The Michigan football team began fall practice today on the outdoor practice field next to Oosterbaan Fieldhouse.
- CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
- Feagin wore No. 3, which junior free safety Stevie Brown also wears.
- CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
- Rich Rodriguez on the field today.
- CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
- The Michigan football team began practice today.
The Wolverines did some preliminary drills while Motown music blared over the speakers. They proceeded to do a walk-through and then positional drills before the practice was closed to the media.
Quarterbacks: Redshirt freshman Steven Threet, redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan, freshman Justin Feagin and redshirt sophomore David Cone took snaps at quarterback. Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said he hopes to find two quarterbacks he “can win with.”
“I would say it’s a competition,” said Threet, who said the coaches haven’t told him when they will pick a quarterback. “I think everybody feels that, where all of us are doing what we can to get on the field and play and show the coaches that we should be the guy.”
Junior running back Carlos Brown also took a snap at quarterback, but that was with Threet split out wide. Brown didn’t take regular reps behind center.
“We were just doing that today,” Rodriguez said. “We knew you guys were filming. That’s just playing around.”
Running backs: But junior Brandon Minor took more snaps at running back with the first team than Brown, who played more with the second team.
Redshirt junior running back Kevin Grady took snaps with the third team. At Big Ten Media Days on July 24, Rodriguez said Grady was suspended from the team and had to meet certain requirements to be reinstated because of a driving while intoxicated charge.
Rodriguez clarified today that Grady is still suspended but has earned the right to practice with the team. The Grand Rapids native will still miss an undetermined amount of game time.
Numbers changes: Feagin wore No. 3, which junior free safety Stevie Brown also wears. Feagin has gone from No. 5 to No. 14 to No. 3 in his brief time with the Wolverines.
Junior tight end Carson Butler switched from No. 85 to No. 5, which fifth-year senior safety Charles Stewart also wears. Nobody will wear No. 85 this year.
Roster update: Rodriguez said freshman George Morales, who appeared on the new fall roster, was on scholarship and signed his letter of intent in February. He was not listed as one of the 24 players Michigan signed at the time.
Morales will compete to be the backup long snapper. Fifth-year senior Sean Griffin is the presumed starter at the position.
Freshman linebacker Paul Gyarmati replaced walk-on Karl Tech on the roster.
Injury update: Rodriguez anticipates freshman offensive lineman Elliot Mealer will miss all of August practice with an injury.
Sophomore receiver Junior Hemingway participated in today’s practice, but he was still limited by the severe high ankle sprain he suffered during spring practice.