Fall Camp Update: Freshmen, Sheridan Impress

This does not come as a surprise, as the quarterback is the toughest position to learn in any offense, and Rodriguez has essentially said from the beginning of fall practice that it was a two-man race between Steve Threet and Nick Sheridan. Feagin will likely contribute more as the year goes along and he gets more used to the college level, but he will probably not, barring a couple injuries (*knock on wood*), start at any point this season.

The Threet-Sheridan compitition took an interesting turn recently as reporters noticed that Sheridan, a former walk-on who was considered a long shot to nab the job over the more highly-regarded Threet, was significantly more impressive than his counterpart. Rodriguez even seemed to admit in a later press conference that Sheridan had been more impressive as of late.

It is interesting to imagine an undersized walk-on who, at this time last year was a fourth-string clipboard colonel for Chad Henne and Ryan Mallett, actually winning the job. Rodriguez insisted for some time that the competition between Sheridan and Threet was close, but the collective response from writers and bloggers was a collective "okay, whatever." Threet was a four-star recruit who played in a spread in high school and clearly has a stronger arm, but he has reportedly not had his best camp so far.

It is entirely possible that Threet had a bad day for all the cameras. It is also not only possible but likely that, if he does indeed trail Sheridan right now, he eventually overtakes him in the next two and a half weeks and is named the starter for Aug. 30th against the University of Utah.

And this competition probably means nothing in the long-run: Rodriguez has two highly-touted running quarterbacks coming to Michigan next fall in Kevin Newsome and Shavodrick Beaver. It is likely that both of them leap-frog everyone in the depth chart early on in next year's camp.

But... This Sheridan thing intrigues me. Could he be Michigan's starter for 2008? Could Rich Rodriguez's first quarterback at Michigan be a guy Lloyd Carr essentially allowed on the team only because Sheridan's father was a coach? It definitely merits watching.

Carlos Brown, Movin' Around

Those who have attended portions of Michigan's practices have noticed running back Carlos Brown taking some snaps at quarterback. When asked about it, Brown was reserved, but affirmed that the coaches want him to take some snaps there during the season. He was quick to point out his primary position, however.

"I'm a running back, so that's all I'll say," Brown said. "I was a quarterback in high school. I don't do it a lot. I just flash back there and feel comfortable when I'm back there."

Brown has also lined up quite a bit at slot receiver and in the backfield at the same time as running back Brandon Minor. Rodriguez seems to have every intention of utilizing Brown's speed in the offense.

Speaking of the spread, which provides him more opportunities than the previous offense, Brown said: "I really like it. It gives a lot of athletes the opportunity to get the ball in space. As an athlete, that's what you really want."

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