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MICHIGAN VS.
PENN STATE
The Wolverines have beaten Joe Paterno's Nittany
Lions in nine of the last 10 meetings - of course, the
one loss was last season's 45-17 lopsided affair.
But the last time Michigan lost to Penn State in the
Big House was 13 years ago. Sure, it seems like an long
time since it last happened (except it probably doesn't
for Paterno), but what matters is that this is the Wol-
verines' toughest home game so far.
Will the Wolverines come out firing on all cylinders
for the second-half stretch? Will Michigan make itself
bowl eligible with four games to spare? The answer to
both of those questions will be 'yes' if Michigan can
start anew winning streak over Penn State today.
Michael Eisenstein Ruth Lincoln
Courtney Ratkowiak a Andy Reid
HIGHLIGHTS
3 JoePa seems to have been winning games since the
Civil War, but has always struggled in Ann Arbor.
4 Kelvin Grady has gone from men's basketball point
guard to football slot receiver. Find out how he did it.
8 Wonder what Penn State quarterback Darryl Clark's
most embarrassing moment is? Learn thy enemy.
2009 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sept. S Western Michigan: Before this win, it had been a while since Michigan
fans had anything to cheer about during opening weekend.
Sept.12 Notre Dame: There's still a looooong time left on that contract, eh, chuck?
Too bad you couldn't beat Michigan in the fifth year of your internship.
Sept.19 Eastern Michigan: The Eagles put up a good fight in the first half, but Michigan
once again proved there's only room for one college football team in washtenaw county.
Sept. 26 Indiana: Wait, what? Indiana still has a football team? We'll believe it when we see it.
And that still hasn't happened, even though it gave Michigan a scare for a few minutes there.
Oct. 3 at Michigan State: So the Spartans beat Michigan for the second year in a row.
Whatever. Keep Paul Bunyan. That thing is butt-ugly anyway.
Oct.10 at Iowa: Kinnick Stadium would rank as one of the best in the Big Ten -if they didn't play
"Gotta Feeling" 3,000,000 times and their fans didn't storm the field against unranked teams.
Oct.17 Delaware State: Imagine how bad it would have been i Rich Rod didn't start
bringing the second stringers in during the second quarter. Yikes.
Oct. 24 Penn State: It's really not that surprising that Joe Pa can't remember when he recruited Tate
Forcier. After all, he can't even remember what he had for breakfast. Or whether he tied his shoes.
Oct.31 at Illinois: After a weak start, the Fighting Illini are almost as irrelevant as chief Illiniwek,
the school's mascot that was discontinued in 2007.
Nov. 7 Purdue: Think the Wolverines still have that hook-and-lateral on their minds? With
Michigan likely to be favored against Purdue this year, expect the Wolverines to come out swinging.
Nov.14 at Wisconsin: It's probably a good sign for the
coach that FireBretBielema.com hasn't
-,"been updated since January, right?
Nov.21 Ohio State: The sweater vest -perfect for when
your torso is ice cold but your arms still need to breathe.
M Seriously, Tressel, what is up with that wardrobe?
GRADY From page 4B
"It's a blessing for the two of
them, they came up together
close, and while they're in school
together, they're still close," said
Alice Whitney, Kevin and Kelvin's
maternal grandmother. "Because
sometimes when brothers are in
sports, they kind of competitive
and they pull away from each
other. But with these two, they
love each other and they support
each other, and I think that's what
makes both as strong as they
are."
FROMTHE HARDWOOD TO
THEGRIDIRON
After Kelvin went from start-
ing eight straight games on the.
Michigan basketball team to play-
ing in garbage time, his departure
wasn't much of a shock.
"I was a little bit surprised, but
I could tell because of his play-
ing time because I know how my
brother's competitive and how he
likes to be on the playing field,"
Kevin said. "Being his brother,
I could tell by that that he was
unhappy about the situation."
Kelvin left the basketball team
and headed back to East Grand
Rapids at the end of the winter
semester in order to sort out his
life, Would he continue to play
basketball elsewhere? Would he
give up athletics altogether?
For three weeks, Kelvin tried to
find those answers while working
the third shift at the Amway plant
in nearby Ada. From 10 p.m. to
7 a.m., Kelvin put caps on lotion
bottles. With each bottle cap, he
debated his past decisions and
contemplated his future.
"It was a humbling experience,"
he said. "To go from college, play-
ing sports, getting a rent check,
going to class, hanging out with
your friends to reality. I was out of
school and I was working - work-
ing in a factory."
It only took a few days for Kel-
vin to realize he didn't want to
spend his life in a factory. College
football had been an option for
him before he chose to play bas-
ketball, and he felt he might fit in
at Michigan Stadium.
Shortly after his time at the
factory, he sought out Michigan
coach Rich Rodriguez and showed
him some his high school high-
lights. The rest is history.
With Kevin already on the
football team, Kelvin sought
out Kevin when he felt football
might be an option.
"He was like, 'You got the
tools,' " Kelvin said. " 'If you
want to come, come in. But if
you do, you need to be all in.
You can't come out here just to
come out here. This is something
serious. This is Michigan football.
This is. something that you have to
really want to do.'"
And what he really wanted to
do was play in the Big House.
LAUGHTER IS THEBEST
MEDICINE
If you have never heard Michi-
gan offensive coordinator Calvin
Magee or running backs coach
Fred Jackson speak, don't worry.
Kelvin can take care of that.
While learning the Michigan
playbook, Kelvin was, of course,
listening to instructions at his slot
receiver position. But between the
X's and O's, Kelvin noticed the
long O's, southern accents and
other sound bytes coming from
his coaches' mouths. He knew
imitation was the highest form of
flattery, so he made the accents
his own.
"Some of the coaches will call
him out to do an imitation of it,
sometimes before or after prac-
tice," Kevin said, noting that Kel-
vin's Coach Jackson impression is
the better of the two. "You might
not even know Coach Jackson,
but the way he does it, we'll have
a riot just laughing at him."
Kelvin said it took him all =
of fall camp and the first
couple weeks of the season
to hone his craft. But picking
upon others' traits is noth-
ing new for the self-pro-
claimed "people person."
Kelvin said he will talk with
teammates from all position
groups, and he likes to find
out unique and interesting
things about people.
But above all he
loves to make
people
laugh.
For the
Wol-
ver-
ines, that's a good thing.
"From the first day he came in,
he fit right in," sophomore tight
end Kevin Koger said. "He gives
comic relief to the team and main-
ly our position group. I love having
him around.
"It's Tuesday, it's Wednesday in
the middle of the week and we're
not feeling too well, and he comes
in always with a smile on his face,
always has a joke to say."
It's natural, then, that Kevin
said the best part about sharing
an apartment with his brother is
the constant laughter.
Senior wide receiver Greg
Mathews doesn't live with the
Gradys, but for him, Kelvin makes
Friday morning Anthropology
class a little more bearable.
"It's tough to go to class at 9
a.m. and pay attention because
it's kind of early, but being in class
with Kelvin, it's just fun because
the teacher usually calls on Kel-
vin, and he usually has something
funny to say," Mathews said. "He
makes a joke and then he'll get
around to answering the ques-
tion."
At Michigan, it's easy for Kelvin
to be in his element. His team-
mates and peers respond fluidly
to his jokes and humor. Laughter
has helped Kelvin fit in, but he's
not about to forget the person he
likes to make laugh most:
His grandmother.
"She's probably one of the peo-
ple I talk to the most," Kelvin said.
"I try to make her laugh as much
as possible. ... I know my grand-
mother really well. I just tell her
lots of jokes. She likes jokes."
Kelvin said the two talk fre-
quently about a range of topics,
and despite their age difference,
they actually have a lot in com-
mon. Alice lives in Grand Rapids
and can't make it down for games,
but watches her grandsons on TV
every week.
"I have 17 grandkids and when
we all get together, we are just
one big, laughable family," Alice
said. "For one thing, (Kelvin's)
very loving. He's very funny. He's
always doing something to keep
me laughing. He just one grand-
son that's always thinking about
his granny and making sure I'm all
right, so I love him for loving me
like that."
Sometimes, Alice must miss
the live broadcast because of choir
practice, but she always watches
the recorded version when she
gets home so she can discuss the
games with Kelvin later.
"Wetalkabouteverything," Kel-
vin said. "She tells me she watches
the game and she's like, 'If they're
going to keep hitting you like that,
I'll have to come out there''"
Luckily, for Alice, the first time
Kelvin got hit, he got right back
up.
YOU'REHIT,NOW WHAT?
Redshirt sophomore wide
receiver. Junior Hemingway
remembers well the first day Kel-
vin put on pads during fall camp.
None of the Wolverines wanted to
miss it.
"We were talking about it like,
'Ooooh, Kelvin's first day in pads,
we're gonna see what you got,'
" Hemingway recalled. "He was
like, 'Man, I'm so small. I haven't
gotten hit in what seems like four
years. I don't know how it's going
to feel. Someone might break my
bones.'"
Luckily for the 5-foot-9, 168
pounder, no casts were neces-
sary.
"I just remember him get-
ting smacked and him getting up
quick," Magee said. "He was kind
of excited about it. He said, 'Man,
at least I got that out of the way.' "
Now, it's not a question if Kelvin
can take a hit, but how far he can
go.
When Kelvin first, contacted
Rodriguez about joining the team
in June, Magee said he immediate-
ly got a phone call from Rodriguez
to examine Kelvin's high school
highlights. Magee was impressed
with Kelvin's play-making ability at
tailback, his ball skills and vision.
But with Michigan already
boasting a deep stable of running
backs, the coaching staff felt Kel-
vin's talents could best be used at
slot receiver.
"That was what we talked about
from the very beginning, because
that's what we look for in our slot
receivers," Magee said. "Most of
our slot receivers are good for-
mer tailbacks. So he had the ball
skills."
It's a formula Rodriguez and
his staff has already proved to be
effective. Darius Reynaud, a cur-
rent Minnesota Vikings receiver
and former slot receiver at West
Virginia under Rodriguez and
Magee, rushed for nearly 2,000
yards his senior year of high
school but never played receiver.
He went to Morgantown and fin-
ished his storied three-year career
with 1,550 receiving yards.
Kelvin's Michigan football story
might not be quite as prolific, but
with two years of eligibility remain-
ing after this season, he could just
be getting started.
"He can be as good as any col-
legiate starter," Magee said "As he
gets another year with (strength
and conditioning coach) Mike
Barwis in the weight room, he's
going to get stronger, he's going
to get faster. I think the sky's the
limit for him. I really think he can
be as good as any other guy at his
position."
When Magee meets with Kelvin
in his Schembechler Hall office, it's
always a worthwhile trip for Kel-
vin. Sitting on Magee's office desk
is a candy dish. Magee doesn't
care for Starburst fruit chews, but
he keeps his dish stocked, just for
Kelvin.
"I think he would choose to eat
Starburst for breakfast, lunch and
dinner if he could," Magee said.
"He eats candy all the time. I know
he's probably excited Halloween's
coming up."
To the staff, Kelvin's worth
keeping around. Magee's small
gesture shows the coaching staff
wants to keep Kelvin happy, and
he clearly is. But probably the big-
gest indicator of Kelvin's potential
success came one week into fall
camp.
Completely unprovoked, Kelvin
approached Coach Magee and
told him that he wasn't looking
back at Crisler Arena. or anything
else. He was a football player now,
and was going to put all of himself
into it.
"I was excited because it's a
lot that the kid volunteered that
on his own," Magee said. "I didn't
have to sit him down and talk with
him about that. ... I took his word
for it."
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