Tag Archives: Michigan

Michigan’s Thomas Rawls gets the call now at running back. (AP photo by Tony Ding)

Michigan running back Fitz Toussaint and defensive end Frank Clark will not be allowed to play Saturday against Alabama. Both were arrested this summer and suspended from the team, although they were allowed to return to practice about a week into fall camp.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Michigan coach Brady Hoke announced the news in a released statement today. Hoke said that neither player will make the trip to Arlington, Texas, for the Cowboys Classic.

Toussaint was arrested for drunken driving in July, and he pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving while visibly impaired Tuesday. Clark was arrested for allegedly breaking into a dorm this summer and stealing a laptop computer.

Toussaint rushed for 1,041 yards last year in 12 games, and he will be replaced by Thomas Rawls, who gained 79 yards on 13 carries. Clark was listed as a second-team defensive end on the depth chart Hoke released recently.

Click here for the Detroit Free Press story.

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As Alabama prepares to play Michigan, the Tide defensive coaches are teaching their players not to jump when they rush the passer, believe it or not.

To hear Alabama coach Nick Saban describe it, this is taught every week, but it’s a special emphasis for Saturday’s game as the Tide will face All-America quarterback Denard Robinson, as much of a threat to run as throw the ball.

“Guys like to jump and bat balls down,” Saban said. “Well, this guy will ball-fake you like Michael Jordan and take off running, and you’ll say, ‘Well, how did that happen?’ ”

Robinson presents a different challenge for second-ranked Alabama than it faced during its whole 2011 national championship season. In fact, Saban said you have to go back to 2010 when Alabama faced then-Auburn quarterback Cam Newton to find an opposing player who was such a major force and focal point of his team’s offense.

So, for this week, if Alabama is practicing against Michigan’s offense, then that means the Tide pretty much is practicing against Robinson. Last year, Robinson accounted for about 64 percent of the Wolverines’ total yards. By comparison, Heisman winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor accounted for about 65 percent of his team’s offense.

“He’s super, super fast,” Alabama linebacker Nico Johnson said. “He doesn’t get credit for how good he is. He’s really a good athlete. Really, he’s a better passer than what people think he is.”

Robinson runs with the football and not just once in a while. He led the Wolverines in rushing in the last two years. Alabama hasn’t had a quarterback lead the team in rushing since Steadman Shealy in 1979 when the Tide ran the wishbone, which allowed the quarterback plenty of chances to keep the ball.

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Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges told AnnArbor.com that his game plan could change based on whether senior running back Fitz Toussaint is available for Saturday’s contest against Alabama.

Toussaint was arrested for drunken driving this summer and was suspended for the first week of preseason practice.

Borges said there might be subtle changes, “but not a gross difference or departure from what we are,” Borges told the website. “Occasionally there’s a (slight change to the game plan), but we are what we are, and we pretty much go to the next guy.

“You can’t re-structure. … But if one guy has a certain talent that another kid doesn’t, then we’ll try to explore that a little bit more.”

Borges wouldn’t say whether Toussaint will play, referring questions to head coach Brady Hoke.

“I’m taking the fifth,” Borges said. “That’s Brady deal.”

Click here for the whole story from AnnArbor.com.

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Michigan coach Brady Hoke told reporters Tuesday he isn’t sure if running back Fitz Toussaint or sophomore defensive end Frank Clark will play against Alabama.

When asked by AnnArbor.com what Toussaint, the team’s No. 2-leading rusher a year ago, Hoke said, “He’s got to demonstrate that (he’ll) do the right things.”

Hoke also told AnnArbor.com that Clark’s situation is no different.

“(Clark is) in the same boat (as Toussaint) right now,” Hoke said. “They’ve both got an oar.”

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Michigan quarterbacks Devin Gardner (12) and Denard Robinson (16) laugh as they pose for photographers during the NCAA college football team’s annual media day Aug. 12. (AP photo by Tony Ding)

We realize that some of you are interested in reading a bit about Alabama’s opening opponent, Michigan. Here are links to three stories about the Wolverines that might make your Monday morning pass a little easier:

–Beating Tide would have double meaning for Michigan

–Tide’s top challenge: Stop Denard Robinson

–Is Michigan back to being Michigan?

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Kyle Meinke of AnnArbor.com wrote a piece for today about Bob Asmussen, an Illinois beat writer who put Michigan first on his Associated Press ballot: Michigan voter.

It’s interesting that Meinke wrote the story, because he has an AP vote, too, and put Oklahoma at No. 1 on his ballot.

Here’s the part of Meinke’s story that should interest Alabama fans:

—

Michigan is a 12.5-point underdog for its Sept. 1 opener against Alabama, but Asmussen ranks the Crimson Tide No. 3, two spots behind the Wolverines.

And he’s taking the Wolverines.

“I think they had all summer to get ready for Alabama, and I think there will be a little bit of a hangover with Alabama,” he said. “If you look at their history, (the Crimson Tide) don’t win back-to-back titles. They win a title, then they fall back. And nobody talks about this, but their defense got clubbed (by turnover).

“I just have a gut feeling, for no reason, that Michigan wins that game. Then all bets are off at that point. Now, they may lose 38-10 and I’ll get ridiculed and that’s OK, but I just have a feeling, for whatever reason, they’ll be OK in that game.”

Asmussen shrugged off concerns about Michigan’s revamped defensive line, which will break in new starters at each position against what could be the nation’s best offensive line.

“When I look at playing Alabama, I’m not looking at the Alabama offense,” he said. “Remember, (tailback) Trent Richardson isn’t there. (Quarterback A.J.) McCarron’s OK, not great. To me, it’s not really a weakness versus a weakness, but the lesser part of the two teams is Michigan’s defense and Alabama’s offense.

“I mean, Alabama isn’t going to score 60 against anybody, and so I think Michigan will hold them off.”

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Alabama will face one of the most recognized college quarterbacks Sept. 1 when the Tide plays Michigan.

A relative unknown as a recruit, Wolverines senior Denard Robinson now counts among his fans President Barack Obama and LeBron James.

Obama mentioned Robinson during a visit to Ann Arbor, Mich., this past winter and spoke with him one-on-one for a couple of minutes.

“I talked to him and got a picture with him,” Robinson told The Associated Press. “He told me that we should be a team to be reckoned with we’ve got to make the most of it.”

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Michigan coach Brady Hoke told reporters Thursday night that he believes injured receiver Roy Roundtree’s chances of playing against Alabama are “good.”

Roundtree had arthroscopic knee surgery last week, but Hoke said the receiver is “doing great,” according to AnnArbor.com. Roundtree, a senior, caught 19 passes last year but had 72 receptions in 2010.

The Wolverines and the Crimson Tide are set to meet Sept. 1 in Arlington, Texas.

Here’s the link to the AnnArbor.com story: Roy Roundtree.

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Michigan found plenty of production last season with that it called the “deuce formation,” and Wolverines coaches and players say the team will use it plenty this season.

That means Alabama could see it a lot Sept. 1 when the two teams play in the Cowboys Classic in Arlington, Texas.

In the deuce formation, Michigan puts backup quarterback Devin Gardner on the field at the same time as starting quarterback Denard Robinson. Gardner takes the snap, while Robinson lines up at running back or receiver. There also are variations in which Robinson remains at quarterback, and Garner plays receiver.

According to AnnArbor.com, offensive coordinator Al Borges — the same guy who was Tommy Tuberville’s play-caller at Auburn in 2004-07 — said Michigan averaged more than 8 yards a play in the deuce formation.

“Even the plays that weren’t good set up plays that were good,” Borges told AnnArbor.com. “There were guys we’d run a play that wouldn’t yield much, only to be set up by another play that did. It’s not always the play — sometimes, it’s the residual effect of the initial play.

“Now how much we use of it (this year)? I don’t know. That’s a game-plan deal. As we get through the install and we see where we are, we’ll decide on that.”

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Michigan coach Brady Hoke told reporters today that suspended running back Fitzgerald Toussaint and defensive end Frank Clark will practice with the team Monday, but he doesn’t know if they will play Sept. 1 against Alabama.

“They are still, obviously, the guys who as teammates we love them, but there are consequences for their behavior and they are paying the price, and they will continue to pay that price for a little bit,” Hoke told reporters, according to a transcript posted by the University of Michigan media relations department.

Toussaint was charged this summer with drunken driving, and Clark is accused of taking a laptop computer from a Michigan dorm room.

“I think both of them realize that they have an outstanding opportunity to play at the University of Michigan and get a great Michigan degree,” Hoke said. “They understand that there is a standard of performance from the community and a standard of performance from the academic side and there is a standard of performance from a football side that they have to do a great job and understand. As coaches you are a teacher and you get an opportunity to teach life lessons. Believe me, they have paid a heavy price and will continue to pay a price for actions unbecoming of a Michigan football player.”

As for their status for the Alabama game, Hoke said, “I haven’t made that decision and I probably won’t make that decision for a while.”

In other Michigan personnel news, Hoke said senior wide receiver Roy Roundtree had arthroscopic surgery on his knee Friday and should return in two weeks.

“You have a guy like Roy who is a committed guy — he’s going to do everything in his power to get back,” Hoke told reporters.

Roundtree started all 13 games last year and had 19 catches. He made 72 receptions in 2010 as a junior.

For the complete transcript, visit this link: Brady Hoke news conference.

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