to do on defense. He's tough, he's a competitive guy, I like him. We need consistency."
On other cornerbacks ... "Darnell Hood has improved and Charles Stewart is a very tough aggressive guy. He doesn't have a lot of experience, but he's made an impression. Ron English likes him a lot."
On special teams and returns ... "I think there is going to be people who do everything they can to keep the ball out of Breaston's hands. I would do that if I were kicking to him. Some guys are so good that you can't kick it to them even if it means giving up some yards with a short kick. I think people are going to try and make it difficult for him to get the football. Certainly what he's done as a punt returner and a kick returner, in the last part of the season, we have a weapon back there. It's going to give us a chance to have good field position regardless of what they do. The biggest question mark in our special teams from a skills standpoint is the punter. Garrett (Rivas) was eighth statistically in the statistic we feel is most important as a field goal kicker, but as a punter we'll have nobody that has any game experience. Mark Spencer might have had a kick or two. Zolton Mesko will come in the fall, he was here today. We'll have to see how it goes when they get here. The biggest thing we've got to find out there is how they handle the pressure. It is a different deal when they are coming after you in this league."
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