Once again, Michigan football players find themselves blocking out the outside noise as they head into an upcoming season.
Last year at this time, shortly after a negotiated resolution between U-M and the NCAA had fallen through which would’ve seen former head coach Jim Harbaugh suspended for four games for recruiting violations, athletic director Warde Manuel announced he would suspend Harbaugh three games to begin the season, seen as an act of good faith.
The Wolverines are once again in the crosshairs of an NCAA investigation after word got out the NCAA had again served the Michigan football program a draft notice of allegations, this time in regards to an alleged sign-stealing plot surrounding former U-M recruiting staffer Connor Stalions.
Much like their attitude last season, players who spoke before their second padded practice of fall camp on Wednesday at Oosterban Fieldhouse (a temporary location while renovations are completed on Schembechler Hall and Al Glick Field House) said they are once again blocking out the noise.
“My whole time I’ve been here, it’s always been something; and it’s probably always going to be something,” senior running back Kalel Mullings said. “For us as a team, we’re not going to focus on that right now. It’s camp. We’re focused on getting better, and we’re focused on (the season opener) Aug. 31.”
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It’s a mentality that worked quite well last season. The Wolverines proclaimed they were focused solely on the opinions of those inside Schembecher Hall, as they adopted a “Michigan vs. Everybody” mentality en route to a 15-0 season which culminated in the program’s first national championship in a quarter of a century.
There was a good deal of adversity along the way, too, as Harbaugh was suspended not once, but twice, for three games apiece. Current head coach Sherrone Moore filled in as Harbaugh’s replacement in four of those games (he was suspended in the opener as well) which was part of the reason Manuel believed he was ready for the role.
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Not that they want this type of experience, but it’s certainly not unfamiliar territory for many inside the team’s facilities.
“At the end of the day, we’re in camp and once you’re in camp everything, all your attention, goes to camp,” said graduate defensive back Quinten Johnson said. “Not really worried about outside allegations or anything of that stuff. We control the controllables and worry about getting better at football.”
Shortly after the players spoke with the media Wednesday, another major news story came out. Harbaugh was suspended for one year by the NCAA and sanctioned with a four-year show-cause order after he was found to have demonstrated both “unethical conduct” and a failure to promote “an atmosphere of compliance” as it pertains to an investigation into impermissible recruiting during a COVID-19 dead period in 2021. It may not directly impact this team, but it was yet another off-field story involving the program.
Any concern for how the off-the-field noise will impact this season centers around Moore. The document that came out Sunday alleges he deleted 52 text messages with Stalions, the former Wolverines analyst — on the same day in October media reports indicated Stalions was the man behind an illegal in-person scouting operation.
After serving his suspension last season, there’s a potential he could be labeled a “repeat offender,” which could end with either a suspension or show-cause penalty.
“There’s always something in the media,” Mullings said. “You come into Schem and you might see something on your phone, but at the end of the day, doesn’t matter. It matters that we have practice today. We have meetings today. That’s what’s important.”
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Though Michigan’s roster does not appear quite as loaded as last season, it figures to remain a central player in the College Football Playoff race and just last week Moore said there’s “no honeymoon period” for he and his new staff, which have set the goal of defending their title.
U-M is just about three weeks out from the start of that process, with kickoff against Fresno State set for Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC.
That game is no cakewalk, nor is the rest of U-M’s schedule which includes a non-conference showdown with national title hopeful Texas, key matchups with new Big Ten members Oregon, USC and Washington (which it defeated in last year’s national title game) and of course, finishes with Ohio State.
With a schedule like that, there are too many obstacles to get sidetracked with anything else.
“We see it, then go about our business,” Mullings said. “We’re working towards a common goal, that’s the priority.”
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football football players again trying to block out noise
