The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/178977
in 2011, was thrust into the starting role in Countess' absence. But with Countess' help, Taylor was never in over his head. "When Blake went down, you saw the respect they have for one another, by how much Blake was helping Ray, whether it was on the sideline or in meetings," Mallory said. "They're constantly encouraging each other." Through the fall, Countess was hitting rehab as hard as he could, getting stronger with two and sometimes three sessions a day with the Michigan training staff. Well ahead of schedule, Countess back Devin Gardner for Countess to really test the knee. "Devin was like, 'Can you do a backflip?' and I'd say, 'Man, I'm not going to try that,'" Countess said. "But eventually, I started with back handsprings and then trying backflips just because Devin wanted to see. He pushed me a little, but it was good, because I gained confidence back in myself." "That was amazing to see for me," Gardner added. "I knew he'd be back." Mallory has heard about Countess' acrobatic abilities, but he's never seen Defensive backs coach Curt Mallory on Countess "I never doubted he'd be back. I never counted him out. I always counted him in." was cleared to practice in the last week of spring ball, according to Mallory, but the coaches wanted to be extra precautious. They didn't let him practice, but they did get him on the field for some individual defensive back drills, letting him test the knee with cuts and breaks. "I never doubted he'd be back," Mallory said. "I never counted him out. I always counted him in. … I'd give him a hard time, saying, 'You owe me time, because of the time you missed.' That was a joke we had, because I always knew he'd be back, better than he was before." By the summer, Countess, who competed in club-level gymnastics for almost 10 years, felt like he was fully healthy. But it took a little prodding from redshirt junior quarter- them. Especially since Countess' injury, Mallory is nervous about those things. When the coach hosted the secondary for a cookout this summer, Mallory banned Countess from using the backyard trampoline. But Mallory did hear from strength and condition coach Aaron Wellman, who was, by this time, ecstatic about Countess' recovery. "I'd say, 'How's Blake doing,' and Wellman would say, 'He's a stud,'" Mallory said. "That's the word to describe him." In seven-on-seven drills, Countess continued to improve physically. "I wouldn't want to push Blake, but once he got fully 100 percent back in the groove of things, then he's back in and every day is a competition," senior wide receiver Drew Dileo said.