8 - Friday, April 3, 2009
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Forcier finding his groove
with first-string offense
By RUTH LINCOLN
Daily Sports Editor
While meeting with reporters
for the first time since becoming
the Michigan football team's first-
string quarterback, early-enrollee
Tate Forcier couldn't stop smiling.
The freshman answered each
question excitedly - and he could
afford to.
With quarterback Steven
Threet's trans-
fer and redshirt NOTEBOOK
junior quarter-
back Nick Sheridan out for three
to five more weeks with a right
leg fracture, Forcier is taking the
majority of snaps with the first-
team offense this spring.
Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez
has stressed the quarterback com-
petition will depend more on the
fall than the spring, but after just a
few weeks in Rodriguez's system,
the dual-threat quarterback has
impressed many.
"He's catching on real fast,"
senior running back Brandon
Minor said. "The first week, you
thought he was kind of slow. He
wasn't running fast, but he was
just trying to get used to the plays.
Once he got those down, you could
see his speed. And his arm, too.
He's got a lot of potential."
In high school, Forcier focused
on improving his speed. This
spring, his training has been
focused on bulking up his 6-foot-
1, 187-pound frame with Michigan
strength and conditioning coach
Mike Barwis.
Quarterback Pat White, who
played for Rodriguez at West
Virginia from 2005 to 2007, was
6-foot-1 and 180 pounds in his first
season with the Mountaineers.
Forcier said his biggest chal-
lenges this spring have been the
speed of the college game and
adjusting to taller linemen. Last
summer, Forcier worked out with
6-foot quarterback Drew Brees.
The three-time Pro Bowler had a
few tips.
"He said, 'You're not going to
throw over guys, you're going to
throw in the windows, in between
guys,' "Forcier recalled.
Although he's watching practice
from the sidelines, Sheridan, who
played in eight games last season,
has taken Forcier under his wing.
"I have Nick right after every
play, telling me what I need to do,
what I can do to do better," Forcier
said. "Even if it's a successful play,
what else I can do to make it even
better than that?"
Forcier said the two quarter-
backs talk frequently and hang out
on the weekends. Sheridan is good
friends with Forcier's older broth-
er, Jason, who played for Michigan
in 2005 and 2006 before transfer-
ring to Stanford.
The Forcier-Sheridan competi-
tion won't heat up until Sheridan
is healthy. But Rodriguez thinks
Forcier is playing better than
Sheridan was at this point last
spring.
"He's got Nick andothers around
him knowing what to do," Rodri-
guez said. "Last year, they were all
new in the system, so it was a little
bit tougher on the quarterbacks.
"Regardless, there's going to
be so much competition at the
position in the fall, it's going to
be exciting to watch. But Tate is
certainly making the most of his
opportunity now.",
SPEED DEMON: Early enrollee
running back Vincent Smith has
impressed coaches this spring
with his blazing speed.
At just 5-foot-6, Smith has
shown he may be worthy of play-
ing time this fall.
During the Wolverines' 'M'
drill at Thursday's practice, cones
were set up in a 'V' formation
extending horizontally across the
field. Three pairs lined up with
an offensive lineman blocking
a defensive lineman, a tight end
blocking a linebacker and a wide
receiver blocking a defensive end.
A running back began at the side-
line and tried to run through the
players while staying in the cones.
Smith ran fluidly, breaking
through the line pair by pair with
ease.
"You never know how much a
freshman can contribute early,
and Vincent has a long way to go,"
Rodriguez said. "But just judging
on a few practices, he has the tal-
ent to help us early this year. We'll
see if he can do it."
SMOOTH TRANSITIONS: After
the Wolverine defense gave up a
program-record 28.9 points per
game last year, new defensive
coordinator Greg Robinson now
has a lot on his plate. But Rodri-
guez says the transition seems to
be going smoothly.
"Obviously, some of the termi-
nology is going to be new," Rodri-
guez said. "But because some of
them haven't played a lot before,
it's not as difficult as it is for some-
one who has been in the same
system for three or four years.
I'm most proud of our juniors and
seniors and how quickly they've
adjusted. We've had some mental
busts and missed assignments, but
not nearly as much as you would
think with a new scheme."
COACHES' CLINIC: Rodriguez
will hostthe annual coaches' clinic
this weekend. At Thursday's prac-
tice, about 100 coaches stood along
the sidelines watching and taking
notes. Last year's clinic attracted
nearly 600 coaches, and more will
come to Ann Arbor throughout the
weekend.
4
4
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Sophomore Kelvin Grady started just eight games this season after starting 25 his freshman year. The Grand Rapids native is
leaving the Michigan basketball team to "explore other academic and playing opportunities.
Grady to transfer after
playing time dimninishe
4
By ALEX PROSPERI
and ANDY REID
Daily Sports Writers
Sophomore Kelvin Grady
has decided to leave the Michi-
gan men's basketball team with
the intention of transferring to
another school, Michigan coach
John Beilein said in a statement
released by the Athletic Depart-
ment yesterday.
"Kelvin has asked for his release
from the program and we will
grant that to him," Beilein said
in the statement. "Over the last
two years, he has been a posi-
tive influence in helping build the
foundation of our program. He is
a wonderful young man on and off
the floor. We wish him nothing but
success in the future."
The statement did not say where
he will transfer.
The announcement comes on
the heels of the Wolverines' first
NCAA Tournament appearance
since 1998. Michigan lost to Okla-
homa in the second round. But
Grady saw his playing time severe-
ly decrease during his sophomore
year, including just five combine
minutes in the NCAA Tourna-
ment.
"It's been a wonderful experi-
ence both as a student and as a
player here at the University of
Michigan, but I feel I need a fresh
start," said Grady in the statement.
"I love this university and want to
thank the coaching staff, my team-
mates and everyone else who has
supported me over the past two
years. However, I have decided to
explore other academic and play-
ing opportunities at this time."
This season, Grady started just
eight games, played a total of 574
minutes and sat out three games.
Last year, the Grand Rapids native
started 25-of-32 games, played a
total of 782 minutes and saw action
in every game.
As a sophomore, Grady aver-
aged 4.2 points, 1.9 assists and 1.3
rebounds per game, down from
5.6, 2.8 and 1.9 asa freshman.
Although the team's spirits in
the locker room were high dur-
ing Michigan's run to the post-
season, there was speculation
that Grady wasn't happy with his
playing time. But the players who
took Grady's spot as starting point
guard, fifth-year seniors C.J. Lee
and David Merritt, have run out of
eligibility.
That leaves next year's starting
point guard spot to a slew of play-
ers. Most notably is 6-foot-3-inch,
175-pound incoming freshman
Darius Morris from Windward
High School in Los Angeles. Mor-
ris, a four-star recruit according
to Rivals.com, has already signed
is letter of intent to play for Michi-
gan.
Other players that could fill the
spot are redshirt freshman guard
Laval Lucas-Perry and freshman
guard Stu Douglass.
4
4
Blue returns home for pivotal weekend
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Sophomore Thomas Kelley won the individual floor title at last year's Big Ten Championship meet on his wayto claiming the Big
Ten Freshman of the Year award.
'M'stays loose before Big Tens
By COLT ROSENSWEIG
Daily Sports Writer
When Kurt Golder coached the
Michigan men's gymnastics team to
the national title in 1999, he sported
a bushy mustache.
Last Thursday at practice, senior
co-captain Phil Goldberg decided
that a mustache
revival might
be just what igTen
the Wolverines Championship
need as they Meet
host the Big
TenChampion- When:7 P.M.
ships tonight at Where: Cris-
7 p.m. in Crisler fer Arena
Arena.
Golder didn't TV: BTN
have a chance
to protest. Gold-
berg told the whole team that ifMich-
igan wins the Big Ten Championship,
Golder would regrow the mustache
for NCAA Championships. -
Following the Wolverines' last
regular-season win over Ohio State
on March 21, the coaches wanted to
make sure the fun from their vic-
tory carried through the next two
weeks. So far, it hasn't been much of
a problem.
In a normal week, each gymnast
must perform a certain number of
"competition sets" - full routines
on each of his events done exactly
as if in a meet. Gymnasts call these
routines out to the coaches to be
sure they're being evaluated.
On Thursday, redshirt freshman
Andrew Vance was the first to call
out a "mustache set." Senior Ralph
Rosso, warming up on the pommel
horse, laughed so hard he fell off.
The joking, confident spirit could
help the Wolverines earn their first
Big Ten title since 2000.
In their final regular-season
meet, the team's new attitude
helped Michigan to its highest team
score and highest hit percentage in
Columbus, where it hadn't won in
32 years.
"When you watched us in the 1999
NCAA Championships, you could see
that everybody was having a blast,"
Golder said. "We were the team that
was having the most fun, and every-
thing was falling into place. ... I'm
glad we had that Ohio State meet,
because I think a lot of the guys real-
ly learned a lot from it."
The coach did express concern
that the memory of the victory in
Columbus might fade because of the
two-week layoff
But that seems to be far from the
case. A strong sense of self-assur-
ance has been evident at practices
ever since the team's return, and the
Wolverines are determined to carry
their new outlook into Big Tens.
"I think we've found a whole new
way to do gymnastics as a team,"
sophomore BenBaldus-Strauss said.
"Just enjoying it more than letting it
stress us out and control our minds
so much. Stepping back and look-
ing at the whole sport differently is
really helping our team and bring-
ing us together."
Michigan, which has finished
fourth at Big Tens each of the last
three years, will start the meet
on high bar, an event that's been a
pleasant surprise for much of the
year, and finish on parallel bars.
No. 4 Illinois is expected to give
the Wolverines their toughest com-
petition, with No. 6 Ohio State and
No. 7 Penn State closebehind. Mich-
igan has beaten every Big Ten team
but the Nittany Lions this season.
"Ithinkmaybethetoughestoppo-
nent mightbe ourselves," said senior
Scott Bregman, who will be healthy
for Big Tens for the first time since
his freshman year. "Making sure
we don't put too much pressure on
ourselves and that we just do our
best performances. Let the pressure
elevate our performances instead of
taking them the other way."
Everything seems to be in the
Wolverines' favor. For the first time
since 2005, they're hosting Big
Tens. Even though Michigan hasn't
competed at Crisler since 2005, the
Wolverines feel comfortable there.
All the equipment will be familiar,
either from the Newt Loken Gym-
nastics Training Center or Cliff
Keen Arena. And a majority of the
crowd will be behind Michigan.
"Big Tens could be tomorrow and
we would be set," Baldus-Strauss
said last Friday. "We just need to be
able to access what we'vebeen doing
all week in gym and (against Ohio
State) at this meet. If we're able to
tap into that and find that momen-
tum again, we'll be unstoppable."
By MARK BURNS
Daily Sports Writer
The Michigan men's tennis
team lost just seven matches last
season.
This past Sunday, with 12 losses
under their helt, the Wolverines
finally grahhed
their first Big
Ten win by nar-
rowly edging at Michigan
Northwestern Matchup:
4-3. Penn State 9-8;
That's why Michigan 7-12
Michigan coach
Bruce Berque \Nhen: omor-
Brc eqe row, 12 p.m.
said his team
needs to con- Where:
sider this week- Varsity
end's matches Tennis Center
must-wins.
No. 47 Michigan (1-3 Big Ten,
7-12 overall) squares off against
No. 51 Penn State and No. S Ohio
State at the Varsity Tennis Cen-
ter, returning home for the first
time since dropping a 6-1 deci-
sion to then-No. 23 Wake Forest
on Mar. 7.
"We feel more relaxed at home,
and there is a little better atmo-
sphere playing indoors in-front of
the home crowd," senior co-cap-
tain Peter Aarts said.
The win over Northwestern
halted an eight-match skid, dat-
ing back to the Wolverines' home
victory against Harvard on Feb.
20.
But Berque isn't concerned as
his team face the Nittany Lions
(2-2, 9-8) and Buckeyes (4-0,
20-1).
"We certainly don't have much
room to play around," Berque said.
"With Penn State, we're going to
get the guys to play with a sense
of urgency as if their season is on
the line."
That's exactly what has to hap-
4
I
pen this weekend for Michigan to
have any shot at making it to the
NCAA Tournament in May. Last
year, just six of 64 teams made the
tournament with a losing record.
With the Wolverines' next few
matches on the road, this week-
end is a perfect opportunity to
grab a split.
"The rankings are so far from
any indication of what kind of
match we are going,to get," Ber-
que said. "Anyone from 15 to 50
can beat each other on any given
day and usually the match is 4-3,
so if you're not ready to play, it's
getting to be more and more like
college basketball, where the par-
ity is really there and the little
things make a difference."
Berque stresses playing aggres-
sive tennis while minimizing the
amount of unforced errors.
After the Wolverines' recent
victory, their recent confidence
issues have dissipated.
"Everyone is a little more
upbeat and relaxed now," Aarts
said. "You use a whole bunch of
matches in a row and everyone
gets uptight with themselves and
the team. When you win, it relax-
es everyone a little bit."
Despite their relaxed mindset,
the importance of this weekend
cannot be overlooked.
"With (Ohio State) being so
good this year ... it's going to be
something that will be easy to get
up for," Berque said. "But we have
talked almost exclusively about
what we need to do on Saturday
(against Penn State) and that's the
attitude we want to take."