Rodriguez, Michigan to pay WVU $4 million

"Now if only that pesky lawsuit would go away" DONE

Rich Rod's first installment payment is due in November vs tOSU.

Pizza Pizza

Class of 2020 U of M Lineman?

Spencer Hall of Sporting News

Debunking myths about speed in the SEC and Big Ten

Consider the case of the Big Ten Sloth Myth....

Bringing us to the future, a.k.a. the West Virginia/Michigan training program. I mentioned Michigan's superb record against the SEC above; now consider how well Michigan did using training techniques from the 1970s, as it did until this year's complete revamping of the training program.

(Fun story that's been floating around college football circles: Under the former management, Michigan linemen, in order to gain weight, were allegedly told to "eat a whole pizza" at night. I'm amazed they didn't flounder like sick race horses on Saturdays. Also: no squats. The most basic fundamental move in weight lifting simply did not exist in their machine-dominated training program.)

Michigan is now busy reprogramming its players to play in the 21st century, demanding speed at every position (yes, even for pizza-mobbing offensive linemen) and totally rebuilding their talent development system.

Read the whole story

Scratch the itch

Video, Mike Barwis Strength and Conditioning

WVA Coach Meets with U of M

"Rodriguez met with Michigan athletic director Bill Martin and school president Mary Sue Coleman in Toledo today to discuss the open position, two people at U-M confirmed to the Free Press. The Sporting News first reported the meeting this afternoon."

Detroit Free Press

"Rodriguez would seem a curious fit in Ann Arbor, as he has no direct ties to the Big Ten. (He did play three years for Don Nehlen, a former Bo Schembechler assistant at Michigan, at West Virginia.) And Rodriguez's spread-option offense wouldn't appear to be a fit for a school accustomed to a pro-style attack.
Rodriguez, however, is a good coach with a clean record who would represent the school well."

Sporting News