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In anticipation of The Game this weekend (that's the Michigan/Ohio game for those that don't follow either team), I had the opportunity to hear John U. Bacon speak last night courtesy of the Central Ohio U of M Alumni Club. For those that don't know, John's a U of M alum and has written several books about Michigan sports. His most recent book is "Three and Out", which chronicles the story of Rich Rodriguez's tenure at Michigan from an insider's perspective on what really happened during that time. I picked up a copy and am anxious to read it as I've heard a lot of interesting things about what's in it.
During his presentation, he talked a lot about the history of college football, the Big Ten, and of course, Michigan football and how it got to where it is today. As part of that, he shared a story from the spring of 2009. After attending all the practices, workouts, games, and meetings throughout the 2008 season, some of the Wolverine players noted that there was one thing that John hadn't done with the team - work out with them. Not wanting to let down the team, and figuring he was in decent enough shape for a 44 year old guy, he agreed to work with trainer Mike Barwis and work out for a while with the team (I can't remember how long he did it for, but it was two hours for three days a week).
Mike often has Michigan alums who play in the NFL and NHL participate in his workout sessions. So, John walks into Schembechler Hall that Monday, meets Mike who tells him that his workout partner is...Larry Foote! Let's just say John started to get worried at that point. Anyway, he talked about how intensive the workout was, as you can imagine. He told us about watching Larry's routine, which included performing several huge dead lifts with the bar looking like it was going to bend like a Q-Tip. After exhausting every muscle he thought he had, John left the workout barely able to walk and drive home, as those of you who've gone through any kind of workout session knows that you'll get very sore afterward. After laying on the couch for two hours, it occurred to him that during that time players like Denard Robinson would've left the workout, gone to class, and then gone to practice without any problems. It was quite an eyeopener for him to understand how tough these guys have to be to play at even the college level.
Another interesting fact John mentioned last night - he said that out of everyone in Larry's draft class, he's the only one still playing in the NFL. I haven't verified that stat yet, but if that's true, that tells a lot about Foote's longevity in this league. Very impressive to say the least.
During his presentation, he talked a lot about the history of college football, the Big Ten, and of course, Michigan football and how it got to where it is today. As part of that, he shared a story from the spring of 2009. After attending all the practices, workouts, games, and meetings throughout the 2008 season, some of the Wolverine players noted that there was one thing that John hadn't done with the team - work out with them. Not wanting to let down the team, and figuring he was in decent enough shape for a 44 year old guy, he agreed to work with trainer Mike Barwis and work out for a while with the team (I can't remember how long he did it for, but it was two hours for three days a week).
Mike often has Michigan alums who play in the NFL and NHL participate in his workout sessions. So, John walks into Schembechler Hall that Monday, meets Mike who tells him that his workout partner is...Larry Foote! Let's just say John started to get worried at that point. Anyway, he talked about how intensive the workout was, as you can imagine. He told us about watching Larry's routine, which included performing several huge dead lifts with the bar looking like it was going to bend like a Q-Tip. After exhausting every muscle he thought he had, John left the workout barely able to walk and drive home, as those of you who've gone through any kind of workout session knows that you'll get very sore afterward. After laying on the couch for two hours, it occurred to him that during that time players like Denard Robinson would've left the workout, gone to class, and then gone to practice without any problems. It was quite an eyeopener for him to understand how tough these guys have to be to play at even the college level.
Another interesting fact John mentioned last night - he said that out of everyone in Larry's draft class, he's the only one still playing in the NFL. I haven't verified that stat yet, but if that's true, that tells a lot about Foote's longevity in this league. Very impressive to say the least.
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