Friday's update from the Combine

Here is an update from "the game" on the Wolverines at the Combine on Friday: (other then top 5 pick Jake Long who did 37 reps of 225 lbs. bench press today. Tops for any O-Lineman in Indy)

11:45
Quarterback Chad Henne just strolled through the media room. A rather large group of journalists surrounded him for the first few minutes of his press conference before Hawaiian pretty boy Colt Brennan stole the show. Henne talked about his draft stock, acknowledging the fact that the shoulder and knee injuries he sustained this year could lower his pick.
Henne cited the Redskins and Cowboys as teams he’s met with, and said he has a meeting with the Dolphins scheduled for tonight.

During the ten-minute conversation, Henne talked briefly about the surprisingly wide-open offensive scheme the Wolverines attacked Florida with in the Capital One Bowl. He believes his 25-for-39, 373-yard performance will help him with the NFL Draft, because his ability to handle the spread attack showed he can learn quick and make excellent reads.
We’ve got a lot of interesting stuff from him, including his analysis of current Michigan quarterbacks Steve Threet and David Cone, so we’ll post some Henne quotes as soon as we get them transcribed.

1:55
BREAKING NEWS — We just sat down with receiver Adrian Arrington, and he had a few interesting things to say about his decision to leave Michigan early. If either Lloyd Carr or now-Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett had decided to stay, Arrington would be a Wolverine next season, he said.

According to Arrington, he met with Rodriguez in the weeks leading up to his decision to leave. The meetings went well, but having to adapt to a new offense so late in his college career and not having a proven option at quarterback left too many questions for next season’s team.
If just one of those questions was never asked — either Carr or Mallett was on board with Michigan next year — Arrington said he would have been donning maize and blue still.
As it is, Arrington’s at the Combine but not working out. During a training session two weeks ago, he pulled a hamstring, so he will not participate in any workouts before the draft. This year’s draft has a lot of receivers, but none of them really stand out above the rest. Arrington’s injury will really hurt his chances of being one of the top wide outs taken this year.

2:30
West Virginia players are making a point to be civil about new Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez’s departure from their team. Both Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt made a point to be civil when fielding questions about their former coach. Both said they respect his decision and know that it is what’s best financially for Rodriguez’s family.

Slaton said that offensive coordinator Calvin Magee’s decision to leave West Virginia was a major deciding factor in his going pro.

3:30
Lots of news from the last hour.

Michigan wide out Mario Manningham stepped up to the podium, and I immediately thought of his notriously bad press conferences. But he spoke for nearly ten minutes, cracking jokes about his high school coach, Tom Brady (Well, this might have been a joke. He said he didn’t even know Tom Brady went to Michigan until he saw it on ESPN ….) and other things, he was easily the most light-hearted and amusing interview thus far. I was impressed.
He skirted around the tough questions. When asked what skills he needed to improve on most, he said he couldn’t think of any. When asked how he matched up against some of the best corners he played against in college, he simply said good players make him play better (Wisconsin’s Jack Ikegwuonu held him to two catches for 16 yards this season, minus the broken-play, 97-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter).

The most interesting part of the interview could have been when Mannigham was asked whether or not he would have stayed if Carr stuck around for another year. He stood with a goofy smile on his face for several seconds before finally saying, “that’s a tough question,” and offering no more of a response.

Mike Hart came on right after Manningham, and he was his usually bubbly self. At least twice, Hart referred to himself as the best running back in the draft, even with Darren McFadden slated to take the podium immediately after him. Hart refused to predict a 40-yard dash time for himself, saying that he’d look bad if he predicted to fast a time. All he said was that it was “really fast.”