Michigan junior quarterback Devin Gardner played poorly in last week's narrow win over woeful Akron, and he received a pick-me-up from an unlikely source.
Gardner told reporters Wednesday at a weekly news conference that he got a text Saturday night from Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel telling him to keep his head up.
Gardner and Manziel first met on the recruiting camp circuit.
Gardner was 16-of-30 for 248 yards and two touchdowns against the Zips. But he also tossed three picks, giving him six on the season.
"This week has been slow," Gardner said Wednesday. "When you play bad, the week moves even slower."
Offensive coordinator Al Borges said Michigan's offense made "some really nice plays surrounded by garbage."
Michigan plays at Connecticut this week; it'll be Michigan's first non-conference game on the East Coast since it traveled to play Boston College in 1995.
Wolverines star offensive tackle Taylor Lewan did not practice Tuesday and showed up for Wednesday's news conference with a walking boot on his right foot. He joked that the boot was "a fashion statement," and coaches say he will play against the Huskies.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.