Rome Travel Log: Thursday, April 27
4/27/2017 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 27, 2017
The Michigan football program is on a one-week special educational and football experience for its student-athletes with a week of learning and practice in Rome, Italy. Follow the Wolverines on social media (#HailRoma) and with a daily travel log on MGoBlue.com.
Thursday, April 27
8 a.m. -- The first wake-up call comes to the members of the travel team, the latest call so far on the trip.
8:30-9:30 a.m. -- Breakfast on the ninth floor of the hotel overlooks the entire city of Rome; players walk out onto the terrace to take photos through the drizzling rain.
9:58 a.m. -- The team crams onto two buses for practice as the third bus gets stuck in traffic; the party rolls out for the 20 minute ride to the Giulio Onesti Training Center; the third arrives just after the team departs later than expected.
10:20 a.m. -- The Wolverines arrive at Onesti and unload from the buses; players head into locker rooms for the offense and defense and put on shorts, jerseys and helmets for practice.
10:30 a.m. -- Players head to the field and start stretching or using foam rollers to loosen up for the two-hour practice.
On this Thursday morning in Rome, the @UMichFootball team took the field. Cue the music! https://t.co/FvGq97JLGR
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) April 27, 2017
10:52 a.m. -- Former safety Stevie Brown attends practice, a jaunt during his month-long vacation throughout Europe.
10:56 a.m. -- Brown mentions to a reporter, "It's special what Coach Harbaugh is doing. He has a special touch, teaches a different kind of confidence and swagger."
10:57 a.m. -- Time for some football! Jim Harbaugh blows the whistle and calls the team together to get the first practice session started in Rome.
11 a.m. -- The team splits into offense and defense to commence a walkthrough on both sides of the field.
11:21 a.m. -- The whistle blows, and strength coach Kevin Tolbert calls the team together for team stretch before dispersing for special-team drills.
11:47 a.m. -- U-M devotes a lot of practice time to fundamentals on both sides of the ball and in the special teams game.
12:17 p.m. -- Harbaugh blows the whistle and instructs the players to go to their position groups and conduct combine-style drills for their particular skill group.
12:35 p.m. -- The Wolverines go through 7-7 and full team drills to finish the first day of practice.
12:55 p.m. -- Harbaugh blows the whistle for the final time on the day and brings the team together for instructions on the remainder of the day's activities; Ben Bredeson is asked to provide some wise words and tells the team how fortunate they are to have the opportunity to experience this trip.
1:03 p.m. -- Players mingle on the field after practice with members of the FIDAF team, including the two refugees they met on Sunday (April 23); a few players and Harbaugh talk with the media about their first practice in Rome.
1:12 p.m. -- A large group of players went over to thank the fans for attending practice and signed autographs and took pictures with the military members and fans that came to watch the team workout.
1:30-2 p.m. -- Players shower and make their way in waves to the Onesti Training Center cafeteria for lunch.
2-3 p.m. -- The team rehydrates and rebuilds muscle with pasta and some other Italian foods.
2:46 p.m. -- The second of three buses departs Onesti for the return trip to the hotel.
3:07 p.m. -- After the activity was cancelled with AS Roma due to impending weather, the team was provided some downtime for a couple of hours.
5 p.m. -- All dressed up in coat and tie, the team met in the lobby to depart for the trip to St. Paul's within the Walls.
5:20 p.m. -- Chris Evans and Nate Johnson spend time playing video games on the bus ride over to the dinner and opera.
6:11 p.m. -- Buses drop the team off near their dinner at Eataly, where the team dines on lasagna, chicken and tiramisu.
7:24 p.m. -- The Wolverines practice their singing before the opera, celebrating holder Garrett Miller's 22nd birthday at the restaurant.
7:31 p.m. -- An informal team photo is taken on the streets of Rome before making the three-block walk to the first non-Catholic church built in Rome, St. Paul's within the Walls, for the night's opera.
7:37 p.m. -- Michigan arrives at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and gets seated in the pews for their pre-performance educational session with the performers.
8:30 p.m. -- The opera starts promptly with a four-person string quartet performance.
8:37 p.m. -- The tenor scares and startles those in the back of the church because of the unexpected entrance, singing his opening number.
9:10 p.m. -- A 10-minute intermission allows the group to stretch out for a brief period of time before the opera resumes.
10:10 p.m. -- The opera concludes, and the team walks through the drizzling rain to the buses for the ride back to the hotel.
10:37 p.m. -- The team arrives back at the hotel and heads to their rooms to get some rest before tomorrow's (Friday, April 28) action.
