Had some interesting conversations the past two days in Chicago, and something that really stood out was a comment that the football team is not being given an itinerary for preseason practice. In other words, when practice begins on Friday Aug. 7, the players have no idea what time they start or whether it will be two-a-days, or what. And that lack of knowledge is supposed to continue through camp.
As one person shared, "They could get woken up at 5am one day and told practice starts in 30 minutes."
This may seem a little crazy, but it's all part of Jim Harbaugh's master plan to introduce adversity into this team. As James Ross told us yesterday, there were far too many guys for Harbaugh's liking in the spring that weren't expecting to have to work as hard as he demanded. Ross didn't earn a 'Play 60' t-shirt for participating in all 60 hours of spring ball because he missed a bit of practice time late with an injury, and what he learned is there is a difference between a legitimate injury and aches and pains.
"If it's not broken or falling off, you can play through it," Ross said, with a smile. "Coach Harbaugh is pushing us and pushing us to become tougher physically and mentally. A lot of guys took time off in the spring, voluntarily, and those guys have a ton to prove to Coach Harbaugh this fall if they want to play.
"He has no time for you if you're not a competitor and not someone that will battle. He didn't say this flat-out, but he's creating an environment where it's pretty clear that if you're not willing to fight for Michigan, he won't waste his energy on you."
In that vein, Harbaugh is setting up fall camp to push his players to the extreme, knowing that whoever emerges on the other side come Aug. 28 when camp ends and game-week preparation begins, is someone he can win with.
And he expects to win, multiple sources close to the program shared with us.
"I tell you what, they may not win 10 games this year, but they're going to have a chance to win 10 games because he is making something with the right kids. You could see it in the spring, and you can see it this summer. There is an attitude of relentlessness that you're starting to feel. Brady Hoke used to always talk about wanting to feel football, but we never saw it. You're starting to feel it now. It's exciting."
• One other note. We still expect attrition when the 2015 roster is updated. That was supposed to happen Thursday and then Friday, but Michigan has not released a new roster. Why? Strategy perhaps. If Michigan revealed its roster Friday and there were noticeable absences, Harbaugh would have been asked about them at Big Ten Media Day.
Instead, one source noted it's likely to come out early this week (potentially even tomorrow) so reporters can spend a few days writing about it and then moving on as Michigan Media Day approaches Thursday.
As one person shared, "They could get woken up at 5am one day and told practice starts in 30 minutes."
This may seem a little crazy, but it's all part of Jim Harbaugh's master plan to introduce adversity into this team. As James Ross told us yesterday, there were far too many guys for Harbaugh's liking in the spring that weren't expecting to have to work as hard as he demanded. Ross didn't earn a 'Play 60' t-shirt for participating in all 60 hours of spring ball because he missed a bit of practice time late with an injury, and what he learned is there is a difference between a legitimate injury and aches and pains.
"If it's not broken or falling off, you can play through it," Ross said, with a smile. "Coach Harbaugh is pushing us and pushing us to become tougher physically and mentally. A lot of guys took time off in the spring, voluntarily, and those guys have a ton to prove to Coach Harbaugh this fall if they want to play.
"He has no time for you if you're not a competitor and not someone that will battle. He didn't say this flat-out, but he's creating an environment where it's pretty clear that if you're not willing to fight for Michigan, he won't waste his energy on you."
In that vein, Harbaugh is setting up fall camp to push his players to the extreme, knowing that whoever emerges on the other side come Aug. 28 when camp ends and game-week preparation begins, is someone he can win with.
And he expects to win, multiple sources close to the program shared with us.
"I tell you what, they may not win 10 games this year, but they're going to have a chance to win 10 games because he is making something with the right kids. You could see it in the spring, and you can see it this summer. There is an attitude of relentlessness that you're starting to feel. Brady Hoke used to always talk about wanting to feel football, but we never saw it. You're starting to feel it now. It's exciting."
• One other note. We still expect attrition when the 2015 roster is updated. That was supposed to happen Thursday and then Friday, but Michigan has not released a new roster. Why? Strategy perhaps. If Michigan revealed its roster Friday and there were noticeable absences, Harbaugh would have been asked about them at Big Ten Media Day.
Instead, one source noted it's likely to come out early this week (potentially even tomorrow) so reporters can spend a few days writing about it and then moving on as Michigan Media Day approaches Thursday.
