Michigan’s upcoming combine at The Big House gives team something to attack

Motivation isn’t always easy to come by, especially when adversity hits.

With the Big Ten fall season cancelled, Michigan players are forging ahead and trying to stay prepared for whenever their next season begins. Despite no season to look forward to, the team created an event that gives them something to prepare for.

In an interview with ESPN’s Marty Smith, Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson described the team’s initial feeling when the bad news came, and how they’re preparing for their own combine at Michigan Stadium in October.

“When we got the news, Harbaugh was a guy that when he gets information, and you know, bad news, something like that, he is going to take it and he’s going to move on. So it took me about an day to kind of process the whole thing, and next day, you know, we move on. Now we’re preparing for our own combine in October we’re preparing for in 10 weeks,” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson noted that he’s focused on “running the fastest 40, running the fastest 5-10-5, bench-press the most weight” he can. He says he’s more driven with more goals to achieve. “I feel like I have more goals to achieve. And you know, I’ve moved on and I’m ready to attack this combine,” Hutchinson said.

The combine is for all Michigan players, not just those who have an interest in the 2021 NFL Draft. Dylan McCaffrey’s mother, Lisa McCaffrey, told the Detroit News that Dylan is “real positive” about Michigan’s practices and the upcoming combine.

When speaking about how practices have been going, tight end Nick Eubanks believes the team is doing a good job of collectively keeping their heads up. “I think everybody has been going in there and doing everything they could to just keep accustomed to football, keeping their heads up,” Eubanks said. “It’s up to older guys, some of the juniors and seniors, to keep guys’ heads up in terms of not feeling bad about themselves or anything like that. I think, personally, it’s better for us to keep doing as we’re doing right now, in terms of just being accustomed to football and getting better as a football player.”

The Michigan combine at The Big House would provide players a platform to showcase their football skills during a time of the year where they’re usually getting exposure on a weekly basis. A fun way to stay in shape and gauge their progress from now until October. I’ll be looking forward to seeing Giles Jackson’s 40-time, how Michigan’s quarterbacks are slinging the pigskin around, who will have the most bench press reps, and everything in between.