DETROIT - Kevin Grady's impending DUI arraignment provides Rich Rodriguez with the football sacrifice he needed.

The new man in Ann Arbor must show the Old Blue Purists still holding doubts that he isn't afraid to apply the disciplinary hammer to a prominent player.

Grady was arrested for misdemeanor drunken driving last week in suburban Grand Rapids, Mich. According to the police report, Grady's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit. He'll be arraigned Wednesday.

There's nothing funny or casually dismissive about these accusations.

If Grady willingly turned himself into a lethal weapon, the least of his problems should be whether or not he plays football again. There's a serious issue that extends beyond just another youthful indiscretion. He could face a maximum of three months' jail time.

This isn't about plea bargaining to a lesser charge that looks less condemning on his criminal record but doesn't diminish the scope of the mistake.

Grady's rights only pertain to a court of law. He doesn't have a "right'' to remain under scholarship at Michigan. It's a revocable privilege.

However his legal matter gets resolved, Grady has probably seen his last day with the Wolverines.

The new man in Ann Arbor must show the Old Blue Purists still holding doubts that he isn't afraid to apply the disciplinary hammer to a prominent player.

Grady was arrested for misdemeanor drunken driving last week in suburban Grand Rapids, Mich. According to the police report, Grady's blood-alcohol level was three times the legal limit. He'll be arraigned Wednesday.

There's nothing funny or casually dismissive about these accusations.

If Grady willingly turned himself into a lethal weapon, the least of his problems should be whether or not he plays football again. There's a serious issue that extends beyond just another youthful indiscretion. He could face a maximum of three months' jail time.

This isn't about plea bargaining to a lesser charge that looks less condemning on his criminal record but doesn't diminish the scope of the mistake.

Grady's rights only pertain to a court of law. He doesn't have a "right'' to remain under scholarship at Michigan. It's a revocable privilege.

However his legal matter gets resolved, Grady has probably seen his last day with the Wolverines.

Rodriguez said the program would handle the matter internally, meaning that he'll conduct his own investigation. All coaches do this.

Lloyd Carr could get away with that approach because the Michigan program did a better job of maintaining a public lid over the worst troublemakers. Rodriguez can't get away with it - not with everybody knowing that current NFL malcontents, Pacman (Call Me Adam Now) Jones and Chris Henry, began their litany of legal transgressions under Rodriguez's watch at West Virginia.

Rodriguez must make an example of Grady, a junior running back who missed all of last season following a serious knee injury during spring practice. Grady was the No. 1 rated recruit in the Wolverines' 2005 class.

There's an increasing comfort level with Rodriguez's coaching principles.

He's developing better speed on his offensive and defensive lines, concentrating more on drills that better develop agility instead of the old philosophy of growing them as big as possible.

That remains the biggest difference between the SEC and Big Ten - better athleticism on the interior line.

There's no questioning his focus on the field.

It's what happens off the field that still triggers concern.