Over the course of the Spring, most have noticed a conspicuous absence of wings on some player's helmets. Originally deemed to be "not an issue" it has finally come to light that those lacking the winged helmet are having to "earn" them through hard work over the spring. When we sat down with Troy Woolfork, he wasn't shy about sharing his feelings about the newest member of the Wolverines to come under fire, the Maize n Brew Logo:
There are some guys, like Denard Robinson, or the Mgoblog logo, who are coming out every day, doing the little things to get better. And I'm not saying the Maize n Brew logo isn't working hard - he's been a little dinged up - but you know, maybe he hasn't been working as hard as some of the others, and it certainly shows positionally.
Coach Rodriguez downplayed the exchange, but confirmed the sentiment when a nicely worded memo hit the Maize n Brew mailbox restricted the use of the wings on the logo. When asked about it, Rodriguez responded:
Now I haven't been around the practice facility. In fact, I haven't thought about practice, or voluntary workouts since the Ohio State game ended, but from what I've heard the Maize n Brew logo took whole weeks off during the offseason. As a member of the Michigan Football family, you've got to put distractions behind and away from you, which I understand is difficult, given that the Maize n Brew logo is, after all, a 6-pack of beer.
So despite the rumors that the missing wings might just be a logistically issue, it does seem that the players and logo's, missing the winged helmet are indeed in something of "the doghouse." When asked for comment, the Maize n Brew logo only expressed that he can only be as good as his content, and that over the winter, a lot of that support was pretty sparse. He is working hard, and can only hope to earn the right to represent the Michigan Football family when a new logo is created.
It will certainly be interesting to watch whether this motivational effort will get the desired results out of the blog. Players certainly respond differently under these types of circumstances, but blogs and bloggers are quite a different breed. Perhaps foremost on people's mind is the possibility of a transfer for the logo should he lose his starting position.