The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 53 was check your ego at the door, be the best you can be today and do what's best for the team to put us in a successful situation. We might not always agree, but when you walk out of the room you say, 'This is the best way we're going to do it.'" The Wolverine: Several prognosticators have you projected to win the Big Ten and making it to the four-team playoff despite entering the season with a new quarterback. How do you keep the players grounded with such high expectations? DREVNO: "It's a mentality every day to come in here and work. We're only as good as we can be today if we're not resting on our laurels and accomplishments we had last season. "This is a new season, a new beginning. Out there, people know about our program. It is Michigan football, part of the process. It's why we're here — to do a great job. We really enjoy the support of the fan base, the great tradition of the players who played here and everybody, but we've got a job to do and we don't want to lose sight of that. "These guys have been very grounded. Here at Michigan you get that world-class student and athlete. They have a great bal- ance and they understand what it takes to be successful, and Jim's done a great job with that. He has every place I've been with him. Every day it's what do we have to do to be the best?" The Wolverine: You'll lose key starters at almost every position on offense next year. How much of this season is about winning, of course, but also about grooming their successors? DREVNO: "You're always developing the younger guys, developing every man on the roster. Your situation is you might be a se- nior, but you've got to come out every day and compete and see who the best guy is, too. "It's a competition every day. No entitle- ment … never has been and never will be. It can't be that way when you want to be the best at what you do." The Wolverine: Your staff brought in the No. 4 recruiting class nationally last year. What's been the response when you get into a kid's home with the block 'M' on your shirt representing Michigan, especially with the constant buzz about the program? DREVNO: "We've been really pleased. Ev- erybody on the staff has really done a good job covering the United States of America these past five weeks [through May]. Win- ning games like we did really does help your recruiting. When we first came here they OFFENSE Q&A In Drevno's first year in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines averaged 31.4 points and 395.9 yards per game. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL