Michigan is off to a 2-2 start, there's talk that head coach Brady Hoke is on the hotseat and ESPN's College GameDay dove into the Wolverines struggles, including an interview with Hokie.
The most compelling thing was Desmond Howard, the former Michigan wide receiver and GameDay co-host who said he visited a Wolverines practice and did not see any players that "wanted to be great".
"You know how you can tell if a guy wants to be great or not," Howard said. "The only guy there that had that type of swag was maybe, maybe, Jabrill Peppers the true freshmen."
Hoke sat down and talked about the negative buzz surrounding his status.
“If 115,000 want to boo me, I can handle it believe me," Hoke said. "We’ve got high standards and high expectations and high standards. We have 42 Big Ten championships. We want to get to No. 43."
When asked what he would tell his critics...
“I would tell them that we are getting it done the right way. This is a hard-working team. At the end of the day, stay with us, because these are special kids.”
Does he worry about his job status?
“Never have and never will. That is not a factor. If you get distracted over something like your job status, you are taking your energy away from those 115 sons and I am not going to do that.”
Part of Michigan's issue has been quarterback play as senior Devin Gardner has struggled. Former Michigan quarterback Brian Griese said on ESPN that he expects a new starter when the Wolverines play Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. today.
“I fully expect Shane Morris to start this game," Griese said. "I spoke with (Hoke) earlier and he's going to make an announcement just prior to kickoff."
Morris was an Elite 11 quarterback prospect in the 2013 class.
For the past 60 years, the heart and soul and Michigan has been the offensive line, but the last two seasons, it’s been shaky. With a roster that is 75 percent freshman and sophomore, it's no surprise that up front on offense it's a developmental situation for the Wolverines.
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said that some of the criticism of Michigan athletics director Dave Brandon, as pointed out in this article has rubbed some folks the wrong way in Ann Arbor during his tenure and faces a tough decision.
"Does he stick with (Hoke) or does he make a change, which is what the public wants," Herbstreit said.
The bottom line is that it takes time to fix an offensive line and Hoke and his staff have recruited high-level potential players up front. That being said, Michigan has not been the same since Lloyd Carr (2007) and at times a great program (Alabama prior to Nick Saban, Notre Dame post-Holtz and pre-Kelly) will have to go through the wilderness and years of transition before finding the right fit.
That's not to say that Hoke isn't. It's too early to tell, but this isn't a foreign concept to the great programs in college football. The good news is when they do find the right fit, they get back....quick.
