Rodriguez Presser Notes

Rich Rodriguez met with the media last night after the opening day of fall camp to update us on some news, and take some quick questions. We were not able to attend, so we have to piece together what we heard and what we're reading from various sources. Here are the highlights. (YouTube clip via AnnArbor.com)



• David Molk, Vincent Smith and Mike Martin were all at practice yesterday and participated fully. Only Will Heninger is still out from his injury that kept him out of spring ball.

• The QB race is wide open. All 3 contenders took snaps (Forcier, Robinson and Gardner). Rodriguez said all 3 guys are competing. They are not going full-contact on the QBs in camp in order to avoid injuries. All 3 QBs had good moments on Monday.

• Rodriguez likes were we're at with the RBs. Vincent Smith, Michael Cox and Fitgerald Toussaint were all mentioned. Kelvin Grady is splitting between slot and RB. Stephen Hopkins is looking good filling the role of a larger back...sort of a fullback but not really.

• The OL is looking good. Said they are bigger and stronger than last year. No truth to the rumor that Rodriguez only likes smaller OL. If they can move in his offense, he doesn't mind how big they are...the bigger the better. Likes the experience up front - will allow the offense to install more plays faster.

• No pads today, so it's tough to gauge the effectiveness of the defense. Said that Will Campbell looked "OK", and then said he didn't want to discuss individuals anymore.

• Will Hagerup seems to have a strong leg, and is shaping up to be the starting punter.

• The overall condition of the team is good. Most players are in good shape, some are not. RR wants everyone to be in good shape. A conditioning test was run at the end of practice and some guys did not measure up to where they needed to be. Most of the guys not meeting the goals were younger players, mostly freshmen.

• Too early to compare this team to 2008, 2009. But it seems we have more guys who can contribute defensively than in years passed.

• On the comment by Troy Woolfolk about Tate Forcier's off-season absences from team workouts..."I'm glad our seniors are taking some ownership and leadership in this team. They want everyone to work as hard as they have." Translation: Woolfolk called out Forcier and he surely had every right to, and we hope Tate takes it to heart.

• RR likes the senior leadership on this team. He spends time with the seniors in weekly meetings, at his home as a group. They are a vocal groups of leaders and will be more so than last year.

• When asked about the WVU investigation: "I'm talking about Michigan football."

• When asked about a possible matchup against Alabama in 2012: "I believe those conversations are ongoing." When asked about it further, "Ya'll tell me, do you think that would be fun?"

• Brock Mealer was seen walking today by Rodriguez. When Michigan has their scrimmage soon in the Big House, Mealer will be practicing running through the tunnel.