Michigan Football Staying Ready: 'Give Us A Date And We'll Be There'

The Michigan football team was devastated when they learned of the news over two weeks ago that the Big Ten decided to postpone its fall football season. The Wolverines have continued to practice voluntarily for up to 20 hours per week, as currently allowed by the Big Ten.

The focus quickly switched from preparing for the upcoming season to practicing for a combine the Wolverines will hold at Michigan Stadium on Oct. 24 in front of NFL scouts, all while staying ready to play a season — whenever that might be.

"I think the Michigan combine was an awesome idea by all the coaches, because it’s something for us to work towards," senior fullback Ben Mason said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday.

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The two-time recipient of Michigan's "toughest player" award added that the mentality of his head coach, Jim Harbaugh, is the one he and his teammates are taking when dealing with the reality of not having a season.

"The best medicine, as Coach Harbaugh says, is on the field, and that’s really true because ever since I was a little kid, when you play football, it gets your mind off of a lot of things," Mason said. “So it actually is therapeutic."

There have been reports of a season potentially starting in January, while others have speculated the Big Ten could take the field for competition in March. The possibility that no season will occur until next fall is also a strong one. As a leader on the team, Mason is making it clear to the rest of the group that, amid the uncertainty, they must stay ready.

"I think you just gotta take it day by day, because we’re not really sure when we’re going to play next — whether that’s in the winter, sometime in early January or even next fall," Mason said. "I would say, just preaching to the rest of the guys ... 'let’s just keep attacking this thing day by day and get better at football and all the things that come with it, like weightlifting and eating right, because you never know when our opportunity is going to come, but whenever it does, let’s just be ready.'

"Give us a date and we’ll be there."

Mason acknowledged that it's not easy to stay motivated each and every day without games to play in the immediate future, but it's the job of upperclassmen, such as himself, to keep everybody locked in.

"You honestly have to be very internally motivated, and it has to come from within you," he said. "From the guys who maybe don’t have that some days, you have to bring it out of them and really just explain to them, ‘Look, we’re on a team and whenever we do get to play, you being ready is only going to make the team better.’"

• Many Michigan players, and players across the conferences that postponed their seasons, have expressed their disappointment in the fact that they didn't have more of a say in the decision to pull the plug. Mason revealed that he feels the same way, and that they wish there was more transparency by the presidents and the Big Ten.

"I think a lot of guys on the team wanted to play, and it was heartbreaking for us to hear the news that we couldn’t," Mason said. "But at the same time, you have to trust the experts who decided not to play a season. They had to know something that we’re not aware of, and maybe they’ll come out and share what that information is.

"But, I don’t know. I don’t know why they would just cancel the season without having any information as to why."

• Last season, Mason made the switch from fullback to defensive tackle. And while he didn't make a significant impact on the defensive side of the ball and has since returned to the offensive backfield, he has embraced the process.

"Looking back at it, I’m really happy that it happened, just because it’s just a different perspective," Mason said. "Coming to college, that’s pretty much all you’re getting to gain — new experiences, meet new people and from a football sense, that only broadened my horizons as a football player.

"People might look at it and be like, ‘He wasn’t the best or he wasn’t big enough,’ or say whatever they want to say. But I was pretty happy with how I did, and I think that experience is only going to help me on the offensive side of the ball. Coming back to fullback this year, it’s been a really good transition, catching a lot of passes, blocking a lot and running, so I wouldn’t trade it for the world; really excited."

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