A white board scribbled in marker with three ominous words greeted players as they entered Michigan’s football building Wednesday.

“Wash hands now,” read the sign, with a dispenser of Purell sitting underneath.

Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said his program is taking steps to prevent an outbreak of the flu. The bug has struck Wisconsin, Florida and other schools recently, and Rodriguez said he sent “a couple” of freshmen home earlier this week when they showed signs of sickness.

“I don’t think it’s the swine flu, I think it’s just maybe a little cold here and there,” Rodriguez said. “But as soon as we find out they’re sick we quarantine them and try to keep them away.”

Along with providing hand sanitizer, Rodriguez said Michigan’s training staff has counseled players on washing their hands frequently and keeping clean outside of the locker room. He said players are free to get flu shots when they’re available later this fall, but shots won’t be given to the entire team.

Earlier this week, Florida coach Urban Meyer said at least 10 of his players had shown flu-like symptoms, and three starters played sick in last week’s 23-13 win over Tennessee. Receivers coach Billy Gonzalez, who had a 104-degree fever, even coached Tuesday wearing a mask and gloves.

Michigan hasn’t gone to those lengths yet, but Rodriguez said he’s "very aware" how bad things have gotten.

“It is scary,” he said. “If it starts affecting your team it can really disrupt things.”