Michigan Fathers Speak out for Rich Rod and the Michigan Program

I know this story is now dying the proper death (which it should) but I think it's important that you hear from the fathers of the young men that RR and Staff have supposedly been overworking:

Fred Roh father of Craig Roh (via Mgoblog)

I am Craig Roh's dad and had the pleasure of experiencing first-hand the recruiting process and first summer with the UM program. I feel obligated to share with readers concrete evidence of the integrity and compliance of the Rich Rod program and staff. My son chose UM because it is one of the few schools in the country that has great football AND academics. He could have gone to UCLA, Cal, Stanford, USC..all great academic schools and he chose Michigan because it had the best of both.
He also selected UM because of the intensity and straight talk of the coaching staff. The first person he met was Mike Barwis. After spending an hour with Barwis, Craig turned to me and said, "He will make me the best I can be. That's what I want." When he met Rich Rod, he was further impressed with his openness and vision. Craig came here BECAUSE of the work ethic that was to be required of him. He WANTS to be pushed to the limits, not coddled and pampered. (jump forward in his statement)

Lastly, I know for a fact that Craig missed workouts in the summer and even missed parts of at least three practices at camp so that he could attend class. He was excused with absolutely no repercussions by the coaching staff.

I am assuming that players who choose to come to UM under Rich Rod are coming here BECAUSE its hard. They want to become the best. They want to be pushed. They want great academics and great football environment. I detest the accusations made by the Freep. They think they are doing these kids a favor by easing up the workload and, in reality, they are undermining the very reason the kids chose UM!

Ron Stokes:
"My wife [Juanita] and I talk to Je'Ron every day. We follow him through the internet, by phone, and we've been up there on a couple of occasions," he said. "We spent an entire Thursday through Monday up there, and I'd see guys voluntarily go into that weight room on Sunday and Saturday and put in extra work. "I know [the allegations] are not true, because I know how [strength coach] Mike Barwis cares for these kids. He's taken my son to bible study and to church. These are the kinds of things that impress us about the program and Rich Rod and his staff. They are good people, and I hate the fact that every negative thing put out there brings the wrong perception to the Michigan program.

Mike Schofield:

As a parent of a Michigan Player/Student I find the story in the Freep nothing but nonsense, misinformation, bush league journalism and an attempt to tarnish the great name of Michigan Football, in short it think it is nothing more than Bullshit.I have posted here long before this article came…and I give my permission to release any/all my post about Michigan football to the press.

(later in his statement) During the summer Michael spent more time studying going to class bonding with his freshman players and the other students in his dorm. Michael came home for visits, there were no signs of Barwis Police tracking him down…there were NO NCAA Violations, these kids played basketball, catch, and other sport activities with other college kids at the dorm, they went to visit sick children in the hospital and stopped by a summer camp for special needs kids…..where that in the Freep, that's right that will not make national news…and is the truth…

Mike Forcier:

"I've had three sons in college football now, and they've all gone through the same things so far. Tate has been doing the same things as his brothers were at UCLA and Stanford."

Larry Foote (not a father of a current player but a former Wolverine who works out with Barwis, and of course owns a super bowl ring) :

“When you’re on top all these years, people trying to take shots at us,” said Foote, who has been razzed in the Lions’ locker room by teammates who attended other schools, as other former U-M players have. “You’ve got a couple disgruntled ex-Wolverines taking shots at the team.

“Everybody complains. We complain here. But it’s Michigan. We ain’t no small school. They know the schedule. They’re not going to jeopardize millions and millions of dollars, trying to get a couple extra hours in. So that story is more of a joke than anything.”

Former WVU player and fellow Big Ten coaches (per the Wolverine):

Former WVU player defends Rodriguez ...In addition to the outpouring of support Rich Rodriguez has received from current player and their parents, former players, analysts across the country (like ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit, who called allegations of violations against the program "a joke" yesterday), Michigan's head coach is getting unsolicited support from some of his former players at West Virginia. One called in anonymously to Rivals Radio yesterday and noted that the distinction between voluntary workouts and involuntary was always made clear, with players asked to sign a sheet indicating they abided by the rules."Whether it was bi-weekly or monthly, there was a sheet with a box you have to check saying they're not keeping you there longer than what the NCAA requires," he said. "We would chuckle because we knew we well exceeded the time frame, but we did it knowing it was necessary to win. And when you go to a school and you're 3-8 or whatever, it's obvious things are not going to be all hunky dory. Those guys could be abrasive at times, but it's the nature of the beast. "Look at the results. Look at what [Rodriguez] did with the program. He brought us into the national spotlight with guys like Steve Slaton and Pat White. When he goes to Michigan, I'm sure they're used to the warm and fuzzy because they can pound their chest because they're Michigan, but when you're Michigan and one of the top football programs in the country and going three and whatever, it's not going to be a nice time around there. That goes for any program."The caller also defended Michigan strength coach Mike Barwis."Mike Barwis is a guy who is very intense," he said. "He's an MMA fighter, I know he has a pet wolf ? he's going to make you work and he got guys strong. When you've got 275 or 280-pound linemen running that spread and are still pushing guys around, there's got to be something there. "They're good guys ? they got the right guys to do the job, and for those who can't handle it because they're Johnny Five-Star coming out of high school, then they need to go somewhere else."...


Several Big Ten coaches also defended Rodriguez during yesterday's teleconference."I firmly believe in Rich Rodriguez," Minnesota's Tim Brewster said. "I don't believe that Michigan was overextending their players. It's unfortunate this publicity has come out. Rich Rodriguez is a heck of a football coach. He's been doing this a long time, and it's just very unfortunate."


"I think all of us, whether it's at Ohio State or all the rest, have certain formats that we follow," OSU coach Jim Tressel added. "... It's a very difficult discussion, but we and Michigan and everyone else have formats that we fill out as to when we have required things for the players to do, but quite honestly, most of the players want and do more than you prescribe."