02-22-2009, 05:26 PM
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Head Coach
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Join Date: Nov 2003
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Mealer is positive, optimistic
Mike Vernot
ANN ARBOR, Mich. --Elliott Mealer is no stranger to adversity on or off the football field. The 2009 season will be no different when Mealer attempts to vie for a coveted spot on the University of Michigan football depth chart.
After red-shirting his first season in Ann Arbor, Mealer is nearing the end of full rehab and is starting regular workouts with the hope of full recovery of strength and agility to his shoulder.
"Rehab is going good," explained Mealer. "For the most part, concerning my shoulder, I can play football. I can do all the things I need to in life and I consider my shoulder 100 percent."
For Mealer, the challenge is restoring lost shoulder strength which may never return.
"The team has been doing a lot of upper arm strengthening in the weight room, but I'm not allowed to start that until after spring break (Feb. 20-28)," said Mealer. "At that time, I will start out with two to three days of upper body strength training and I'm not sure how long that will last, but it could last my whole career just to stay on top of it."
Despite all of the adversity, Mealer remains positive and hopeful of the chance to make a difference for the team.
"I just want to be effective for the team and help it any way I can," explained Mealer. "I want to be a starter, that's my goal or obviously I wouldn't be here. If that doesn't happen I want to be two-deep or at least on the traveling team. Its harder to stay a starter than to initially become a starter."
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"Last year was just a bad year, but you can't pin that on the seniors. After the Ohio State loss and the seniors had been dismissed, it felt like the underclassman realized that it was time to get down to business," said Mealer. "The past was behind us and it was time to move on. Some of us freshmen were talking about how hard the offseason workouts have been. But then we realized that as bad as we were last year, we had to work that much harder to improve this year."
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"When you talk about Michigan, you think of football and the tradition," said Mealer. "Next season and the seasons after will be about bringing the winning tradition back to Michigan. Coach Rodriguez always talks about the fact Michigan used to be able to come down the tunnel with the winged-helmets and just that sight was worth seven points due to intimidation. Now teams don't fear us, they believe they have a chance to beat us so we have to get that intimidation back."
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Brock recently graduated from Ohio State. When asked if there was any tension between the brothers about their choice of schools, Elliot explained the true nature of the relationship.
"He is definitely a Wolverine at heart. At his graduation, under his gown he wore a Michigan shirt which nobody really knew. I give him a hard time about it (the rivalry), but it's more in fun than anything else."
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Crescent-News.com - Mealer is positive, optimistic
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