It's your last little bit of football before enduring the sporting boredom of summertime. It's the Spring Game / Scrimmage / Last Practice. Allowing us to peer a bit into the future, this event shows us the latest edition of the maize and blue (sans most incoming freshmen) and is a kind of halfway point of the college football offseason. Pundits weigh in on the condition of the team, what they look like with x or y graduating senior missing from team, who's injured, who's overweight, who's a step slower or a step faster. The most fun is when you get to hear a new name for the first time.

For those that don't scour the recruiting boards, we have a new running back, Carlos Brown, and a la Kevin Grady, he is an early enrollerâ€¦just the third early enroller in the Wolverine's history. Prior to the Spring Game, I had read that he would be the new change of pace back, replacing the injured Antonio Bass...but I didn't believe it. But there he was, the latest #23, in the shotgun formation, taking snaps in the student body left and student body right plays we saw so many times out of Bass last season. Prior to his practice stint at QB, he broke one for 50 yards from the running back position. Was he showing off his blazing speed? Well, it was the Michigan defense, so perhaps they were just replaying the sideline sieve defense they gave to Gary Russel when he went for 61 yards to grab the Little Brown Jug.

But I digress...

It's tough to find things wrong or right in the mish-mash practice setting, and I am no expert, so my take on the Spring is as follows:

Jason Forcier has the arm of Barry Bonds, and the accuracy of John Navarre. Barring significant improvement leading up to September 2nd, offensively the season will hang on the health of #7. If Chad goes down, Iâ€™ll see you in Nashville in mid December. On the positive side, the fact that Carlos Brown took snaps Bass-style is a bit exciting...especially before his 18th birthday.

The word around camp is that things are more intense and everyone has lost weight and worked themselves into better shape. The Angel of the Big house has a full article on the leaner, meaner Wolverines.

The Junk Food Theme

The tailgate began at 10am, and was 3 people strong until about 11am, when some more familiar faces arrived. We had a full table covered in chips, chips, and more chips... and dip, cheese and crackers, and hummus and pita. The captain and coke still brimmed my mug, even in the absence of the Godfather, while others filled up on beers of their own choosing. A somewhat successful tailgate, but I felt a little outshined by several of our neighbors, who came with full grill setups. Next year, we need more participation!!!

Anyway, enjoy the pictures in the gallery by clicking the picture above.
What are we going to do for the next 4 ½ months?????

Keep in touch everyone...and as always, GO BLUE!!!!