Analysts: Michigan Football Players Have To Find A Way

Spring practice has been canceled, but competitors will always find a way, a trio of former Wolverines shared.

Michigan suspended all spring activities, including practices, when the Big Ten announced March 11 it was canceling the remainder of all winter and spring sports seasons. This included the suspension of spring practice for football, which has since become the norm across college football.

Doing so will have a tremendous impact on Michigan and the rest of college football in 2020 (assuming there is a season). 

"A lot of teams are going to be a step behind where they need to be," said former U-M cornerback James Whitley. "Some teams will survive because of talent and older guys coming back that know the system well enough, but [early-enrolled] freshmen and redshirt freshmen that were hoping that first spring would help them get ready for fall camp and help them be ready to play right away ... as athletes we are the most adaptable. This is just one more thing you'll have to adjust to."

The coaches will have to adjust too. They use the spring to develop talent away from the pressures of game plans and, just as importantly, identify rising talent, players that could help their teams in the fall. That's gone now.  

"Guys can separate themselves and be the guy in the spring. Without that opportunity [to learn about their team], coaches will really have to dial in during the fall training camp to see who they can count on and depend on," said former Michigan offensive lineman Rueben Riley.  

In the absence of hands-on practices, coaches will be tested in other ways. 

"Definitely, from an academic standpoint and athletic standpoint, educators and coaches and trainers will have to get real creative," said Riley, a high school football coach and teacher at Grand Rapids Christian. "That's the name of the game right now - 'How can I make an impact without being around my kids?' Google Zoom, Facetime, just phone calls … do they have enough of a relationship with their team where they can get the mission accomplished?"

That will be, theoretically, easier for established coaches, like Michigan's Jim Harbaugh, than it would be first-year head coaches like Michigan State's Mel Tucker. The Wolverines will face three opponents with new coaches - in addition to Tucker, Greg Schiano at Rutgers and Jimmy Lake at Washington. 

"They'll have to spend training camp building relationships," Riley said. "Every year is a new team, but for a new coach that has no relationships, that is extremely difficult. He needs to explain his mission, his expectations for how things are done versus someone like Harbaugh, the majority of his guys understand what he stands for and how he wants things to be done to play Michigan football and attend this university."

Even if the players understand the expectations, the current suspension of activities is unprecedented, placing the players in unfamiliar territory - the University of Michigan has canceled all classes and has sent its students home. What does that mean for the Wolverines? (U-M has not offered official comment on how many players have stayed in Ann Arbor to train) 

"If there are things you can do in small groups, like watching film, to share information, do those things," said Whitley. "You have to stay fit. The gyms are closing but you have to find a way to work out. You have to keep going in that manner. Things will get back to normal, and where will you be physically and mentally when it does?"

"You have to find a way because all around the country, Alabama and LSU - they are finding a way," said former Michigan QB Devin Gardner. "We need to do the same thing, with the rules that are in place. 

"Whatever you have to do, it has to be done. If getting better and putting yourself in position to succeed is truly what you want, nothing can stop you."