Michigan's Carlo Kemp On What's Next: 'I'm Focused On Spring'
The Big Ten announced the postponement of the fall football season eight days ago, saying the league will explore the possibility of competition in the spring.
Michigan's players were understandably disappointed at the decision.
"You were preparing for that news, but it still feels different when you are in that moment and you finally hear it," fifth-year senior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp said in a Zoom meeting with reporters Wednesday. "You’re like, ‘Wow, the season is really canceled.’ That kind of put a whole different feeling on it than those feelings that were leading up to that moment."
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Much of the disappointment set in due to what preceded it — the excitement that goes along with the end of summer in the football world as workouts ramp up and fall camp begins.
"[Playing for Michigan in one last season in the fall is] something that I was super excited about and all of us were super excited about, especially once we got back here in June," Kemp said. "You miss everybody for so long, having that time off. And it was like, ‘Let’s get ready, let’s get back to work.’ You get back into camp, and the way we were going, the way we were attacking things, you just felt everybody was coming together early in camp. You didn’t have to wait for it.
"Being able to play with [junior defensive end] Aidan [Hutchinson] and [senior end] Kwity [Paye] again — the people we have on defense, the guys we have on our offense — it’s definitely something that a lot of us were excited for."
Kemp and his teammates have taken a day-by-day approach, he said, the same one they adopted in March after the cancellation of spring practice.
The team continues to meet and go through voluntary practices, not knowing what's next, but preparing for the possibilities.
Many of the team's veteran players have impending decisions to make regarding their futures. Redshirt sophomore Jalen Mayfield declared for the NFL Draft just this week.
Kemp, however, continues to take it day-by-day, staying hopeful that football is around the corner. A spring season, though not believed to be feasible by many, is still on the table, and Kemp made it clear he'd be around if it happens.
"Right now, people do have to make those decisions for themselves about what’s best for them," he said. "You support your teammates in that decision, because that’s what you want. We all go through this process together; it’s long, it’s tiresome and it gets grueling. But we’re all trying to get to the next stages in our careers, and you support your teammates like that because you know what people have gone through. So we’re all excited and happy for Jalen.
"And personally for me, it’s spring and what’s coming up. My mindset and the way I’m focused is, what’s next. And that’s spring for me.
"I’m focused on spring and hopefully being able to get that opportunity with Kwity, with Aidan and a bunch of the guys that we still have on this team.
"We’re just here right now and we gotta see how we’re going to respond to whatever’s thrown at us next."
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