The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/279958
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL weird, like I didn't have part of my foot there. "And it hurt really, really bad. But I play football, so sometimes you have to fight through the pain. We didn't get the win, but I was excited to get to finish the game." Gardner spent more than a month in a walking boot to isolate the injury, and he rehabbed much of his winter offseason, but he took the field with his teammates for Michigan's first spring practice Feb. 25 and has not shown any ill effects of the injury. "I have been working pretty hard," Gardner said. "I have had a lot of free time to get in there with the trainers. I felt like it was going to have to be a wait-and-see type thing. When I got out there for practice, I felt pretty good. "I didn't rush my way back. It just happened this way. Coach [Brady] Hoke wouldn't have let me practice if I wasn't ready. It just happened to line up perfectly, where I got to prac- tice the first day. It was great. "A lot of my teammates didn't know. They were asking me if I was going to practice. It was a surprise for them." More than two weeks since prac- tice began, when Hoke met with the media March 13, he had positive things to say about Gardner and the fifth-year senior quarterback's prog- ress. "Devin is a little healthier now," Hoke said. "We have great competi- tion at quarterback. Devin has been out there every day, and he has been working his tail off." With new offensive coordinator Dog Nussmeier implementing his offense, and three healthy quarter- backs — redshirt junior Russell Bel- lomy, sophomore Shane Morris and early-enrolled freshman Wilton Spei- ght — practicing this spring, Gardner wanted to be out there with his team- mates once he was cleared medically. "I have been in competition since I have been here. That makes everyone better," Gardner said. "I feel like I am a leader on this team. I am a competi- tor, so I am going to compete, and they are going to pick the best quar- terback when it's time. But I feel like I am the quarterback of the team." Morris has looked sharp in spring practices, but Hoke agreed with Gardner that it is the senior 's job, for now. "Shane is doing alright," Hoke said. "He is not ready to be the starter at Michigan. Devin has the most experience at the job. If we were starting today, Shane wouldn't be the 2014 Football Schedule Date Opponent Aug. 30 Appalachian State Sept. 6 at Notre Dame Sept. 13 Miami (Ohio) Sept. 20 Utah Sept. 27 Minnesota Oct. 4 at Rutgers Oct. 11 Penn State Oct. 25 at Michigan State Nov. 1 Indiana Nov. 8 at Northwestern Nov. 22 Maryland Nov. 29 at Ohio State