4 The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 12, 1984- Page 10 Lyles shuns sun for 'M' tradition By KATIE BLACKWELL Bo Schembechler surely was thankful Saturday afternoon, not only for his team's 22-14 upset of the defending national champs, but for a decision made five years ago in Miami. A talented high, school senior, admit- tedly not much of a college football fan, was deciding which school to grace with his gridiron expertise. Surprisingly, the young man chose to vacate the warm sands of his native Miami and travel to -the frigid north of Michigan. FOR OUTSIDE linebacker Rod- ney Lyles, the decision he made as a pseventeen-year-old has paid off in most :every way, culminating in his career- high three interceptions against his ,hometown Hurricanes on Saturday. S"Rodney Lyles had one ofthose .games you don't get very often," said Schembechler of the week's Defensive Champion. Lyles' performance tied a long-time Michigan record for intercep- tions in a single game. The day also marked Lyles' first collegiate pick-off. "I guess everyone dreams about making the big plays," said the senior stand-out. "It's something everyone looks forward to." Though quite modest about his outstanding afternoon, Lyles paused for a moment and considered the impact of his feat. As an easy grin crossed his face, he said, "I do think it was extra-ordinary." LYLES PROBABLY had some added incentive for his play against Miami. Not only is Miami his old stomping grounds, but .the Hurricanes heavily recruited the local high school star. In order to lure the hometown boy to its growing program, the Hurricane staff apparently promised Lyles a good shot at playing right away. But that only served to dissuade him. "I didn't want anything given to me," Lyles said. Instead, it was an odd combination of be difficult for such a cold-climate program'to snatch talent out of the Sun Belt. But in Lyles' case, everything seemed to fall in place. "I had a drive within me to go away to school-to get away and be able to come back for visits," Lyles recalled. "I thought it would be a change. I don't 'I didn't know too much about Michigan. I did recognize the helmets and Bo Schembechler - I'd heard the name before. - Linebacker Rodney Lyles right because the Wolverines landed the two superstars. Lyles pointed to his talks with the players as being a key factor in his choice. Michigan, regardless of the snow, seems to be good for Lyles. After a red- shirted freshman year in 1980, he broke into the Wolverine lineup seeing action in every game in the 1982 campaign as a backup outside linebacker. LAST SEASON, Lyles proved his starting worth by piling up 40 tackles, making him the 10th-leading tackler on the squad. Among these, nine were tackles behind the line of scrimmage resulting in losses of 52 yards. Lyles was the 1983 leader in stops behind the line for the Wolverines. Now, in his fifth year at Michigan, Lyles is ready for new challenges. Sch- embechler and crew used his 4.6 speed for a new role in the Miami game-pass coverage. Previously limited to the pass rush, Lyles may have a future hounding receivers. Schembechler may have had that in mind all along. "Lyles can be a pass rusher and he can cover," he said last spring. "It takes a certain kind of guy to be able to do that." Based on his abuse of three Bernie Kosar passes, it looks like this could be the year for Lyles. Schembechler thinks so. "I know Rodney was shooting for this game (Miami) as it meant something special to him, but," Schembechler emphasized, "I will be looking for this kind of performance throughout the season." factors that put the 6-3 226-pounder in Wolverine duds. "I DIDN'T KNOW too much about Michigan," Lyles admitted. "I did recognize the helmets and Bo Schem- bechler-I'd heard the name before," he said, laughing. Aside from the fancy helmets and coaching legend associated with Michigan football, it can conceiveably like the snow, but I got tired of the ex- cessive heat." WHAT REALLY CLINCHED Lyles' decision was his visit to the University. Fellow Floridian Anthony Carter was among the Michigan football players who escorted Lyles and teammate Evan Cooper around campus on their recruiting trip. Carter must have done something Good friends keep yougoImg when all you want to do is stop. Daily Photo by CAROL L. FRANCAVILLA Rodney Lyles paws the first of his three interceptions against Miami Satur- day. Spikers search for starters in opener By TOM KEANEY Women's volleyball coach Bar- bara Canning brings her squad into tonight's match against Illinois- Chicago with some definite goals in mind. "I'm not expecting tremendous results," said Canning, emphasizing that the results of this game should determine a starting lineup, hopefully one that will make Michigan a contender this year in the Big Ten. THIS IS A transitional season for the Spikers, who have only two star- 7 "ters and five players overall retur- ning from last year's squad. As with any young squad, Canning sees a need to smooth out the team's strategy in this game before the fig Ten season opens on September 22 against Purdue. Michigan's only senior, Joan Pot- ter, echoed her coach's remarks. "All of our games before the Big Ten opener are going to be preparation," she said. "We'll be finding out who plays as well as whom in different situations." Tonight's game, at the CCRB at 7:00 p.m., will no doubt showcase some of the new faces on the team. With the absence of experienced players, the returning starters, Jen- nifer Hickman and Karyn Kun- zelman will certainly be relied upon as the backbone ofthe team. Potter, however, said she sees potential in everybody on the team. "We all Hickman work real well together. There's a .returning starter lot of energy on this team." NCAA leans on Florida. I A GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - The University of Florida received a 75 page official letter of inquiry from the NCAA yesterday detailing the 107 alleged infractions committed by the school's football program. University President Marshall M. Criser said the university will prepare an official response to the allegations "as quickly as humanly possible." CRISER said he was releasing copies of the NCAA's letter as well as tran- scripts of interviews with a number of witnesses in the probe that started in December 1982. Among the charges leveled against Coach Charley Pell's program was that of illegal scouting of opponents' prac- tices. The school president said he had directed officials to forward letters of apology to seven schools and added that he had volunteered to forfeit Florida victories over to six of them. Pell, saying that he assumed respon- sibility for "mistakes and errors," made in the program, resigned Aug. 26, but requested to remain with the squad until the end of the 1984 season. GRIDDE No less respect is due the Michigan football team, but word has surfaced out of Miami that Hurricane quarter- back Bernie Kosar was playing under a severe mental strain last weekend. It seems that Kosar was distraught over traveling all the way to Ann Arbor and not being able to play Griddes. Said a member of the Miami staff, who asked to remain anonymous, "All Bernie could think about was that small, one-item pizza from Pizza Bob's that he had no chance of winning because the Daily didn't do Griddes last week. That's a lot of pressure for someone who is only a sophomore." We can't do anything to soothe the ache is Kosar's stomach, but we can help you. Griddes return to Ann Arbor and the Daily in full force this week. PICKS belong to you. 1. Washington at MICHIGAN (pick score) 2. Washington St. at Ohio State 3. Notre Dame at Michigan State 4. Miami (Fla.)at Purdue 5. Minnesota at Nebraska 6. Penn State at Iowa 7. Syracuse at Northwestern 8. Kentucky at Indiana 9. Wisconsin at Missouri 10. Illinois at Stanford 11. Auburn at Texas 12. Alabama at Georgia Tech. 13. Oklahoma at Pittsburgh 14. Boston College. vs. North Carolina 15. SMU at Louisville 16. Utah at Tennessee 17. Temple at Rutgers 18. Fullerton St. at Idaho 4 'x 'x a: 11 e? E XT 1 !1T 2 T 4-1-% --l T T111 1 r1 T T!1 (' !1 YY'1 !l r