Notebook: Quarterback Tate Forcier sore, but he'll play against Michigan State

Forcier will be limited in today's practice and may make short throws, but he won't throw any deep balls.

Rodriguez said Michigan's trainers expect the freshman to be fine in a couple of days.

"These (quarterbacks) are competitive, and they like to run a little bit," Rodriguez said. "But they have to be smart, too.

"They're not the biggest guys, and so I don't want them taking too many hits."

------------

Undefeated No. 22 Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) makes its first road trip of the year, traveling to East Lansing. With young players, Rodriguez said the biggest challenge is communication.

"I don't know if any road game is comfortable, and it may be easier if we were going into a stadium that wasn't going to be full and loud and intense," Rodriguez said. " That's not the situation were in. It's a very intense rivalry."

-------

Rodriguez said injured center David Molk's surgery went well. Molk hopes to be back in the next month, but Rodriguez said he won't put him out there before he's ready to go.

As for David Moosman's snapping difficulties against Indiana on Saturday, Rodriguez said some of the issues were technique-based. Others came on quick snap plays.

-------

Rodriguez called the Michigan State rivalry a very passionate game. He said last year's game - a 35-21 Spartans victory at Michigan Stadium - was what he expected. He said it's not a "normal game."

With it being Michigan State week, Rodriguez is closing ranks a bit. Normally, Wednesday's practice is an open practice for media. He will close it this week.

Especially with the Paul Bunyan Trophy at stake.

Unfortunately, last year, we didn't play well and (Michigan State) got the trophy," Rodriguez said. "Hopefully, we can play better this year.'

"This rivalry puts everything else aside."

--------

Even with four wins to start the season, Rodriguez said the Wolverines' focus hasn't changed.

Asked if being undefeated had taken some of the focus off of the negativity that surrounded the program prior to the season-opener, Rodriguez said he hasn't allowed his team's performance to over-shadow the importance of constantly improving.

"We've made progress, but we're still a work in progress."

---------

Rodriguez says he has known Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio since when Dantonio was coaching at Cincinnati.

He characterized their relationship as cordial, having seen each other at Big Ten media days and on speaking circuits. But he doesn't tend to communicate with Dantonio as much as he does with other coaching counterparts.

"We don't share tea and crumpets," Rodriguez said. "We don't trade text messages everyday... but we're friendly."

--------------

Rodriguez said he won't change up Michigan's schedule this week with the Spartans on the radar. He will still remind his players to focus on their studies, knowing they've got a full week of practice and classes. But he will tell them to avoid distractions as much as possible.

"As a coach you get into a routine and I think our players want the same routine," Rodriguez said. "We're not changing the whole thing, we're just trying to narrow the focus a little bit."

--------------

Senior fullback Kevin Grady is now speaking and says there's more Michigan fans in his hometown of Grand Rapids.

He said after last year's Michigan State win, he said he has heard from friends in East Lansing once a month.

Among the Spartans backers: His grandmother, who has given Grady some grief after last year's win.

"She does all my baking and so I can't just can't cut her out like that," Grady said.

----------------------

Grady, who said he has watched Michigan football since age 5, said everyone who comes to Michigan knows about this rivalry along with Notre Dame and Ohio State. But even though the Wolverines are trying to bounce back from last year's loss, they won't allow one game to get in the way of the bigger picture.

We've still got a lot of prove and we're intent on proving it," Grady said.

------------------------

Continuing with the running back theme, Carlos Brown is now at the podium.

Growing up in the south, rivalry games meant Georgia-Georgia Tech. He has now translated his knowledge to Michigan-Michigan State.

"It's for the honor of the state," Brown said. "We're going to try and get that back down to Ann Arbor."

Michigan is leading the Big Ten in rushing.

And with a stable that includes Brown and Brandon Minor, Brown said he has no plans of slowing down - especially with Michigan State week looming.

"We always want to run the ball. It's going to be important (to establish the run against Michigan State) and we want to continue to do what we've been doing."

-------------------

Funny story from linebacker Obi Ezeh: When asked if he wears green, Ezeh admitted that he has green clothing, but rarely wears it with white.

The first time he met former coach Lloyd Carr, Ezeh was wearing a Michigan State engineering t-shirt that was turned inside out.

He said Carr shook his hand but then stared at his shirt. It was then when Ezeh realized what shirt he had on.

Ezeh never forgot his future coach's look and later threw the shirt away.

"If you could have seen those eyes ..."