More on Michigan football team's wingless helmets, a Big Ten Network blunder, Stevie Brown impresses the Raiders and more
For 60 straight days, Adrian Arrington woke before the sun rose and reported to Michigan Stadium at 6 a.m.
Each morning, he ran up and down the Big House stairs until he was exhausted. Each morning, the talented-but-troubled wide receiver awoke eager to do it again.
The stair runs preserved his place on the Michigan football team.
Arrington had violated team rules, and former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr used the grueling dawn workouts as a disciplinary technique. But they were more than that.
Carr used them to test wayward Wolverines. How bad did they want to return to the team? How bad did they want to be Wolverines?
Wingless helmets are Rich Rodriguez’s version of Carr’s stairs.
Rodriguez’s approach became evident this week when, after he talked about players earning the right to wear the winged helmets, the Big Ten Network published pictures of Tate Forcier wearing a plain blue one.
The coach wouldn’t say how long wingless helmets have been used as a motivational technique, but if the summer of 2010 is their debut, they’ve been long overdue.
They help create a culture of accountability.
If there’s a theme around the football team this summer, it’s that. Cornerback Troy Woolfolk held Forcier publicly accountable for inconsistent off-season workouts. The NCAA has held Rodriguez accountable for his program. Wingless helmets.
Painful steps now, but that’s the point. With any luck for Michigan, there’s a payoff down the road.
“You don’t make a mistake in this arena and not suffer for it,” Carr once said while discussing the stair runs. “You suffer the embarrassment, the humiliation of having things you’ve done discussed publicly, and that hurts. And yet, it’s about being accountable. Any time you can take young people and teach them to be accountable, you’ve taught them something you can’t buy.”
Like it did for so many other Wolverines, the stairs taught that lesson to Arrington, now a member of the New Orleans Saints.
“Coach Carr and I, we’ve gone through a lot together,” Arrington said on the day of Carr’s retirement. “We definitely have love for each other.”
Not wearing the wings? Compared to stairs, the current crop of Wolverines are getting off easy.
Tate transfers, but not really
For all the deserved grief Kirk Herbstreit received when he erroneously reported Les Miles was bound for Michigan three years ago, say this for the ESPN host: At least when he said it, he believed in his report.
That’s not the case for Big Ten Network reporter and host Melanie Collins, who wasn’t as confident in her report via Twitter that “Very reliable source telling me Tate Forcier requested a transfer from Michigan this AM.”
Per mgoblog.com, the quarterback’s father quickly debunked the report. Collins backpedaled just as fast, tweeting “Wow, really struck a nerve w/ppl. Like I said, NOT confirmed. We’ll see what plays out.”
We’ll see what plays out?
It’s one thing to make a mistake. It’s something else entirely to approach work with carelessness, then acknowledge its sloppiness with a written shrug of the shoulders.
Collins isn’t a fan feeding grist into the rumor mill. She’s a host and reporter for a network that represents the conference, and has a responsibility to, at a minimum, at least believe she’s reporting accurate news.
A kid who already has a lot on his shoulders (but not wings) deserved better.
Tweet of the week
Perfect segue into this week’s Tweet of the Week, which comes to us from @dgoings on Troy Woolfolk’s injury: “We lost Brown, Warren to the NFL. Cissoko to idiocy. Dorsey to academics. Turner to laziness. Now Woolfolk to injury. What’s next, plague?”
This week's mailbag
Q: You termed Justin Turner as a “promising defensive back.” Why? He couldn’t crack the worst secondary in the history of Michigan football last year. Not promising. - Thom Dartt, Strongsville, Oh.
A: The reasons Turner didn’t play last year were twofold: He got off to a late start in summer camp, then as the season progressed, coaches were less inclined to burn his redshirt year.
As for his promise, Turner arrived on campus ranked as the third-best defensive back prospect in the country, a rangy 6-foot-2 target who played with speed and size, who came from a high school (Washington, Massillon, Ohio) well-known for producing high-caliber players. A lot of promise there. It just wasn’t fulfilled, at least in Ann Arbor.
Q: Any thoughts on Patrick Collins, who joined the team last year as a walk on, his current role and projected contributions to the team? - David Hughes.
A: David, it’s hard to say for certain because we do not see practices, but I’d think Collins, a Pioneer High School grad, would have his best chance at seeing time on special teams.
Right now, Michigan is blessed with a lot of depth at receiver, and it will be pretty hard for Collins to crack the lineup. At least this year.
Wolverines in the NFL
As their promising, productive first-round draft pick, Brandon Graham is a lock to make the roster of the Philadelphia Eagles. Here’s a look at a few Wolverines whose futures are more uncertain.
Rookie safety Stevie Brown sealed the Oakland Raiders’ 17-9 preseason win over the Dallas Cowboys with an interception, but dropped another earlier in the game.
Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tells AnnArbor.com that Brown has made a few picks in practice too, and has a pretty good chance of making the final 53-man roster.
He’ll need to beat out third-year man Jerome Boyd and six-year veteran Hiram Eugene.
On the opposite coast, things aren’t as promising for cornerback Donovan Warren, who signed a free-agent deal with the New York Jets.
Jenny Vrentas of The Star-Ledger reports Jets coach Rex Ryan gave a lukewarm review of the Michigan product.
“Some days are better than others,” Ryan said of Warren. “He had some moments. One time I was like, ‘Ah, it’s just not happening for him, and then he had a couple of big days in a row. We’ll see.”
Wonder if Warren wishes he still wore the maize-and-blue right now. Michigan sure could use him.
Comments
Sean T.
Fri, Aug 20, 2010 : 3:16 p.m.
Good job Stevie Brown, I knew you had it in you. Melanie Collins should be ashamed for her journalism even if she suspects a transfer from Tate like many of us. She should know better! I believe Turner became disgruntled because he didn't envision his career at UofM was going to be this tough so he and the staff became indifferent and he left. Don't be surprised if he shows up as a star in the MAC or BIG 12.
BornInA2
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 8:53 p.m.
"The NCAA has held Rodriguez accountable for his program." It has? My understanding is that there hasn't been a final ruling and there won't be for quite a few weeks. I don't see him walking around in a wingless helmet, running stairs, or standing at Main and Stadium with a "Will work for end zone tickets" sign. The university has held him to some account with that scary "letter in his file" thing, then stood by him as he claimed it wasn't his fault (Failed to promote an atmosphere...).
KH10GoBlue
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 8:45 p.m.
Hi Thom. Good question. Couldn't agree more. JT was a 5 star - next Charles Woodson, some said - what a waste. long time no talk.
Dude
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 6:06 p.m.
These are so much better than the Birkett and Rothstein articles. Thanks Pete for taking time to do research as well as not slam the program every little subliminal chance you get. Refreshing.
wvtroll
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 5:57 p.m.
It might be WV logic, but there's a difference how it's used down here. Football being a team sport, most of the time the embarrassment is confined to being revealed to other members of the team. The team will handle most of the problems, not the public. Some of the public has no interest in withholding comments that can render a player useless due to that very embarrassment, no matter how many nice comments are made about the player. Now, y'all have to remember: RR is your Michigan man, so us hillbillies make no claim about where your coach learned to deal with problems. WV (along with WVU) got rid of the guy, so don't point fingers our way. Own up, UM fans. In the end, though, this type of encouragement might just run off one of your hopes for success. The public, fans and others should only know that a player is playing because he earned the right to play. Why a benchwarmer is on the bench should only be known by the player specifically, the coach, and the team. It's all part of the game that some play, and others don't. To be chastised to the public and then have to look up into the stands during a game seems pretty cruel handling by a coach to me, especially by a former starter. Transferring might be a way to prevent the ongoing embarrassment. It would take a pretty remarkable young person to tuck his pride and remain with 100k+ looking down on him knowing that they are familiar with all the facts about why he's labeled flightless.
rightmind250
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 5:07 p.m.
I guess its kind of like an abusive parent. Rather than punish you in a corrective manor, why don't we just embarrass the guy. Can't argue with that west virginia logic
Jeff
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 4:37 p.m.
Careful with the running of the stairs that could be deemed cruel punishment for these guys... We don't need another legal case.
eric
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 4:35 p.m.
Dylan, you can't do stairs and stay within NCAA practice guidelines (nor could you back when LC was coach). Daily stairs will cause the player to exceed the number hours they can participate in FB related activities (unless you hold them out of practice). So, wingless helmets is about all that is left.
Dylan
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 4:11 p.m.
Give me stairs over wingless helmets any day. I get what RR is trying to do, but... I can remember being a little kid, going to games with my dad, and having him tell me about how if you messed up you had to run up and down those stairs. Even at a young age I understood the statement being made there. I don't think that memory would have stuck if it was "he has to wear a plain helmet."
Lorain Steelmen
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 3:57 p.m.
I assume that Tate will hang in there and compete! Whether he starts against UConn or not, he still will have a big role to play on this team, this season. This is still a team game, and the season will turn on those second and third stringers, who stay the course! Meanwhile the 'critical area' will be Wolverine corners and safeties as our opponents seek to take advantage of our inexperience. The primary solution will need to be an emphasis on the pass rush to reduce the decision making options of opponent QB's. As UM turns up the heat, more PT will open up, for second and third stringers at DE, LB, ETC., to keep fresh bodies in action. RR was correct when he said that he wants two and three people at every position, that we can win with.
MetricSU
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 3:30 p.m.
Pete: Your characterization of Melanie Collins' tweet is not quite fair. In her original tweet she said it had not been confirmed. You cut that part off. It is implied by her later comment, "Like I said, NOT confirmed," but I think you're being a little sneaky here. She was hedging from the beginning. And I'm not so sure we won't hear more rumors about Tate transferring in the near future. Currently, the UM coaches have no reason to designate a starter. When that happens, and Tate is not that guy, something might actually come of the rumors.
Kubrick66
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 1:36 p.m.
The media actually taking responsibility for their comments? That kind of journalism died a long time ago.
Garvie Craw
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 1:08 p.m.
Man, that Lloyd Carr was a sadist. Making kids run and emabarrassing them in public. For shame, for shame. Bo would never have done that.
truebluefan
Thu, Aug 19, 2010 : 12:43 p.m.
How dare Rich Rod hold players accountable and embarrass them with that whole winged helmet thing? Coach Carr never did such a thing. If he did, it wasn't intentional. Uh....woops. Nevermind. I'm glad to see Stevie Brown making positive impacts for the Raiders. He and Graham really blossomed under Rich Rod. Am I surprised to hear D. Warren is receiving lukewarm reviews from the Jets? No. That is a perfect adjective to describe Warren's play at Michigan. Who was it now...3 and out I believe, he said that NFL coaches, unlike Michigan's coaches, would coach up Warren, tap his potential and make him a star.