The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan fans loved it, the SEC hated it and NCAA President Mark Emmert even weighed in, saying, "We are trying to find ways to dial back the demands on student-ath- letes, not ramp them up." When the Wolverines' opening week of practice during the school's spring break was over, however, most understood something head coach Jim Harbaugh knew would be the case before he took his team to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for four practices — it was great for the student-athletes, and it might have been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some members of the U-M foot- ball team. Most pundits chose not to believe Harbaugh when he said as much in previewing the trip on National Sign- ing Day. They saw the list of elite recruits at IMG Academy — Tennes- see alone had offered 20 of the team's players — and assumed Harbaugh sought a recruiting advantage. There was probably some truth to that. But he made evident what he was really after a month before the trip. "I like it on a lot of levels," Har- baugh said. "Not everybody can af- ford one, but everybody is going to have a spring break. "The second thing, by having the practices over our spring break, when finals come — we have two solid weeks of finals — we won't have any football activities. That's a very good positive." He also didn't have to worry about his players going to places notorious for spring break debauchery. "We look forward to not having those issues and putting our guys in position of the temptations that some spring breaks can have," he said be- fore the trip. "We'll go to the beach and have clean family fun. What parent, if their youngster is 19, 20 or 21 going to Mexico, isn't going to worry? You worry for a whole week, praying, 'Dear Lord, don't let that phone ring at 2 a.m.'" He'd been toying with the idea even before his groundbreaking Signing of the Stars recruiting event Feb. 3, one that featured guests like former U-M and current New Eng- land Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and many others. He made it clear after the successful premiere that he wasn't done yet. "Constant hustle at all times," he promised. "You need to be better to- day than yesterday. My head is going to hit the pillow tonight feeling like we are better than we were yesterday … and then I'll figure out a plan to be better tomorrow than we were today." ANOTHER INNOVATIVE STEP And did he ever. On day one, Flor- ida reporters tried to back him into a corner and get him to acknowledge he was down there in large part to gain a recruiting advantage. He wouldn't bite. "I don't know that there is one," he said, noting there was "nothing like being with the fellas in the warm, Florida sun."