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."