Michigan Wolverines

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite the weather feeling more appropriate for a late November Michigan-Ohio State matchup, the quality of play was clearly that of a team in spring ball.

Coaches were on the field and the stands were sparse. And the fact that it wasn’t a real game was only highlighted by the fact that the quarterbacks wore bright orange uniforms signifying the no contact on QBs spring game.

But there were a few times -- from one player in particular, early enrollee Taco Charlton -- that pressure broke through the offensive line and took down backup quarterback Brian Cleary.

“Freshman,” Michigan coach Brady Hoke said in the post-scrimmage press conference with a smile and a shake of his head.

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Michigan fans are still lamenting the loss of star linebacker Jake Ryan to a torn ACL, but they'll like what they hear from another key defender recovering from the same injury.

"I'm doing everything they allow me to do, and I feel really good doing it," Wolverines cornerback Blake Countess told ESPN.com on Thursday. "That's always a plus, to get back in the swing of things. Everything is feeling good."

Countess' recovery is on track after he tore the ACL in his left knee in the first quarter of Michigan's season-opening loss to Alabama last September. Although he's not taking contact in spring practice, he's participating in individual drills and has no limitations on his running and cutting.

Barring a setback, Countess should be completely cleared for the start of preseason camp.

"In spring ball, there's really no need for me to go out there and push it," he said. "As far as contact, I can't wait to get back into it, but I'm not going to rush anything."

The 5-foot-10, 181-pound Countess played in 12 games as a true freshman in 2011, starting the final six and recording 44 tackles with six pass breakups and a forced fumble. Pegged as one of the nation's top young cornerbacks entering 2012, Countess instead underwent surgery in early October and redshirted the season.

Countess felt optimistic about his progress since the start of his post-surgery rehab, but a return to the practice field this spring has provided another boost.

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Michigan begins spring practice on Saturday with both some question marks and some major returning talent. Brady Hoke says of his team: "We're very young. But these guys have a lot of fight to them." There will also be a lot of fighting for starting jobs, beginning in a few days. I recently caught up with the third-year Wolverines coach for his thoughts on the approach of spring ball:

What are the main things you're looking for this spring?

Brady Hoke: Well, you know, we've got a lot of open spaces. Some guys graduated, some guys aren't with the program anymore and we've got a lot of young guys. I think we only have 11 starters back on both sides of the ball, so there's going to be a lot of great competition, which is exciting. I think the leadership of our seniors, they've done a nice job of holding everybody accountable. But when you get out there with the pads on, it's a little different than just running around in shorts.

Some of that competition will be on the offensive line, where you've got three open jobs on the interior. How do you see those battles right now?


BH: Well, I think the interior of both lines, there's going to be a lot of competition. We've got to find a center, and that's between [Jack] Miller and [Graham] Glasgow, and Joey Burzynski will try to figure that out a little bit, too. At the guard positions, Ben Braden is going to move down inside and start out at the left guard, but he'll have a lot of competition because Burzynski is back and so is Blake Bars. Kyle Kalis will move into the right side, and it will be interesting again with [Kyle] Bosch and some of the guys who have been here a little bit. I think it will be a really good competition at all three of those inside positions.

Having Taylor [Lewan] back is huge. I think it's great for him and great for Michigan. Mike Schofield has had a really good winter. He had some real bright spots during the course of last season, and I think his development is going to be something special.

You mentioned the defensive line, where you also lost a couple of veterans. How does that shape up?

BH: I think inside, we get Jibreel Black for another year and Quinton Washington. But once you get through that, there are a lot of young guys ... Willie Henry, Ondre Pipkins, Ryan Glasgow, Richard Ash and Chris Wormley are all guys who can either play the inside tackle or the strongside end. We'll find out the guys who are competitive. Tommy Strobel is another guy we think had a real good winter, and Keith Heitzman. So it's going to be fun to see them compete.

Does having so many young guys in key spots on the line make you nervous? Or do you have a lot of confidence in them because you recruited most of them?

BH: I think it makes you nervous if you think you may have recruited the wrong guys. But we like the work ethic. We like how they've come in to learn and with a lot of enthusiasm. I think there's some competitiveness that we need to keep pushing as a program. You know, we lost five games on the road. We've played pretty well at home but we've got to do better on the road and that's a mindset, a mentality that you have to compete through everything, on every down.

Devin Gardner goes into spring practice as your starting quarterback. How has he developed as a leader?

BH: I have been really excited about the progress he's made. I'm seeing that maturity that it takes and the leadership it takes and the competitiveness it takes to be the quarterback at Michigan. I think that's a real big part of how he's grown, and I think he's done a nice job with it. I'm liking the direction he's going, and hopefully he can just keep going and keep growing.

What about your running back position this spring, with Fitz Toussaint hurt and Derrick Green not there yet?

BH: You know, Fitz has come along pretty well. I don't think he'll do a lot of contact or anything like that, but I think he'll be cleared for a lot more drill work. That's gone real well. We've moved [Dennis] Norfleet back to running back and we're going to give him an opportunity. Dennis, he's a smaller guy, but he's a very competitive, very tough young man. Drake Johnson is a guy we redshirted a year ago, and we really liked the way he competed in scout situations. In the bowl practices, we did some scrimmages and gave him a lot of carries, and we're very excited about what he has to offer.

Thomas Rawls is coming back, and I think he learned a lot last year about the vision he needs to play with, and I like how he's competed through the [winter]. And Justice Hayes is a guy who gives you a little bit different look because of how he can get on the perimeter. He did some things in a couple of games last year, but now I think he'll have a big stage to prove himself more this spring. And he's a bigger guy now, he's 190-something pounds, so he's a little bigger.

You have Jeremy Gallon back at receiver, but you lost Roy Roundtree. You sounded excited about some of the younger guys there during bowl prep. Is spring their time to step up now?

BH: Yeah, I think so. First of all, I think the leadership with Gallon and Drew Dileo, they've done a really nice job being leaders at that position. They're not big guys, but they have a real spirit for the game and really do a nice job of working and leading. We have Amara Darboh, who played a little last year, and Jehu Chesson, who we redshirted a year ago. And I think Jeremy Jackson has had a very good winter; we're very excited about some of the progress he's made. Joe Reynolds is a guy who walked on here, and he's done a very nice job. And Bo Dever, his dad played here and he walked on. I think that during the course of the spring, we'll be in pretty good shape there. I think as we keep going, we'll keep improving at that position.

Linebacker was a strength for you last year and looks to be so again. Do you see some good competition there this spring, particularly at the weakside spot?

BH: Yeah, I think with Desmond Morgan and James Ross, there's going to be great competition. Joe Bolden and Royce Jenkins-Stone and Mike Jones are all guys who are very competitive, and I think the three young guys coming in are going to be guys who will give us a lot of good competition and a lot of good depth. Kaleb Ringer is coming back from injury, so we'll see what he can give us. At the sam linebacker, Jake [Ryan] is coming back, and we really like what Cam Gordon has done during the winter. So I think we feel a little stronger at that position.

How do you replace what Jordan Kovacs gave you in the secondary?

BH: I don't know if you ever replace that kind of leadership, but I really think Thomas Gordon, he's played a lot of football here, and it's time for him to demonstrate the leadership. And he's doing that. Because of the number of snaps and everything he's done, he's really fallen into his own a little bit. Courtney Avery has played a lot of football, and whether he's a corner a nickel or wherever, he's got to give us great leadership and great reps. Blake Countess is getting healthier; he'll do some things during the spring. Josh Furman, I think, has come on.

We've got to see where Terry Richardson is and where Marvin Robinson is. Both those guys have played a number of snaps. We've got Raymon Taylor back, who I think started every game for us last year, we're excited about his development. Dymonte Thomas is a guy who's going to compete, and he'll pressure some guys. Jarrod Wilson is another guy who played some last year for us. Ross Douglas is here early. Jeremy Clark is a 6-foot-4, 210-pound safety we redshirted a year ago, and it's going to be a big spring for him to make some moves.

So I think we may have more personnel back there. And even more in the fall when Channing Stribling gets in, and Reon Dawson gets in and Jourdan Lewis. I think it's going to add something to our secondary.

Finally, what has your message been to the team this offseason after last year's 8-5 season?

BH: Well, our message has been, we haven't met the expectations at Michigan. That's something that as a football community… that we really feel that we have to do a much better job in all areas, from the coaching aspect of it, from learning and playing with the competitiveness we want to have, from every player at every position playing with the intensity we want to play with. It's about having a mindset and a mentality of how we want to play the game. We make no excuses, but at the same time, we know we have a lot we can do to play better football.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan’s path to winning the Outback Bowl just got more difficult. For the Wolverines, already trying to beat a top-10 team with a strong defense and a capable offense, losing starting cornerback J.T. Floyd, the most experienced and consistent corner on the roster, along with Big Ten punter of the year Will Hagerup is a big blow.

Now Michigan has to face South Carolina with sophomore Raymon Taylor and junior Courtney Avery as the starting cornerbacks. Taylor has proved he can play well against topflight opponents this season, but Avery has rarely been in a position to be an every-down player throughout his career.

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This week, WolverineNation will look at the five most critical moments of Michigan's 2012 football season (bowl excluded). These aren't necessarily positive or negative moments, but the five moments that most impacted this football season.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The season was less than half a game in and Michigan already was struggling with Alabama. It couldn’t do much on offense, leading to turnovers, three-and-outs and general concern about what would happen against the SEC.

After one of those failed offensive series, sophomore Blake Countess came on the field as a gunner on the Michigan punt return team. Will Hagerup let a booming kick fly, and as Countess ran down the field he was shoved out of the play.

The result led to a torn ACL and a season on the injured list for Michigan’s top cornerback, the No. 5 most critical moment of the 2012 season for the Wolverines.

In the short term, Countess’ injury hurt Michigan against Alabama -- neither Courtney Avery nor eventual starter Raymon Taylor could really handle the Crimson Tide -- but it could end up being a long-term bonus.

Theoretically, Countess’ injury means an extra year of him on defense as he should receive a redshirt year and come back next season alongside Taylor, who now has a season’s worth of starting experience he would not have had otherwise. Taylor ended up making 42 tackles, intercepting two passes and breaking up another. Those snaps, though, will be more valuable than any of that for 2013, when Michigan replaces J.T. Floyd at corner and Jordan Kovacs at safety.

For the most part this season, though, teams did not throw often against Michigan. At one point, the Wolverines were rated the top pass defense in the nation. While the lofty notion likely didn’t belong with the Wolverines, they handled the loss well.

However, Michigan was a team with just two interceptions from a cornerback this season and five overall from defensive backs. Countess did not record any interceptions his freshman season, but he was close and broke up six passes and seemed primed for a breakout year much like linebacker Jake Ryan.

Now, it might have to wait until the 2013 season.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- The Sea of Red will be rocking tonight as Nebraska hosts No. 22 Michigan for the first time in 101 years.

A huge Legends Division matchup is on tap as Michigan (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten) aims to preserve its perfect mark in Big Ten play and take a big step toward Indianapolis, while Nebraska (5-2, 2-1) can put itself in the driver's seat -- because of head-to-head tiebreakers -- with a victory. Every other Legends Division team has at least two losses in league play, so it's quite possible we see tonight's winner take on Wisconsin on Dec. 1 in Indianapolis.

Nebraska has won 10 consecutive home night games, including historic comebacks both Sept. 29 against Wisconsin and last year against Ohio State (largest in team history). The Huskers are 36-5 under the lights at Memorial Stadium, which will be packed and very, very loud. I haven't been here since the East stadium expansion really got rolling, and it's going to make an already electric venue even better.

Michigan dominated Nebraska last year in Ann Arbor, as Denard Robinson and Fitzgerald Toussaint had their way with the Huskers' defense. Nebraska defended the spread decently last week against Northwestern, although Northwestern had a head-scratching game plan that played right into what the Huskers wanted. Bo Pelini's team knows exactly what's coming their way tonight -- lots of Robinson on the ground. An interesting subplot will be whether or not Toussaint, a major disappointment this season, can finally get going. If Nebraska can contain the run game and force Robinson to throw the ball, it will have chances to record interceptions.

Nebraska's offense, meanwhile, will be the most explosive Michigan has seen since the season opener against Alabama. The Huskers are expected to be without senior running back Rex Burkhead, who aggravated his knee injury for the second time in three games last week at Northwestern. They should be more than fine with Ameer Abdullah, Braylon Heard and Imani Cross carrying the rock, but they'll need quarterback Taylor Martinez to make plays in a place where he typically steps up.

Michigan's defense has been exceptional in Big Ten play, as linebacker Jake Ryan leads the unit. The secondary has held up decently without starting cornerback Blake Countess, but Nebraska's receiving corps, which played very well last week, will test the back four.

Much more to come from Memorial Stadium throughout the night. I'll be tweeting throughout the game and back with more coverage immediately afterward.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- As Michigan walked off the field Saturday after a dominant 63-13 win over UMass, the Wolverines had another victory, one they hadn’t seen this season.

They emerged from a game healthy for the first time this season. Kind of.

Michigan had no major injuries during the game, unlike the previous two weeks, when the Wolverines lost cornerback Blake Countess (ACL) for the season, tight end Brandon Moore (knee) for several weeks and defensive end Brennen Beyer (knee) for an unknown period of time.

“I don’t know if we had any boo-boos today,” Hoke said. “But we’ve had one of those years where we have had a lot of guys dinged up.”

However, the week itself wasn’t as kind.

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