CLEAN SLATE: WR Arrington dedicated to overcoming off-field trouble
Every day for two months, Adrian Arrington awoke early to face his challenge.
And because of that, it appears he is on track to be part of the Michigan football team this fall.
Sixty consecutive mornings -- "Sunday to Sunday," he said -- the fourth-year junior receiver met Lloyd Carr or another Wolverine coach at Michigan Stadium for a 6 a.m. run up and down the steps.
While the conditioning benefits are obvious, it was no pleasure workout. It was penance.
Apparently, the message seeped through. Disciplined and held out of spring practice for an undisclosed team-rules violation this winter, Arrington slowly has worked his way back and will participate in the Wolverines' summer strength-and-conditioning program.
On Saturday, he was at the stadium for a positive reason, participating with his teammates in the fourth annual Carr's Wash for Kids.
The event, to raise money for the new C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, was a success, raising more than $175,000.
"I'm just glad to be out here with the team, working out with the fellas," Arrington said.
It's another step in his quest to impress Carr and line up for U-M this fall.
"He was really hard," Arrington said. "It was probably the toughest situation I had to go through in my life. It was work. But I'm glad I made it."
Arrington did not specify his transgression but hinted it had to do with going out too much at night. Now he said he stays in, mostly playing a golf video game on his PlayStation 3.
Arrington's latest incident surely was magnified on Carr's radar, coming after a court case last fall when he was charged with domestic violence.
The charges were dropped when his girlfriend, the alleged victim, refused to cooperate with prosecutors. But the incident, which included a police report stating he drank alcohol while underage and drove while intoxicated, led Carr to hold him out of the lineup for a few plays against Northwestern.
Earlier in his career, he did not travel to the 2005 Alamo Bowl because of an unspecified team violation.
"I put myself in bad places, the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "That's my fault, and I've got to deal with whatever happens from there. My head's at a whole different place right now. I let a whole lot of people down, so I have a whole different mind-set right now."
Arrington had had 40 catches, 544 yards and eight touchdowns last season. But as for still being in the program this fall, Carr was noncommittal.
"It's safe to say that Adrian, he wants very much to be here, he wants very much to be a part of this team, and so he's done the things I've asked him to do," Carr said. "But when an issue has something to do with that type of an issue, I don't believe in gut feelings (about the fall). It's really up to Adrian."
NOTEBOOK: When asked if he would call Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh to discuss controversial comments about U-M having easier admissions for football players, Carr said no. When it was pointed out that former U-M players rarely say anything negative about the program, Carr said, "I think that says a lot." ...
Freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett said he was severely homesick during the winter semester but never gave a serious thought to transferring. Carr said that when Ryan Mallett returned following the break between the winter and spring semesters, he seemed much more comfortable. ...
Though Carr said running back Kevin Grady's knee rehabilitation is ahead of schedule following April surgery, there's a chance Grady will not play a game this year. Grady was more optimistic, insisting he will try to see the field. "That's why I'm doing all this," said Grady, who is off crutches. ...
Carr also confirmed that Carlos Brown is comfortable staying in the program at running back and everyone who missed spring practice with an injury should be ready for fall camp. Specifically, Carr said receiver Mario Manningham's knee "is in excellent shape," but he needs to improve his "football shape."
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