Wolverines Get Back to Business

Their legs ached, and for 2 1/2 hours they were harangued by coaches who barked orders and complained about missed blocks.

In other words, everything was back to normal on Friday for the Michigan Wolverines in their second practice at the Home Depot Center in preparation for their Jan. 1 Rose Bowl game against Texas.

“Guys were sore, and we fought through it and ended up having one of our best practices of the year,” said cornerback Marlin Jackson, a co-captain.

“Our legs were sore because we hadn’t run in almost a week and we came out [Thursday] and did a lot of running and turning and twisting. We fought through it and just wanted to get better.”

Fifth-year senior David Baas, also a co-captain and winner of the Rimington trophy as the nation’s top college center, agreed that Friday’s session was more productive than the team’s first workout.

“Coming from zero degrees to 70-something, it’s a little bit different,” said Baas, a fifth-year senior who moved from left tackle to center in Michigan’s third game this season. “I think the first day was getting into things, and [Friday] was just pushing and making sure everybody was starting to get conditioning stuff down. Everybody’s accustomed now.”

Baas, one of Michigan’s four consensus All-Americans -- Jackson, receiver Braylon Edwards and strong safety Ernest Shazor are the others -- welcomes the chance to erase the unhappy memory of Michigan’s 28-14 Rose Bowl loss to USC last January. However, he knows sixth-ranked Texas will be a formidable foe for the 13th-ranked Wolverines.

Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson gets most of the raves, Baas said, “and he’s the best linebacker in the country. They have a big defensive front. Very athletic. A lot of people overlook the other linebacker, [Aaron] Harris. He had 109 tackles. They’ve got some linebackers that can run and can tackle. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.”

Jackson, who started at safety against USC and was credited with four tackles and one pass breakup, said Texas’ offensive versatility will challenge Michigan’s entire defense.

“They have some great weapons on offense. Their quarterback, Vince Young, is a dual-threat quarterback who can run as well as throw,” Jackson said. “Cedric Benson is a powerful runner and consistent. They just drive the ball down field on people....

“You can have everyone covered but [Young] has the option to run the ball, tuck it down and run, and he can do it as well as anybody in the country, which makes him difficult to defend.”

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Players are off today and will return to practice on Sunday.... Not being with family at Christmas is nothing new for Michigan’s upperclassmen. “It’s part of the deal. Part of the job,” Baas said. Said Jackson: “We know what we’re out here for, we’re out here to get a job done, and that’s what we’re going to do.” ... Coach Lloyd Carr spoke to reporters only in passing and said he was pleased with his team’s progress. “It went well,” he said. “We got through it without any injuries, so we’re ready to go.”