Let's be clear, Michigan has not been a very good football team the past two years. We don't need to go down that road again. We have debated the reasons over and over.
One thing that I found interesting was a few quotes from a Detroit News/Angelique S. Chengelis article from this morning.
Frank Clark:
“You can feel it in
the atmosphere, in that locker room,” Clark said. “There’s not a group of guys
over here when you’re having a team dinner, not a group (over there).”
Strength coach Aaron
Wellman has been integral in helping the players bond, Clark said, making a
point to encourage offensive and defensive players
and black
and white players, hang out together at team dinners or as they arrive or leave
strength training sessions.
“Coach Wellman says,
‘Let’s make Oreos, baby,’” Clark said, laughing. “You’re sitting there and you
walk out, it’s not about a black or white thing at the end of the
day.”
It seems to me Michigan has a bit of a culture problem in the locker room. Teammates are separating themselves by race and by position. Some of that of course is natural, if you are a DB your going to hang out with mostly DB's, freshman with freshman, etc. The thing that concerns me is players are separating themselves by race as well. First off, I don't like the term Oreo's and wish the coaches used something else, but we all understand locker room talk. This is also a very important job of the coaches to make sure players are respectful of each other and that each one of those guys bond not as 100 different players but as one team. Hopefully, the seniors and other team leaders understand that. There is no better person to lead that culture change then Coach Wellman the S&C coach. He is the only coach that can have regular/everyday contact (during the summer) with players as they come in for workouts.
The seniors seem to working on it as well, Devin Gardner has hosted a BBQ at his house and Jake Ryan organized a paint ball day this summer. Let's hope the Wolverines culture has taken a big step forward this summer.
We talk about offensive line struggles, QB in-experience, play calling, and so on, but if the players in Schembechler Hall are not together, then you have zero chance at success. Hopefully this is fixed now and Michigan can work together on winning football games.
1 comment:
Some of this is Clark stepping into being a leader. As a leader you notice little things more as well. The position group that needs to get tight is the O-line!
Post a Comment