Michigan Football 2012: Latest News, Updates and More from Spring Practice

Michigan is fresh, coming off a fantastic season where they finished with an 11-2 record and won a BCS bowl game. Now, head coach Brady Hoke and Co. will try and build on that success and make the Wolverines a national championship-caliber team again. 

It all starts in spring practice, which for Michigan, kicked off on March 17. That's when they will take the field and begin preparing for next season and try to iron out any issues that they're currently dealing with.

Although, when you're returning the majority of your team from last season, you seem to be in a lot better shape than almost everybody else.

With spring practice fully underway, stay tuned for all the latest news, updates and more involving your Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan Team Tougher

The spring and spring game has come to an end for the Wolverines. We won't hear from this talented team until the fall rolls around. (You can read much of the recap of the game here)

While the spring really isn't really going to show much because one of the keys to the game is to survive with a healthy roster. It did show head coach Brady Hoke something that has to make him happy heading into his second year as the Michigan coach.

"In the body of work, there were some awfully good things in the course of the spring," Hoke said via The Detroit News. "We're tougher as a team than we were a year ago."

The SEC has won the last six national championships in a row and every team that has won it all was a tough team on both sides of the ball. Michigan has the talent to compete for a national title this season and they'll have to be tough to pull it off against the top competition out there.

We'll find out just how tough they are when week one kicks off against Alabama, but early on Hoke likes what he sees.

Josh Furman Suspended from Team

Safety Josh Furman has been suspended from the team due to an arrest that occurred back in February that included domestic violence. A trial will take place on April 23, but as far as his life on the football field, it remains up in the air.

“Josh was suspended indefinitely from team activities as soon as we became aware of the report,” U-M coach Brady Hoke said in a released statement. “These are serious allegations, We will allow the judicial process to run its course before making a final determination on his status with the program.”

Furman is a former 4-star recruit and is entering his redshirt sophomore season. He finished last year with 10 tackles and a blocked kick.

Practice Kicks off

Michigan recently kicked off spring practice; however, it wasn't as crisp as many would have liked. Although when you're off the field for a while, it's kind of what you should expect as you try to get back in the swing of things.

"We weren't as crisp as we wanted to be and we've got some things to work on," U-M senior quarterback Denard Robinson said. "I've got to make some throws I need to work on and these are the things I need to work on more. We looked pretty good for Day 1, but we've still got things to improve on."

Nobody Is Safe

The Wolverines are returning several starters on each side of the ball, but that doesn't mean they'll remain the starter heading into this season. Even running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, who rushed for over 1,000 yards last season, isn't guaranteed to be the starter as the Wolverines take the field in September.

"He's going to compete," Hoke said Friday during a news conference advancing spring practice. "I think I said this since day one — there's nothing sacred. There's no position given or entitlement. He ended up the year doing a nice job for us.

Toussaint will be pushed in practice by running backs such as Vincent Smith, Thomas Rawls and Justice Hayes, but it seems like all of the pressure is on the junior running back.

"He can't have a bad day," Hoke said of Toussaint.

This should be interesting.

Offensive Line Shakeup

Michigan returns six starters on the offensive side of the ball, but the offensive line lost the most during the offseason. With players like David Molk and Mark Huyge no longer on the roster, it leaves Wolverine coaches searching for answers. That's why there will be several players playing a different position this season.

Ricky Barnum has moved over to the center position, although playing guard last year. Michael Schofield also played guard last season and moves over to right tackle this season. Chris Bryant and Elliott Mealer are the two players who will compete during the practices to become the starting guard. 

Although Barnum is the favorite to become this year's starter, head coach Brady Hoke will monitor his progress throughout the spring.

"(We'll) see where he ends up there," Hoke said. "Snapping the football is always a little different."

Denard Wants to Play QB at the Next Level

Denard Robinson is one of the most exciting players in college football, but the quarterback isn't quite known for his accuracy or his passing abilities. After all, he has thrown 26 combined interceptions in the last two seasons. That's why it may surprise you that he thinks he can be a quarterback in the NFL once he graduates this season.

“I’m planning on being a quarterback,” Robinson said. “We’ll see what happens.”

In order to do that, Robinson has a lot to work on and could start by improving 55 percent completion percentage. Although it may seem like a crazy idea that Robinson could actually play quarterback at the next level, offensive coordinator Al Borges believes in him.

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We should see it with the timing of his throws and him having a better grasp of route structures, audibles and protection checks, Borges said. He’ll also improve with decision-making, knowing when to throw it away and when not to run. And if he can get better with his footwork issues in the pocket, it should reduce interceptions and increase his completion percentage.

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Well, if he can improve that accuracy and reduce the number of inceptions he throws, he won't only become a quarterback at the next level, he'll also receive an invite to New York to win the Heisman Trophy.

Updates

This slideshow will continued to be updated with the latest news, quotes, position battles and more throughout spring practice. Stay tuned for everything involving your Michigan Wolverines.