September 21, 2009 - 10:56am
LIVE BLOG: Rodriguez weekly press conference
BY COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
We're at Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez's weekly press conference at the Junge Champions Center.
Rodriguez opens the press conference with an announcement there will be a pep rally this Friday at about 3:30 for Homecoming. The MSA will bus students to the rally, and more details will be announced soon.
Center David Molk has broken his foot, meaning he will be out 4-6 weeks after his surgery yesterday. Rocko Khoury or David Moosman can play center in his place, though Molk's loss is a big blow for the o-line. Moosman played center all spring and all camp, very solid on shotgun snaps.
He thinks the defense's slow first half in two games in a row is just a "coincidence". There isn't much time for adjustments, but the defensive staff is just working on calming the players down and helping them fix it.
A few more freshmen who haven't yet played will get on the field this year. Rodriguez says a few freshmen offensive linemen may get time.
Rodriguez will have 5-7 early-enrollee spots this year, and he feels there are at least that many who are interested. He's had to turn down a few who have wanted to enroll early if they play spring sports, since he wants to let them enjoy high school. But if they don't play spring sports, it's easier for them to enroll early.
J.B. Fitzgerald got a few reps at linebacker, Kevin Leach played last game. Mike Jones may contribute at OLB, and Rodriguez likes his progress. The depth at linebacker isn't where it should be.
Rodriguez is pleased with the progress of his walk-ons. Jon Conover was the special teams player of the week, Leach started and Kovacs played for the second game at safety. He has given scholarships to some of his walk-ons this year, but doesn't announce the names in front of the team in order to not discourage the other players.
Craig Roh was the defensive player of the game.
Rodriguez likes to say that he wants to get to the point where his team can play poorly and win; he doesn't feel his team is there yet heading into Saturday's game against Indiana.
