The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS "We think documenting this sea- son will reveal that our university and football program are unique en- vironments that equip our student- athletes for success in both academ- ics and athletics," Michigan director of athletics Warde Manuel said. "We are excited to work with great part- ners and to break new ground as the first collegiate program to participate in this digital space." Michigan must allow "reasonable access" for up to three or four days per week. Michigan Stadium, team offices and facilities, locker rooms, practice sessions, team meetings and games are all accessible for the cameras. The university also has the abil- ity to "review" and "provide com- ments" on the rough second cut of each week's episode. "Michigan has the right to request footage edits based on factual errors, student privacy policies, 'any depic- tion that would constitute an action- able defamation or false light depic- tion of the University, the Team or any University individual,' any un- known legal violations, confidential team information regarding football strategies, plays, personnel evalua- tions and recruitment information," according to The Detroit Free Press report. Amazon and the producers must follow all NCAA rules. Michigan players were required to sign a release form before the pro- gram airs. The show will likely be similar in nature to the Amazon show "All or Nothing," which went behind the scenes with the Arizona Cardinals in 2016, or HBO's "Hard Knocks," which features an NFL team each preseason. The series will be eight hour-long episodes. According to a press release, Ama- zon Prime members will be able to stream the series exclusively via the Amazon Prime Video app for TVs, connected devices including Fire TV, mobile devices and online. Members can also download the series to mo- bile devices for offline viewing at no additional cost to their membership. The series will have a global re- lease and be available on PrimeVi- deo.com for Prime Video members in more than 200 countries and ter- ritories. Free trials of Amazon Prime are available. ❏ "Moritz Wagner blossomed last season. The sky is the limit now for the Big Ten's Dirk Nowitzki. Can Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman … evolve as an offensive threat? Oh, and look out for Kentucky transfer Charles Matthews. " — BTN.com's Tom Dienhart, who despite the praise projected U-M eighth in his Big Ten standings. "I know they lost a tough one to Michigan State, and I know he [head coach Jim Harbaugh] hasn't found a quarterback yet. Regardless of who he has at quarter- back, it's still going to be a run-heavy, dominant game plan. They're going to lean on the defense and play a physical brand of football. I don't think people really appreciate what he's doing — they lost everybody, but yet they've come back and been very competitive. He has a bunch of young dudes — freshmen and sophomores — that are on the field making plays. They are only going to get better; Michigan fans, just be a little patient." — NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks, co-host of the NFL-themed podcast Move the Sticks "People are acting as if Harbaugh — who won at San Diego, built the Stanford program, makes it to the Super Bowl with the 'Niners, but now in year three at Michigan isn't undefeated or playing for a national championship — is Gene Chizik after Cam Newton [at Auburn]. You're wrong if you're looking at him that way. If you want to sell it as a disappointment, fine. "They're terrible in the red zone, and I read they used 40 different formations in the first half [against Michigan State] with a guy [fifth-year senior quarterback John O'Korn] who couldn't beat out [redshirt junior quarterback Wilton] Speight, who was the most inaccurate quarterback in the Power Five. This can be disap- pointing in the moment, but spare me that you would like something different here with Harbaugh. "I refuse to believe that Harbaugh's not going to figure it out, and that's my point. For those who are saying he's the most overrated coach in college football, you're completely dismissing his résumé, and that he's won everywhere. If you think he's that overrated and you feel he is therefore incapable of being one of the top guys in the country, that's something I'll never buy." — ESPN Radio's Ryen Russillo after Michigan's loss to Michigan State — Austin Fox THEY SAID IT Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr., after Michigan's loss to Michigan State "Our dreams of playing in the playoff aren't over." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN