ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Once upon a time, in the Bo Schembechler days and again in the late Jim Harbaugh era, the word out of Michigan football practice was that it was harder than the games. That seems to be returning under new head coach Kyle Whittingham.
And for the players on team 137, it's ramping up.
In the 11th practice of fall camp, Whittingham took things to another level. Now, the team is working on long drives at the end of practice -- when the team is at its most exhausted. And that's something that, along with the offseason gains made under strength coach Doug Elisaia, the team feels is going to pay dividends this fall.
"We're more conditioned, if you want me to be honest," junior running back and team captain Jordan Marshall said. "I
think we're put in a position where we're gonna be able to beat teams in the third and fourth quarter, just because of how hard we're working at practice. And I know that might sound silly, but we had a long, long drive today. Which we've been doing is like 14 plays, no subs, no anything. And you just go.
"Like nobody cares if you're tired. You gotta fight through it, and that's preparing us for when we do have a long drive, or it is maybe there's a running back hurting. You're the only one that can go. It's preparing you for those situations. And we had it at the dead end of practice, last period -- 14 plays, ones versus ones. And that's what you're here to do. Nobody in that stadium cares that you're tired. Nobody cares that you're hurting. Nobody cares. They just want to see us win. So for us to come out here and do things like that, I think it shows a lot of Coach Whitt, what he thinks. And again, I think we're gonna be better conditioned to go out here and beat teams."
The implementation of this drill is new, and it's something that tests the body and mind, Marshall says. Like the 'beat Ohio' drill, which focused on toughness, having to grind things out in such a grueling fashion after hours of already going full bore forces the players to lock in, even when they feel like doing the exact opposite.
Because, as Marshall said, there's no one in the stadium on Saturdays that wants to hear that the team lost because they got tired -- in fact, it's the opposite. And thus, now the players are learning that they have the capability to go hard, even when they don't think they can.
"It's something new that we've just started doing, but I really like it," Marshall said. "And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dying on play 14, but it definitely builds a mental stamina of how much you can handle. Because your body wants to give up, but your mind is like, I can't. I got 10 other dudes on the field that I have to produce for. I have to go get this block for because it could be that play that wins us the game."
This is in addition to the gassers that Elisaia has had the players running at the end of practice, or workouts shortly afterward. Senior defensive tackle and team captain Trey Pierce says that the team is learning it's much more capable than it had earlier believed, and fall camp is teaching them that.
"Every time I see Coach (Elisaia), he's pushing me to do something I thought I couldn't do," Pierce said. "Just yesterday we had a little practice, 17 periods, cool. Then he's like, 'Alright, on the line.' They're not telling you how many gassers you have. You just kind of thug it out. You think, 'Oh, I can't do any more.' You do it, and it's like a switch that turns on in your head. It's like, OK, we got something. I can do way more than I thought I could. I like how he gets that out of us."
How much of a difference will all of this make? We'll find out a little on September 5 when Michigan football hosts Western Michigan, and even more in Week 2, when the Wolverines host Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: 'We are more conditioned,' says Michigan football players
