SOL: Variations on a Theme

For some reason that must border on masochism, I choose to listen to sports talk radio on Sunday mornings after Michigan games and most of the week after, too. I guess I like to hear the variety of opinions people have, especially after games like yesterday's that didn't feel so much like a win as, perhaps, something just short of a loss (SOL). Maybe this should be a new stat in team records? W-SOL-L. A new take on 'same old shit'. And more frustrating than the 'same old Lions,' if that's possible.

Anyway, I was rather surprised this morning to hear so many people calling in to stand behind Brady Hoke and Doug Nussmeier. I'll leave Mattison out of this because I think the defense, led by Frank Clark and Jake Ryan, played their butts off. Yes, they were defending against one of the most pitiful offenses in Division 1, but it was a solid performance that showed me the D is making improvements and has a spirit that the rest of the team does not. 

I heard callers this morning spouting the same verbal tripe we've heard for years. To paraphrase: 

"These are young players. They don't have the experience."
"Hoke is a great coach and needs more time to develop his scheme."
"He got all these bad players from Rich Rod and needs to have his own to develop."
"If Hoke goes, they should give Nussmeier the job."

Yada yada yada.

I about choked on my coffee. Me. A reformed Hoke-apologist. (Hi, my name is Jill and it's been 18 months since my last shiny, happy post under Hokemaniacs.)

The real deal is, Nick Saban, Mark Dantonio, and Urban Meyer have young players, too. They have players who lacked experience at the beginning of the year and have gone on to do great things. Ask Braxton Miller how much fun he's having watching a freshman steal his job quarterbacking at Ohio State. When Miller went down for the season, J.T. Barrett stepped in with almost no experience in that high pressure program. With the exception of one loss to Virginia Tech, he's led his team to perfection. And he humbled Michigan State this weekend. This would be the Michigan equivalent of Devin Gardner being out for the season and bringing in Garrett Moores or Wilton Speight off the bench. (That's digging down the QB depth chart.) How would that go? We can't even count on Shane Morris or Russell Bellomy and they've played. Its NOT youth or inexperience. It's coaching the high level talent we're constantly reminded that we're getting every year. Were Rivals and ESPN wrong about all of the 4- and 5-star recruits Michigan snagged? Doubtful. Were we romanced into believing in the abilities of Hoke and Nussmeier? I know I was. Ate that hope up with caramel sauce and sprinkles.

Hoke has had ample time to develop his own players and run the offense he wants to run. Plenty of coaches take over programs and make them better. It takes time, but they make progress every year. Like him or not, Brian Kelly came to Notre Dame about the same time Hoke came to Ann Arbor. He's made them a national power in about the same amount of time it took Michigan to go from a regional to a national joke. This isn't on Rich Rod or what he left for Hoke to mend. It's on Hoke and the decisions and choices he's made since he walked in the door. He didn't inherit bad players. He inherited talent that didn't fit his scheme and rather than try to make the most of it and adjust, they stuffed square pegs into round holes and expected miracles. Robinson and Gardner have gotten jerked around more than any two players I've seen. Overcoached almost. Run. Drop back. Leave the pocket. Stay in the pocket. Do. Don't. Start. Stop. That, with injuries periodically added in, makes for QBs who don't know what to do next and are almost afraid to do what comes naturally.

There are some who say if Michigan wins out, Hoke and company will be saved. I heard someone today say he should be saved no matter what. Hush. After yesterday's offensive masterpiece, in my mind, there is no combination of wins or SOLs that could save this regime. When I look at the sideline and see Meyer, Dantonio, Saban, and other premier coaches, I see intelligence, determination, sternness, and mental "chill" that I don't see on our sideline. We have confusion, lack of creativity, lack of focus, and a little bit of clapping. It's all well and good to have your players like you and think you're a great guy. It's admirable that a coach wants to make young men into outstanding people off the field as well as on. In a world of college athletes assaulting women, stealing, cheating, and blatantly ignoring NCAA rules, that's an aspect of Hoke's coaching that I greatly respect. There's a difference between love and tough love, though. I have no doubt that players love Meyer and Dantonio. I have even less doubt that they also have a healthy fear of them. 

It's that love/hate/respect fine line you could feel during the Schembechler years that we're missing now. I don't feel we need a carbon copy of Bo or Woody or Bear or Ara to be great again. We need someone who's going to be tough, sometimes hated, often loved, and always respected. Who that is, I don't know. Jim Harbaugh would certainly have some of those traits. I'm sure there are others who would, too. 

All I know is that these fans who wish for another year of what we have now are wrong. No one wants upheaval again, but anyone who watched that "win" yesterday and saw this as an acceptable future for Michigan football should turn in their fan card. Being thrilled with efforts just "short of a loss" and having goals like B1G championships bowl eligibility... that's not what Michigan Football or Michigan Athletics is all about. It's the kind of thinking that will ensure we remain a middling member in the B1G, at best, has beens, and storytellers of the glory days of yore with no hope of creating new stories for generations of fans to come.

SOL in more ways than one.

A Simple Recap of the Michigan-MSU Game

There's not much good to say so here's the recap of the travesty in East Lansing as I saw it today. Without the benefit of adult beverages, which proved my biggest mistake.

The Offensive Line 

Yes, it was Offensive, but only in the sense that stinky cheese is offensive (and full of holes.)

Figure 1

The Running Game

Today, the University of Michigan moved this 250 year old oak tree 100 yards from its original location near the Ross School of Business. Officially, the old oak rushed for 35 more yards than Michigan did the entire game. Slow, strong as, well, oak, and right up the middle. Old school Michigan style. Michigan offensive player of the week? Yes, I think so.

Photo: Tyler Stabile | The Ann Arbor News

Passing

Gardner was on his back much less than last year, so at least it was stronger stinky cheese. The receivers tried to catch stuff. Mostly they didn't when it really mattered. Except for the MSU defensive receivers who snagged two nice catches, one resulting in Gardner's only TD pass of the game. For MSU.

The Defense

I really don't know. I tended to look away when they were on the field and they were on the field A LOT. Something about all the MSU domination and scoring just wasn't interesting to me. Although highly ranked at the start of the game, the defense spent much of its time looking like the stinky cheese in Figure 1.

Special Teams

Dancing. There was no dancing. This is a game that could have used some Atomic Dog. We could have smiled once, just once, during this game. Was that too much to ask?

The Final Analysis

Brady Hoke said it best in his post-game press conference. He was speaking about his knowledge of the incident in which a Michigan player planted a spear tent stake (sheesh, overdramatic much in East Lansing?) in front of the Spartans before the game. Hoke said he was aware, "but not fully aware." And that folks, sums up the last four years of the Hoke era in Ann Arbor. Aware, but not fully aware. Awake but not fully awake. Playing, but not fully executing. Developing but not fully getting there. Young, but never maturing. Growing but never leading. For Hoke that means employed, but not much longer. 

And now, about that adult beverage...

Michigan vs. MSU: Humble pie tastes like brussels sprouts

I used to look forward to this weekend with so much joy. From 1979 to 1983, when I was a Michigan student, the Michigan-Michigan State series was a tasty, meaty slab of victory sandwiched between the two Wonder Bread Spartan wins in 1978 and 1984. Some of my best high school friends had left me behind in Ann Arbor to study at MSU. It was a time before personal computers, email, smartphones, and texting. We fed our friendly rivalry with long distance phone calls on rotary dial phones and my occasional handwritten letters addressed to them at the Pioneer Land Grant College. They usually contained a long list of the traditional MSU jokes. You know, the pizza delivery guy genre. The fun was mostly on my side in those days.

The Wolverines had some good runs after that, but the Spartans managed to eek out a win or two every few years. It gave them something to hang on to until the next time a 'W' came along.  Michigan still owned them and the series, but ask any Spartan and they could recite in detail the last time "we beat you!"  It was irritating. Like little gnats flying around your head. Michigan would kick MSU to the curb. Again. And my Spartan friends would in unison chant "But we really got you in [insert year]!" The last great Michigan campaign came in the series from 2002 to 2007 under Lloyd Carr. It was SO great to be a Michigan Wolverine. And it REALLY sucked to be a long-suffering Spartan. What a glorious time it was. 

And now it's all a distant, somewhat foggy memory, so far from the current state of affairs that it seems more like a myth than how it actually used to be. Since the last "good" win in 2007, the Wolverines have snagged only one victory from MSU (2012). At first the losing seemed like a fluke. Another occasional lapse that Michigan would overcome the next year. Except they didn't. Each year Michigan continued to beat its chest like the cocky Xerxes at Thermopylae, shouting "Little Brother!" while facing 300 angry Spartans with something to prove. And each year, the Spartans would send the Wolverines home in abject shame. Even the 2012 victory, 12-10, was unconvincing, won only by the kicking game. It gave some Wolverine players enough confidence, however, to revive the "little brother" moniker. The Spartans didn't take it lying down.

Last year's game, a 29-6 beat down, may finally have established the new order of things in the Wolverine mind. It took a while. In the two weeks before this year's contest, the Michigan players and their fans have been quiet - models of moderation and discretion. No one has resurrected the "little brother" taunt. No one has guaranteed a victory. I don't know if it was the Spartans or Hoke or their own good sense that served up the humble pie, but I'm glad they've eaten heartily of it. I think all of Wolverine Nation understands now. The table has turned and we are what Sparty used to be. It's tough to swallow that. It goes down like brussels sprouts or lima beans, which I like, but suspect most of you don't. Wouldn't we all eat brussels sprouts, though, if it meant Michigan would regain its rightful supremacy?

My memory isn't what it used to be and I am often hard-pressed to tell someone what I had for lunch the day before. I wish it was as simple to forget what Michigan vs. Michigan State has become. It's hard to be humble when the tradition of Michigan greatness, both academic and athletic, is almost part of your DNA. We are told all the time how great we are. The best program in "this" or the Top Ten in the world in "that". What we're forced to swallow is, we're not among the best in football anymore. It may come again, but it won't for a good long while. 

So this weekend, I'm feeling a little quiet. A little numb. I don't expect a Michigan win, but I wouldn't rule out an upset if the emotion Michigan (and Devin Gardner) showed at the end of the Penn State game is there. If our offensive weapons are healthy and if Gardner plays the game of his life. The game that may be his coach's life (or at least his living.)   

One thing I won't be doing is wallowing in the past. I'll try to be quiet and humble no matter what happens. I'll try not to grope for past glories like Spartan fans did in their own dark times. Win or lose, all I can do is sit back and watch what unfolds in Ann Arbor at the corner of State and Hoover. A win or a loss here can change everything or nothing. One thing is true. The two quietest weeks of Brady Hoke's 2014 season are about to come to an end in either a blaze of glory or the noxious couch-fire smoke of a Spartan win. Let the football gods decide. For my own part: 

MGoGirl Brain: MSU 38 Michigan 17        
MGoGirl Heart: Michigan 24 MSU 21

Miracles can happen. Go Blue!

Ugly Michigan fans don't help anyone with their hate

There are a lot of cowardly and narrow-minded people in this world and, unfortunately, many of them have social media accounts.They make statements on their own pages and post comments on those of others that are so cruel and inhuman it makes me shudder with anger. They stir things up and divide people, often by playing on the deep-seated emotions, beliefs, and values of those they've targeted and the people who follow them. As an intelligent, open-minded person raised by intelligent, mostly open-minded parents, I often find it hard not to get drawn in to some of these verbal battles to argue the other side or call out people as the fools they are. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. A fight is what many are looking for and just gives them more fuel and electronic real estate to spew their negativity. I think many of them only show their stupidity so freely on Facebook and Twitter because they have a sense of anonymity and distance from the person or group they're attacking. It's bad enough they think it at all, but would they say these things to a person's face, staring him right in the eye? Many wouldn't, but for some, it wouldn't be troubling in the least.

I bring this up because of a tweet I read earlier today that linked to an October 20, 2014 Detroit News interview by Angelique Chengelis in which Michigan QB Devin Gardner admitted receiving hate mail and tweets regularly, from the time he started for the Wolverines into this current season. He says in the article that he's been called the N-word "so many times this year" and estimates about 1000 instances of negative Facebook and Twitter posts. 

It would be easy to say that these weren't Michigan fans and were just trolls from rival Spartans or Buckeyes. I don't believe that's always the case, though. Gardner's admission reminded me immediately of the 2011 ESPN 30 for 30 episode The Fab Five. A segment of that documentary absolutely shocked me. It was about the hundreds of vitriolic and racist letters sent to the athletic department complaining about the Fab Five, their cockiness, their playing style, even their baggy shorts. The letters were not from rivals. They were from U-M alumni, many signed with full names and graduation dates. They were from "intelligent" people with a Michigan diploma hanging on their wall somewhere. Yeah, the leaders and best. They showed actual portions of these letters and I was so struck with shame that these should come from Michigan graduates that I could have cried. I must have had a different experience during my tenure in Ann Arbor in the early 1980s. I thought I had an open mind when I got there, but after meeting so many people from all walks of life and from places all over the globe, it actually gave me an even larger appreciation of the differences and similarities between us.

I know there are racists and "haters" of all kinds in places where we would least expect them. The University of Michigan is no different. One would think it might be a changed world by 2014, but it's clearly not. People are a product of their upbringing and some will never make the change of heart or mind regardless of the level of their education or exposure to new experiences. Freedom of speech is something I believe in strongly and while these people have an absolute right to say or write what they believe, I think they would do better to keep their ignorance to themselves. There is no good purpose or excuse for these kinds of unproductive, incendiary comments. They don't educate the reader or eliminate perceived problems. They don't increase a quarterback's completion percentage or a guard's accuracy from the 3-point range. Fans who write hatefully about or directly to Michigan student-athletes aren't helping anything at all. No real fan would do that. No real human being would do that. 

To combat this in my own way, instead of arguing with the angry mob, I now direct something positive to their target. I did it for both Shane Morris and Russell Bellomy when they had rough times replacing Gardner in the past few games. I didn't lie and say they did great. I just kept my sentiments kind and encouraging. I've done it for some slumping Tigers this past season, too. It makes me feel better. And if it catches the eye of someone who needs more encouragement than empty criticism and hate, I hope it gives them a needed lift.

Saturday's Wolverines Restored My Pride

I'm not always a good Wolverine. As an alum, I'm a slightly less stellar donor than Stephen Ross. The cash I do entrust to them goes to Michigan Radio and it's about a stainless steel travel mug's worth. I like their friendly voices in the morning and they're very smart people who make me think. As a former university employee, I grumble and snipe like many former U-M employees. It can be a strange and unforgiving place to ply your trade. It's best I stop there. And finally, as a Wolverine fan, I still get excited about basketball and hockey, but I've been a little cynical and negative when it comes to football. From the black day Lloyd Carr coached us to the unspeakable horror that was the first Appalachian State game up through our current unfortunate situation, I've been wearing a heavy cloak of indifference. Though I used to cry inconsolably after Michigan losses in middle school, the years have taught me to expect the worst and to be pleasantly surprised by anything better. 

In a miracle of sorts this past Saturday night, the Michigan football team succeeded in lifting that cloak from my shoulders and making me actually feel something for them again. It really wasn't about the win. It took up to the last minutes of the game for me to even acknowledge they might pull off the victory. It definitely wasn't the quality of play. Both the Wolverines and the Nittany Lions were doing their best to give the win to the other guy throughout most of the game. It was a classic battle of the powers that used to be.

The miracle was that, whether they won or lost, I was feeling pride again. It was a strange feeling. I was proud of the team on the field and the no-quit spirit so many of them displayed in battling for the win. I believe I would have felt the same way if they'd lost. I also felt pride in everyone who came together after weeks of dissent, disillusionment, and near rebellion to simply be present and engaged as Wolverine fans again. And those former players who came to teach the current ones that the Michigan team is a team for life? Well pass me a tissue. It's been a while since anything Michigan football has made me a little misty-eyed, but the Band of Brothers thing? Even my hardened Blue heart couldn't resist that! Although victory was never a sure thing, I felt an unusual calmness - but not indifference - before, during, and after the game like I haven't in ages.

From what I saw on social media after the game, there were lots of Michigan fans in the same happy condition. Thrilled for victory, but even happier for the pure joy on the players' faces and in Devin Gardner's smile after bravely leading his teammates to finish the job. Considering the mood of the mob this past month, I marvel at how quickly this win, ugly as it was, became a balm for the weary Wolverine soul. It was a welcome relief from the exhaustion we feel from the negativity and madness of the ongoing media circus. A few precious hours away from the storm, especially for the players. And it felt really good.

It won't stop the cries for change, and it shouldn't, but for a moment we were all focused on good things, unifying things. The past standing up for the present. Fans in abundance and rocking. A solid defensive line that strangled PSU's hopes at the end of the game. Leaders, like Devin Gardner, being forged before our eyes - playing over pain, taking knocks, and refusing to quit before he could finally dust off a play he hadn't run in some time: The Victory Formation. 

Yes. It is great to be a Michigan Wolverine! No one ever said it would be easy.

The Wolverines Need a Little Night Magic

Media spotlights. Microscopes. Bare bulb-style interrogations. Michigan has been under the lights all season for reasons it would rather forget. Maybe this weekend will be different.

It's Under the Lights weekend at the Big House and this year the opponent is Penn State, likely chosen because they were the only real marquee opponent on the home schedule. With Notre Dame, OSU, and MSU on the road and Nebraska gone to make room for the expansion teams, the schedule is one of the items on the checklist of sins tied to sinking attendance and fan discontent. I've been to both previous Under the Lights games against Notre Dame and while I'm not attending this one, my fingers are crossed that the energy I've felt during those night victories can return and sustain the Wolverines in this battle, too. Say what we will about Dave Brandon on every other day of the year, he did know how to get a party started with the Notre Dame night series, making them buzz with excitement on and off the field. The Wolverines always rose to the occasion, fueled by the decibel level of the crowd and the distraction all that noise caused the Fighting Irish. 

Looking back, the first Under the Lights ranks as one of the most exciting and memorable games I've ever attended at Michigan Stadium and I've been going there since the days of the Huckleby, Lytle, and the Dufek brothers. It was as heart-stopping as the 1979 Anthony Carter catch to beat Indiana in the last :06 seconds. And it was as in-your-face fun as Desmond's 1991 Heisman pose against Ohio State. That first stunning night victory over Notre Dame in the year Hoke's Wolverines went 11-2 was the last time I felt like I truly belonged there as a fan, when 115,000 other people and I were a legitimate part of the victory. And the Athletic Department knew it.

Saturday's game will be a tough matchup on the field and a referendum on Dave Brandon in the stands. Ticket prices on the market are dropping and any change to the current call for fair weather might continue Brandon's ongoing attendance woes. It doesn't help that neither team is operating at the historical success level long-time fans expect and the both fan bases tend to be respectful of each other. That's not nearly as fun as the full-on Irish hate in Ann Arbor that made the earlier night games hum.

So what does this game look like? I hesitate to even bother analyzing the details of who's better at each element of the game in making a prediction. I'm not sure who either team really is this year. Penn State is 4-1 on the season, but no powerhouse. Their only loss came at the hands of a good Northwestern team that defeated Wisconsin last weekend. The Nittany Lions also edged past Rutgers earlier, 13-10, though less successful offensively against the Scarlet Knights than the Wolverines. Coming to Michigan after a bye week, they should be rested and well-prepared to meet the challenges Hoke and the Wolverines throw at them. Their ineffective offensive line, inability to establish a great running game, and inability to generate points on passes are considered PSU weaknesses this year. If Michigan's defense plays well, they can expose them and help keep the game in control for Gardner's offense.

Although it wasn't pretty and the result was a loss, I did think Michigan's offense played better against Rutgers than they did in the previous week's loss to Utah. The season-ending injury to RB Derrick Green hurts, but if my weekly desperate prayer is answered and Gardner gets adequate support from the O-line to get his passes off accurately and to buy real estate for the run, Michigan has the talent to take out the Nittany Lions. They're beatable, especially on Big House turf in what should be an electric atmosphere. Should be is the operative phrase.

The extra person on the field Saturday will be the fans. We all know that the Big House can be an intimidating venue when it's packed and rocking. If the attendance is anemic and the students carry out their anti-Brandon boycott of the kickoff (or more), a Michigan victory becomes tougher. If any game requires fan support in the form of unrelenting noise, this will be the one. The Big House should give the edge in a tight game to the Wolverines.

I really want to be a believer for once this season and say Michigan 31, Penn State 21. It makes me a bit uncomfortable to do so, though. It would require the continued improvement of the offense, the energy of the crowd, and a little night magic. 

On the other hand, weak fan involvement paired with a team relapse into sloppy habits and poor decision-making, may see a final more in the range of Penn State 21, Michigan 17.

The Wolverines are certainly down, but those kids really need this one to turn around a difficult season. I hope they get everyone's support all evening long, no matter what. Go Blue and light up the Nittany Lions!

The Michigan Man on the Field

The Michigan Man. In the world of Michigan Athletics, the now-famous label was born in 1989 during Bo Schembechler's term as Michigan's athletic director. Head men's basketball coach Bill Frieder had just accepted a new position as Arizona State's coach, but he was planning to finish the season and see the Wolverines through the NCAA tournament before departing Ann Arbor. Bo would have none of that and said the immortal words "A Michigan Man will coach Michigan, not an Arizona State man."  Frieder was sent packing immediately. 

Most people forget about the "...not an Arizona State man" part of that quote. The first phrase, however, has become Michigan legend and is probably second most famous of Bo's sayings behind "The Team" speech. A "Michigan Man" - for better or worse - has become the intangible, yet primary job requirement of any new hire to the Michigan football head coaching position. Sadly, I think it's being used in a manner that disrespects what Bo really meant by it that day in March 1989. It wasn't about having a history with Michigan Athletics. It wasn't about knowing the words to The Victors or understanding all the Michigan game day traditions. Anyone can learn and understand tradition without living it first if they're given a fair shot at it.

I think what Bo was really saying touched on integrity, honesty, and the commitment to the viability of the team (the team, the team) over the individual. That and a regular parade of raw, coachable talent fed Bo's winning teams. You can't coach or captain a team when your mind is on yourself and thinking of your own future endeavors. You can't motivate players or keep their trust and respect if they know you've already ditched them for greener pastures. I believe Bo fired Frieder immediately because he could no longer exemplify those ideals and lead the Wolverines with heart and soul while committed to another program. Schembechler put the team first and gave it the best shot it had to focus on practice and game play. And they took it all the way. Could they have done so if Bo allowed Frieder to stay? We'll never know.

When athletic director Dave Brandon fired Rich Rodriguez in 2010, much of the pressure he felt to do so was coming from alumni, donors, and former players who thought Rodriguez was not a "Michigan Man." He had no ties to U-M. No previous knowledge of Big House traditions or the Wolverines' style of play. His first season was abysmal (with Lloyd Carr's players), but each year, his team's records improved. (And have you seen what he's done now at Arizona?) Well, it was neither fast enough for fans nor traditional enough, and he was forced out to make way for the seemingly quintessential Michigan Man, I'd-Walk-to-Ann-Arbor Brady Hoke. Former Michigan assistant and part of the 1997 National Championship staff. Genuinely nice man. Ethical. Humble. Big lovable lug of a guy. It should've been the second coming of Bo. Right?

For whatever reason, Brady Hoke does not seem to be the true Michigan Man on the field. Or if he is, it proves that Michigan manhood is not the right criterion for the job. The good guy ideals appear to be there, but something is missing in his ability to lead and motivate these young men. He doesn't have it and neither do his high profile, high priced assistants. There is no development in some positions. No evidence of the "will to be great." The toughness and dedication in some players just isn't what it should be. We hear year after year after year that "we're young," "we're developing," and other coach-speak that you don't hear in other great programs like Alabama, OSU, Oregon, or even Michigan State. Great coaches don't need four years to bring a 5-star freshman to greatness. Great coaches find a way to start 3-star freshmen or sophomores, coach them up, and keep their dynasties rolling. There's no memory of success in this program to leave footsteps for the next class to follow.

I do think there's a Michigan Man on the field, but he's not on the sidelines unless the defense is playing. It's Devin Gardner. He takes a lot of flak from fans, including me, for getting sacked, throwing interceptions, and making questionable decisions at times. However, he stands behind a woeful offensive line and takes hit after hit, gets up, and goes back at it time and again. He plays over the pain. He never gives up. He never complains or points a finger at his teammates. He does what his coaches ask even when he may not agree with them. A leader on and off the field, Gardner has never been in trouble. He got his B.A. in 3 years and is now working on a Master's in Social Work. He's visible in the community, helping kids, motivating young people in need of a little encouragement. While the results on the field may not be what I wished for, I can't think of anyone else on the field this coming Saturday night who will better exemplify the values of being a Michigan man more than Devin Gardner. In spite of the team record, he's steadily climbing up the Michigan QB and Offensive individual stats lists, especially for career efficiency. He's 3rd behind #1 Elvis Grbac and #2 Jim Harbaugh. It sets me to wondering what he could have been with a classic Michigan offensive line and a coach (like #2 above?) who knew what to do with his athletic skills instead of wedging him like a square peg into a round hole.

Whether he'll make it in the NFL is anyone's guess. He won't be helped by the state of the team he's leading right now. Gardner will make it in the world, though, and he will be known as a Michigan Man who has a positive impact on those he touches through his life. He's a testament to his mother, his family, his early coaches, and his own personal drive and sense of honor. I can only hope the remainder of this season rewards him for his efforts and that the Michigan family remembers him kindly no matter how his final season comes to a close. I think Bo would have approved of this young man for staying and becoming a champion of a different kind.