UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 27, 2004

Lloyd Carr

COACH CARR: We had some problems with the scrambling quarterback. I thought this Tate kid from Ohio, I really liked him and I thought he made a couple of big plays in there. But with the exception of those two plays I thought defensively we played really well. I think obviously the biggest factor of the game are turnovers and I thought our defense did a great job of stopping the run. To me, to my way of thinking, that's where it all starts. I thought the kicking game, Adam Finley has been very, very consistent, really since the last part of last year. Garrett Rivas hit a big field goal there for 44 yards. I thought our kick coverage was outstanding and offensively, you know, we took advantage of turnovers. I think we took a step in the right direction. I thought David Baas, particularly, moving in there to center and Leo Henige did some very good things. It's obvious that Jake Long is here to stay as far as the way he played and the promise that he has. Indiana is, I think, going back to a year ago in the second half of our game, where they did some very good things, I think they are very well coached. I think those guys that have stayed at Indiana with Jerry, they are tough, they are competitive people, and they are going to fight. And of course we've got to go on the road and coming off of a big VICTORY sometimes a team doesn't retain the same kind of intensity, and that's a challenge for us, knowing that we are going to get an Indiana team that's going to fight. I do want to keep you updated as always on some of the injury situations. I don't know why there's such levity here, but at any rate, you know, Pat Cheryl who was competing with Ross Mann and I should mention Ross Mann as a kid who is a fifth-year senior, came here, Jim Herman got a recommendation from his coach down in Kentucky several years ago. And Ross came here, was worked hard, has earned a scholarship and done a wonderful job last year as our long snapper, short snapper. But, Pat was competing for that job. He had an injury towards the end of training camp but that has not responded. He had surgery probably two weeks ago now and it does not look like he'll return for the season, but he is out for the year. Tim Jamison, a very promising young freshman, from Chicago who did such a great job and a first couple of games on special teams, we think -- and the doctors in looking at a knee, he had some problems early in training camp. He did some -- he had some treatment of a knee, responded and then he came back. But he has re-injured it and he's going to have surgery which means that he's going to miss the rest of the year, but the good news is that he will be eligible for a medical red shirt. So, he won't lose any eligibility. No one asked me -- well, I guess a couple, but in the press conference right after the game, I intended to mention, Markus Curry had an injury that really hampered him. He maybe could have played in an emergency last week. He was in a position where he was being pressed by Leon Hall, and of course Leon went in and had an outstanding game. But Markus, the reason he didn't play, was because of the injury and not as has been reported, for other reasons. Jacob Stewart is also, since he's been here, has been hampered a year ago, missed some playing time with a pulled hamstring, he has re-injured it. I don't know what his status will be, but he's got some issues there that we've got to get straightened around. So I'll have maybe some information for you later on. I would issue this statement on Matt Gutierrez. Matt Gutierrez last week had an MRI arthroscope where they put the dye in and where they can get a very, very good look at what's going on in that shoulder. Our doctors, Dr. Carpenter, has visited with Matt's father and they have talked about the injury. And Matt and his father are going to make a decision at some point here on what options they are choosing to explore here. So that's all I have to tell you. But as always, I just want that make sure you know everything I know.

COACH CARR: Well, I don't want to get into that. I want to let people who are -- who have the knowledge to talk specifically, whether that would be Matt at some point or his father or the doctors.

COACH CARR: Not as I understand it because he has already had his red shirt year. Now if his first red shirt year had been because of a medical issue, then he would be eligible for another which would create a six-year-of-eligibility issue. As I understand the rules right now, that is not an option for him.

COACH CARR: Yeah.

COACH CARR: No. I think we've done everything correctly. You know, as we mentioned, you know, that is still the -- I've said all I'm going to say, because I don't want to get into an area where I'm not proficient to speak.

COACH CARR: Well, I think you go back to the end of the game, the last two games, I mean, there is a perfect example. Last week he took a knee to end the game, but he backed up and took a shot from a 250-pound defensive end or linebacker. And there are so many things that as a coach, part -- as any leader understands, you know, a big part of that issue is anticipation, but there's nobody that can anticipate everything or at least get everything addressed in this kind of a circumstance. There's just things, there's just -- you know, I've said this and it's one of my basic beliefs: Experience is a wonderful thing, but it's hard to get without suffering. So you're going to have to learn some things the hard way. So I think the biggest -- it's not hard to be patient with a kid like this, which if you've coached as long as I have, you know that the way he's handled himself, is admirable. I mean, this kid, he stepped into a very competitive situation. I think he's -- you couldn't ask a guy to work harder. You couldn't ask a guy to care more. You couldn't ask a guy to handle the issue with his teammates, so I think his teammates like him. You know, we don't have that problem. You know, sometimes you have a problem where the older guys don't like a young guy coming in there. They don't like it. And so he has not had to deal with that. You know, I think from a coaching standpoint, the biggest challenge is simply, don't overload him. Don't put him in a position where at the line of scrimmage he's got to think about too many things, because he's going to have enough to think about, you know, as you begin, just to get the snap, just to remember the cadence, just to remember the play. And when you ask him to, okay, what's the read here, what's the preset alignment of the secondary, where's the safety, which linebacker is on the line of scrimmage, you know, you get into all of that stuff, you have to do some of it, but you've got to give it to him so that sequentially he can grow. It makes some sense. You know, sometimes you've got other, you've got a lot of people around him that are talented but you can't go faster than he can go. I think that's the biggest thing.

COACH CARR: Well, I don't -- I don't have that answer right now as far as who will start at tailback. But I think there's a good chance that depending on how he practices, that he will start. No, I've never had two freshmen at those two positions at the same time that I recall, but, you know, my ability to recall is not what it once was.

COACH CARR: Which game are you talking about?

COACH CARR: Well, I don't know about easy. And are you talking about easy for the coach, easy for the player?

COACH CARR: I think defensive football has really changed even since Anthony was here. I mean, the fronts and the zone blitzes, I mean, not that it was easy when he was here because it isn't, but you know, I think some of it would relate to what kind of an offense he ran in high school. If he ran an offense that is similar to what you're running in college and some of the plays were the same, if you run a two-back offense and you run the off-tackle play, then he's run that play a lot. Then you know, the maturity of the young man -- and Michael has that. He and Chad are very similar from the standpoint that neither one of them are excitable. They have control of their emotions and they both have great work ethic. You know, Michael was here all summer, and you know, I think and he's really well liked by his teammates. Is it easy? I could never say, I would never say it's easy.

COACH CARR: Well, his performance. You're going to evaluate each film. There's one game in here where you said, look, we've got to slow down here. The way he played on Saturday, you really have to feel comfortable with where he is after four games. Now, how much further you can go today? You've got to say, well, who are we playing this week, what kind of system is he going to face. I mean, what is the opponent going to do that is going to create some problems. You know, I think you have to make some judgments. And sometimes maybe you know, you're not going to make perfect choices in terms of, you may go too slow, you may go too fast. What you have to do is take all of the knowledge you have, all of the experience you have as a coach, your judgments about him and then make a decision. That's how you get a game plan.

COACH CARR: I think Gabe's future is really dependent upon the commitment he's willing to make, because he has all of the talent. He's smart. And you know, and yet, to be what he's capable of being is going to require that that he continue to get stronger, as strong as he is, he can get stronger. He can get in better condition. But he has enormous talent and he is a difference-maker. He has as much ability today as any guy that we've had around here.

COACH CARR: I think first of all, you know, when you're in the box, defense is, I think because I've been there, I think it's a lot about emotion. It's a lot about the intensity, the moment, and you know, I would say that there's probably think overall more adjustments defensively. Because an offense is going to change more in a lot of cases week-to-week than in terms of certain things than maybe a defense will. But I think it's easier to communicate with your team, with your players, on the field than it is over the phone. I think if you have people that you really can tell you what you need to know, you know, I think my own feeling is that you know that there's an advantage of being down there, and I think Jim feels that way. He was in the box, and the beautiful thing about being in the box is that you don't become emotionally involved with a play and it's easier to remain above the fray, you know, to have clear-headedness. But sometimes a team needs that. They feed off the emotion of the coach and so there's a lot of things. I just think they felt like the guys who were on the staff feel like -- that it would work better with him on the field.

COACH CARR: We talked about it a year ago, I think it was a year ago, just up there one year because he had talked to a lot of people and I think there's a lot of things that I liked up there. You know, in the final analysis, I think that's the first time he's been up there. I just think that as a coordinator, you are really involved with every position. The guys that probably have more adjustments, because he's coaching the inside linebackers. You know, in the NFL, for example, you're allowed to send transmissions, photographs, down to the bench because of the technology they allow you to use in the NFL. That same technology is not allowed in college. So in the pro game, they can send pictures down and tell a linebacker, look, you see where this back is aligned here, this is what he's doing on this play, you've got to move over a man. You're not lined up wide enough. So down there, you have to show them. And I think that's -- we didn't spend an extensive amount of time, because you know my own feeling is, you know, that the coordinator would do -- should do what he feels is allows him to do the best job.

COACH CARR: Well, I think that he's an intense guy and there's no question, and sometimes you know, there are players that feed off that. I don't think there's any doubt about that. You know, I think a presence. Leadership, you know, you need a presence. And certainly, you have more of a presence if you're on the field. I don't think there's any doubt about that.

COACH CARR: Well, I'm impressed with those statistics if you're making first downs and that's really what you look at. I mean, are you converting first downs. You can be complete in passes and punting the football, and it may not be his fault. But those statistics are -- third down statistics, if you complete 60 percent of your third down passes, and you have a 20 percent third down conversion of the first down, then that's a story I'm not particularly impressed with. You know, I think so, you know, I think we were very good on third down in this game in converting the first downs. But that's something that -- the answer to your question is, we take it, it's very important that we on a daily basis on Tuesdays and Thursdays, we have a third down situation drill where we compete against our defense and we keep those stats. Because you know, normally, the shorter the yardage, the more successful you have to be. So if you're third down and 10, and he's, you know, converting the first downs, you've got something special there, because those are -- those are tough downs to convert on. You're third and three and you're not converting them, then you've got a problem. But is it important? Absolutely.

COACH CARR: Well, I think it is, and it depends on who the guy is. But certainly, there are certain guys that you recruit that you, a part of your recruiting is telling them that, hey, this is where I see you. You know, I think every -- if you don't have a plan for every guy that you're recruiting, then you shouldn't be recruiting them. You know, and I try to tell them exactly what my plan is. Now, and sometimes they may not be interested because they don't like my plan. But I can't tell a guy that he's going to come in and start at right guard when David Baas is the right guard. I can say, look, we're going to red shirt you, and you're going to have a chance here to be a four-year starter, if that's what you want to do. In Chad Henne's case, what I told him was this: We did not have a quarterback that had any significant playing experience. He knew the only quarterback that had any experience was Matt Gutierrez, because at the time Spencer and his eligibility expired, and it wasn't until later that he decided to go for a six-year. He knew that Clayton Richard -- that Clayton Richard would have the advantage of one fall and one spring practice. So, you know, he saw an opportunity and I tried to tell him what that opportunity was. And the same is true of Michael Hart. Almost identical. Chris Perry had taken almost all of the snaps, had gained almost all of the yardage, and we had a lot, some guys coming back, but none of them had significant experience; and so, you want to take a shot at it.

COACH CARR: I think Roy Manning and Hull, and Saginaw -- what was your other question?

COACH CARR: I think Leon Hall, the interception he made was just an outstanding individual play. We had some pressure on the quarterback. But you know, he caught that football with both feet off the ground, his arms extended, I mean, just a phenomenal individual play. You know, he's done that in practice. I mean, this kid has really, I think playing much, much better than he did even a year ago. Obviously he's more experienced but I think even more importantly, he played with a shoulder that was not completely well. But I think he's got a great upside. He's got a great composure about him, a great confidence. I mean, here is a guy we put in a year ago in some games as a punt returner, true freshman. That skill is one of the more difficult in all of sport, and he went back there and caught the ball like a veteran. So Leon Hall is for real. And of course Grant Mason, you know, we knew some things about him in high school but until you get a guy on the practice field and until you are around him, you don't know who he is. You don't know how tough he is how competitive he is how smart he is. And you know, even though he was here a year ago, until we really got into the thick of it, and so we've learned some things. I really like what he's about. He has done just one great job on special teams. He's made some tackles on the kickoffs that are just bone-jarring, knock-'em-down-where-they-are kind of plays. They are not plays where he's hit the guy and the guy runs three or four more yards. I mean, these guys go down because he's tackling them. I think the play he made was, again an outstanding individual effort.

COACH CARR: Well, he played a significant role a year ago. He started some games in there and he played on a championship, Big Ten championship team. So he understands, I think first and foremost, the pressure of big games. I think that's something you can't underestimate. I think he's gained confidence because he did have a lot of success. He's very smart. So he knows what to do. I mean, this is a heady guy. He doesn't make mistakes that I would say would be typical of a freshman a year ago, and certainly now that he's had a year, he doesn't make many mistakes.

COACH CARR: Well, I don't know that they are down. I think he had one great kickoff return there. What I like is he accelerates. I think there's probably a touchdown that should have happened against San Diego State. He got caught from behind. I think he's not back to where he was. He's not 100%, and I think Saturday we were one block from going all the way. I think he's -- I think he's got a very good team around him. But obviously, when you're preparing for us, you're going to really do everything you can to emphasize to your team to teach your team that this guy can beat you. So there's no question that that he has everybody's attention. And then part of it is, you know, there was a period in there where people didn't punt him the ball. That's going to be part of that deal.

COACH CARR: Well, he called me and said he was leaving Stanford, he wanted to get back to the Midwest and his first choice was Michigan. We had watched him when he was at Orchard Lakes/St. Mary's, as I recall, I don't recall a lot about it, but he had made a pretty early decision to go to Stanford. When he got here, he had played, he had gone to Stanford as a receiver, but in the spring, I think spring of his second year there, he had moved to defensive back in the spring. So he had played spring practice as a defensive back, corner back, and I asked him what he preferred. I told him, I said, "You know, I'm not sure where you could best help us, but I would, if you're going to come here, I would want the ability to play you where you could help us the most." And if you're willing to do that, because he's a good student, he's an engineering student, he's a bright guy, so he accepted that. And we last year in the fall, we started him out as a receiver about halfway through. We worked him over, some on defense. He went with Ron English. We had a year where we could evaluate where we thought he could most help our team. And so now, going into the spring, we decided to play him at the corner back position.

COACH CARR: Adrian Arrington, based on what he did in the fall, to play him. And I think Adrian will -- I think his role will increase here as we go. He's really done some impressive things in practice. He's learning every day. He's gaining in his understanding of the routes and the things that we're asking him to do. He only got in there I think three plays on Saturday, but when he did, still, he went in there and blocked people. He went in there and tried to do aggressively the things that we asked him to do. So I think his role will grow some. Who else? Jamar Adams, I think with Jacob Stewart having a problem there, that impacted that. And I think the other thing is, Jamar, for the past two or three weeks in practice, really did some impressive things. And so I called him in and I asked him, and he wanted to play, he wants to play. So you'll see him probably on some special teams, and I think the year, the experience that he can get from here on out will be well worth it.

COACH CARR: David is fine and we'll just have to see how practice goes. But I expect him to play. I expect him to play this week.

COACH CARR: Well, I don't know. I think you'd have to ask them. I think we've tried to make it -- we tried it -- I always ask them if they are scared and if they are, told them, I'll be down there on the 50-yard line when the ball is kicked off, come on down and I'll hold their hand. Really, I'm trying to just tell them, hey, this is no big deal here. But, what you try to do is if a guy is going in and he has an attitude that, hey, this is going to be easy, and I'm the man, I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that, you'd better get his attention because he's going to learn the hard way, that isn't the attitude you need. These two guys, you just try. You know they understand and if anything, they want it badly. And so you just try to relax them and tell them, hey, just go in, concentrate on making sure that when the quarterback makes a call, or in Chad's case, make sure you get the signal. Don't be worrying about what the play is, because the first thing you've got to do is relay that information to those people in the huddle, and do it in a clear, concise manner. Just relax and do the best you can and you're going to make mistakes, and when you do, don't worry about them.

COACH CARR: I've had a couple of them walk down there but none of them took my hand.

COACH CARR: I think one of the reasons, one of the things I worry about with Michael Hart is, what did he run the ball, 25 times against San Diego State? Well, you worry about how he's going to respond the next week because when he gets up Sunday and Monday, I guarantee you, he's probably -- I can't guarantee and say probably, but he's probably not -- he probably not in high school felt like that after a high school game. So how is he going to come back on Tuesday? Some guys don't have the stamina to handle that. So, I think certainly, he's done it two weeks in a row, and I think he gains confidence from that. He understands that here if you're in his position, you've got to practice. You can't be a freshman and not practice and expect to play because you don't have the experience that enabled you to play well if you don't practice.

COACH CARR: LoVecchio obviously is a guy that can do the things from a game management standpoint. He's going to make very few mistakes. He's very smart, he's very competitive. I think he's very tough. I think he's improved as a passer. I think Roby is a real threat. You know, the thing that makes it easier for him I think this year is that their offensive line returned intact, as well as the tight ends. So, they can run the football and that takes pressure off the quarterback, because I watched them, they end up with a lot of third down and medium third down and three or four, where you still have to play the run; and so the play-action pass is very good. You know, on first down, because they are a team that runs the ball, philosophically, that's what they want to do, it opens up their play-action passing game. They don't want to get in the drop-back passing game. But I like him and I like you know, the backs, I think he's tough, and I think he's going to run both north and south. And he's going to come out the other end, he's proven a year ago as a freshman -- I mean, you gain almost a thousand yards as a freshman, you're tough and you're durable.

COACH CARR: Well, I think that's true. I think what's true in this conference is that the kids who play in this conference are competitive. They have pride in Big Ten football and representing their schools. You don't see many -- you see very, very few games in this conference where a team isn't playing hard. Now, once in awhile you'll have a game that ends up three or four touchdowns, and almost always that's because somewhere in there somebody turned a football over, somebody had a blocked punt. And then a team that doesn't want to be a drop-back passing team gets behind; they have got to throw the football. But you know, I think -- we try to always instill in our kids that everybody they play wants to beat them. I think any coach does that in any program that has any tradition. And I think if they don't have tradition, they are trying to get to a point where they can say to their team, hey, everybody wants to beat you. That's part of playing in a great program. So, hopefully we all understand that. And I think we do, with maybe the exception of some of the guys that are just getting here, because those are some things sometimes that as a young player you have to learn the hard way.

COACH CARR: Well, as I said, the quarterback scramble, you had a big play in there. And then on the quarterback scramble for a touchdown twice we let the ball, in that particular point, we let the quarterback outside of the defense. But there's not much to complain about as far as that game. The big challenge is, when you give up big plays is when you make mental errors by either not containing the quarterback or letting somebody get behind you. And so to say you're a great defense, I don't think you can ever say that until the season's over. Because if you're giving up big plays, you're not a great defense.

COACH CARR: Well, I think if you're playing at home, it really gets the crowd into the game. My experience here at Michigan over a long period of time is that when you have a great defense, it doesn't take the fans here long to understand that. And then they, when those people make a play, they hear it. And that's a motivating thing anyway you want to cut it. But, you know, I think it means a lot to your offense, because if you take the ball over inside your own 20 or at your 20, what you're telling everybody, what everybody is understanding is, hey, secure the football. Let's make a first down here so that we don't have to -- so that we can help our field position. You know, that's your first goal, to make a first down. And not turn the football over, especially if you're got a young team. But, if you get the ball on your side of the 50, you know, that play to Braylon, that was a first down play; so don't be complaining about the first down calls. I think you should write an article on that, on the first down calls, unbelievable, throwing the ball deep on first down. Never done that at Michigan before. (Laughing).

COACH CARR: He came to me and said he wanted to move to center. I said, "David, whatever you want." (Laughter). No, you know, I can't -- you would have to ask David that. Now, the way I recall it, David Baas is a captain, and I told him back in the spring, before we started spring practice, I said, "Look, I want you to work some at center because there's a possibility there and we want to be prepared if we need you there, what do you think?" He said fine. Now, I don't think he ever envisioned it happening to where he would move to center. And you'd have to ask him and hopefully he wouldn't tell you the truth anyway. (Laughter) I'm just kidding. But, the point is, that nobody made David Baas -- I wouldn't order a guy to move and play somewhere that he didn't want to, but I can guarantee you this: As far as his future goes, he's already proven to anybody who would be interested in him that he's a great guard. Now he can have a chance to prove that he can be a great center, and that only helps him.

COACH CARR: Probably not.

COACH CARR: I don't look at it as taking a chance. I look at it as when you put a football team together, you have to have a plan for every guy, and you'd better have a have a plan in terms of the depth that you're trying to develop because you understand in this game you're going to need depth. So what you do then is every game, from the time you get there in spring practice, you're evaluating every player every day and every scrimmage. In the fall you're doing the same thing. And those guys that don't have experience, you're not sure, and sometimes even a veteran comes back and he's not playing as good as he can, maybe, or as he has. Then so as you get into a season like we have this year. You grade every film, you grade every performance and how are you playing. Well, obviously we're struggling running the football. So then you're going to make decisions that they are not, as you would put it, seat of the pants I would hope. They are what we would do if we had to do it.

COACH CARR: Very good. He had a play on a screen going towards the south end. We threw the screen from the left half over towards the Iowa bench. You wants to see a great football play? Watch him. He blocked two guys, and I mean, he can -- he's an outstanding football player.

COACH CARR: I think what helps David in that instances, and the first time, the first time he played center last spring, I mean everybody in that offensive meeting room said Baas could be a great center. The thing that some guys struggle with is as you snap the ball, if you can't step 'n snap -- snap 'n step, some guys have to snap and then they step. It's too late. He's such a good athlete and he's such a strong guy, because he's going to use one hand to snap the ball, but he's a very natural athlete which allows him to do something that a lot of guys couldn't do.

COACH CARR: Well, I couldn't say we were forced to, because David a year ago I think was competing for playing time. He got hurt. But from the beginning, from the first time he came here, we've had -- we've felt that he at some point, he was going to be an excellent player. And his knee is good, he's had a very good fall and he played very well, I think he played 35 snaps in there and he did a very good job. He made our Victor's Club, which is something we do every week for every game, which indicates that he played well.

COACH CARR: Didn't I say that you could expect to see him?

COACH CARR: Soon. As soon as we can. I hope this week. You know, we're just -- we've got to keep going here, but I think Max has had, he's had a very, very good two weeks of practice here. We've gotten him a lot of work and I think he's a guy that we're going to give an opportunity to.

COACH CARR: Well, that's a good question and I think the answer is: What option he chooses.

COACH CARR: Adam Finley would do it.

COACH CARR: Well, Carl was hampered by an injured hamstring throughout the spring, and then when he came back in the fall, he fought some of that, he still wasn't 100%. Last Wednesday in practice, he bruised, got, I wouldn't say an injury but he banged himself up. But I'm very hopeful that his role will be what he wants it to be and because he's a very capable guy.