The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL ceding nothing in his team's venture into Ann Arbor. "I was there when they opened up The Big House for the UConn game," Edsall reminded. "They had 113,000 people, so I'm familiar with it. It's a great venue, a great stadium. "I know our kids will be excited to play Michigan. They've got a great place, and they fill it. You've got to deal with the noise and being on the road in a hostile environment. That's the job of myself, my coaches and our players, to block that all out." Edsall indicated he does know Hoke somewhat, through various en- counters. "Through the meetings, he's been very helpful," Edsall said. "I've got a ton of respect for him as a person and as a coach. He does things the right way, he's a good guy, and it will be fun to compete against him and his team." Maryland remains in the upper half of the Big Ten's East Division stand- ings, despite drawing what many labeled the tougher division of the two. Even before the season, Edsall waved off thoughts of drawing the short stick. "The thing is, the conference did what they felt was best for everybody involved, making it East-West," he said. "I've got no issues with that. Hey, we're in a division, you've got to line up and play, whoever it is. "There will be times when people say, 'Hey, the West was a little bit harder than the East.' Things like that have a tendency to work themselves out." ❏ Five Questions With Redshirt Junior Fullback Joe Kerridge Redshirt junior fullback Joe Kerridge will never be a big stats guys at Michigan — he's got one carry for three yards and nine catches for 65 yards in 33 career games. He takes pride in his role, though, and he discussed that recently for this segment. The Wolverine: Everyone jokes about the fullbacks losing an inch or two in height from when they arrive to when they finish because of all the lead blocking … how are you holding up? Kerridge: "I might be an inch shorter than when I got here [laughs]. No, I'm loving it. I'm loving fullback, I love Coach J. [running backs coach Fred Jackson]. It's been an awesome experience. "I find joy in it, especially after the season when you're looking back. You do so much, then it's like, 'Oh, my body is going to recover a little bit.' But you go through that and then you miss it … I really love seeing plays get sprung by my blocks, especially." The Wolverine: The fans might not notice that, but how much do your team-