The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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M Roy Manning's Eyes Widen Upon Return To Michigan Roy Manning finds himself in coaching heaven, albeit with a couple of broken harp strings in the form of an injured Jake Ryan. The former Wolverine enters his first year as a Michigan assistant, guiding the outside linebackers. He served as a graduate assistant for Brady Hoke's first staff at Michigan, and considers himself blessed to have gotten back to Ann Arbor so quickly. Manning looks around, and still can't quite believe he's back where he played his college ball. Not that it's the same place. Certainly many of the traditions, values, etc., remain the same. The Wolverines are still all about winning the Big Ten, doing things the right way, and so on. But it doesn't take much of a glance around for Manning to understand how dramatically the landscape has changed in the area of The Big House. "It's unbelievable," Manning offered. "I was with some former players recently, and I said, 'Hey, you've got to get up here. It's changed so much.' Crisler Arena is unbelievable. There can't be a better basketball arena in the country. "Michigan Stadium adding the seats, adding all those parts to it with the Jumbotrons and the box seats — it's just ever growing. It's never going to stop, in my opinion. It's just going to keep getting bigger and better, because there are so many alumni and people out there that love Michigan and want to see it grow." Some aspects, Manning noted with satisfaction, simply do not change. "We're the winningest program in college football history," he underscored. "That will never change. The players that play here and the coaches that coach here do a good job of understanding that, and playing and coaching with a pride that, hey, we want to not just continue being a good team, but college football's winningest program. "It's a large task to take on, but that's why you're here. That's why it's Michigan. That's what makes it different. 2013-14 Bowl Schedule DateBowl Jan. 6 BCS Title Game Jan. 5 GoDaddy.com Jan. 4 BBVA Compass Jan. 3 Cotton Jan. 3 Orange Jan. 2 Sugar Jan. 1 Fiesta Jan. 1 Rose Jan. 1 Heart of Dallas Jan. 1 Outback Jan. 1 Capital One Jan. 1 Gator Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Dec. 31 Liberty Dec. 31 Independence Dec. 31 Sun Dec. 30 Holiday Dec. 30 Alamo Dec. 30 Music City Dec. 30 Armed Forces Dec. 28 Russell Athletic Dec. 28 Belk Dec. 28 Pinstripe Dec. 28 Buffalo Wild Wings Dec. 27 Kraft Fight Hunger Dec. 28 Texas Dec. 27 Military Dec. 26 Poinsettia Dec. 26 Little Caesars Dec. 24 Hawaii Dec. 23 Beef 'O' Brady's Dec. 21 New Orleans Dec. 21 Idaho Potato Dec. 21 MAACO Dec. 21 New Mexico LocationTVTime Pasadena, Calif. ESPN 8:30 p.m. Mobile, Ala. ESPN 9 p.m. Birmingham, Ala. ESPN 1 p.m. Arlington, Texas FOX 7:30 p.m. Miami, Fla. ESPN 8:30 p.m. New Orleans, La. ESPN 8:30 p.m. Glendale, Ariz. ESPN 8:30 p.m. Pasadena, Calif. ESPN 5 p.m. Dallas, Texas ESPNU Noon Tampa, Fla. ESPN 1 p.m. Orlando, Fla. ABC 1 p.m. Jacksonville, Fla. ESPN2 Noon Atlanta, Ga. ESPN 8 p.m. Memphis, Tenn. ESPN 4 p.m. Shreveport, La. ESPN 12:30 p.m. El Paso, Texas CBS 2 p.m. San Diego, Calif. ESPN 10:15 p.m. San Antonio, Texas ESPN 6:45 p.m. Nashville, Tenn. ESPN 3:15 p.m. Fort Worth, Texas ESPN 11:45 a.m. Orlando, Fla. ESPN 6:45 p.m. Charlotte, N.C. ESPN 3 p.m. Bronx, N.Y. ESPN Noon Tempe, Ariz. ESPN TBA San Francisco, Calif. ESPN 9:30 p.m. Houston, Texas ESPN 6 p.m. Washington, D.C. ESPN 2:30 p.m. San Diego, Calif. ESPN 9:30 p.m. Detroit, Mich. ESPN 6 p.m. Honolulu, Hawaii ESPN 8 p.m. St. Petersburg, Fla. ESPN 2 p.m. New Orleans, La. ESPN 9 p.m. Boise, Idaho ESPN 5:30 p.m. Las Vegas, Nev. ESPN 3:30 p.m. Albuquerque, N.M. ESPN 2 p.m. Matchup BCS No. 1 vs. BCS No. 2 Sun Belt No. 2 vs. MAC No. 2 SEC No. 9-10 vs. American Athletic No. 5 Big 12 No. 2 vs. SEC No. 3-4 ACC No. 1 vs. BCS at-large SEC No. 1 vs. BCS at-large Big 12 No. 1 vs. BCS at-large Big Ten No. 1 vs. Pac-12 No. 1 Big Ten No. 7 vs. CUSA No. 2-6 Big Ten No. 3 vs. SEC No. 3-4 Big Ten No. 2 vs. SEC No. 2 Big Ten No. 4-5 vs. SEC No. 5-6 ACC No. 2 vs. SEC No. 5-6 CUSA No. 1 vs. SEC No. 7-8 ACC No. 7 vs. SEC No. 9-10 ACC No. 4 vs. Pac-12 No. 4 Pac-12 No. 3 vs. Big 12 No. 5 Pac-12 No. 2 vs. Big 12 No. 3 SEC No. 7-8 vs. ACC No. 6 MWC No. 3 vs. Navy ACC No. 3 vs. American Athletic No. 2 ACC No. 5 vs. American Athletic No. 3 Big 12 No. 7 vs. American Athletic No. 4 Big Ten No. 4-5 vs. Big 12 No. 4 BYU vs. Pac-12 No. 6 Big Ten No. 6 vs. Big 12 No. 6 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. ACC No. 7 Army vs. MWC No. 2 Big Ten No. 8 vs. MAC No. 2 MWC No. 4-5 vs. CUSA No. 2-6 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. American Athletic No. 6 CUSA No. 2-6 vs. Sun Belt No. 1 MWC No. 6 vs. MAC No. 3 Pac-12 No. 5 vs. MWC No. 1 Pac-12 No. 7 vs. MWC No. 4-5 Manning served as a graduate assistant for Brady Hoke's first staff at Michigan, and he considers himself blessed to be coaching in Ann Arbor. Photo by per kjeldsen "You embrace those struggles, you accept those challenges, and you look forward to every opportunity to be the best. That's what makes this thing go." Michigan has recruited at an extremely high level under Hoke, and Manning isn't surprised. The combination of coaching staff, tradition, facilities and more renders success no accident, he insisted. "Recruiting is so huge now a days, and everyone is trying to keep up with everyone," Manning said. "That's the great part, the neat part of being at Michigan. We're not going to have a shortage of anything here. We're the leaders and the best, and that means in all areas, all aspects of athletics, academics, everything. "You just want to see that thing keep going, and keep building on all the successes we've had in the past to make sure this great university stays at the top." Manning played on Michigan defenses, and sounds especially gratified that the Wolverines won't feature a shortage on that side of the football. He knows the elements that go into defensive success in Ann Arbor, and he's seeing them play out on the practice fields. He's excited about plenty in his first year as a Michigan assistant coach, but that ranks way up on his list. "They look like a Michigan defense," Manning said. "You see guys that look like NFL bodies. That's what excites me. These guys really, really, really want to be good. You can feel that as a coach." The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview ■ 31