ESPN on Phelps playing for Michigan

What would Michael Phelps look like wearing a winged helmet instead of a gold medal? Phelps is 6-foot-4 and nearly 200 pounds of hulk. His wingspan stretches from hash mark to hash mark, and his body fat is lower than Minnesota’s winning percentage. There’s a guy that any football coach would love to have.

Since Phelps trains in Ann Arbor, surely Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez has dropped a hint. He is starting five freshmen in the Wolverines’ debut of his no-huddle spread Saturday against Utah. One more novice — one who would challenge Tiger Woods on the competitive spectrum — couldn’t hurt.

“Oh, I would put him at wide receiver,” Rodriguez said. “With those long arms, he’d be perfect.”