Page 8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday October 9, 1985
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WOLVERINE CORNERBACK HIGHLIGHTS DEFENSE
Blue opponents
can't navigate Rivers
4
By PHIL NUSSEL
When Ohio State head coach Earle
Bruce visitied high school senior
Garland Rivers back in 1982, the
Buckeye coach couldn't remember
that the Canton McKinley star was an
all-state safety - he thought Rivers
was a tailback.
Today, Bruce and the rest of the Big
Ten coaches know that Rivers is one
of the reasons why the Michigan
secondary is regarded by many as one
of the best in the country.
THE 6-1, 185 cornerback was voted
the UPI Midwest Defensive Player of
the Week Monday after returning an
interception for a touchdown,
recovering a fumble, and collecting
seven tackles against Wisconsin.
Nobody will forget what position he
plays anymore.
Rivers currently is third in tackles
for the Wolverines with 22 solos and
six assists. He was the team's defen-
sive champion against Maryland.
"RIVERS HAS always been that
kind of player," Michigan coach Bo
Schembechler said after the Wiscon-
sin game, "What he is now is that he's
much more mature and sure of him-
self out there."
Rivers gave several reasons why he
is a better player in '85, foremost is a
belief in himself. "I've improved
mainly because of my confidence," he
said. "My confidence has just built up
because I knew that I could guard a
guy if I just get better on the back-
pedal."
Weight training has also played a
role in Rivers' improvement. The
junior admits that he never liked lif-
ting, but with the encouragement of
strength coach Mike Gittelson, Rivers
improved his lift on the bench press
from 210 to 270 pounds.
"(GITTLESON) IS like Bo Schem-
bechler in a way," Rivers said. "He
motivates you. That's the reason I
worked hard on the weights. I felt I
lacked strength last year. I wasn't
that strong in the upper body.
"So I worked hard all summer.
That's really helped me out with
receivers now because I tackle more
aggressively. I just throw them out of
the way and make the tackle."
When he arrived at Michigan in
1983, Rivers was moved from safety to
MMU"
Purdue, and Brigham Young. He
believes the best receiver he faced
was Wisconsin's Al Toon. Rivers held
the 6-5 wideout to four catches for 53
yards.
He finished the '84 campaign as the
Wolverines' third leading tackler with
81 sticks. He also grabbed one inter-
ception. He was the defensive hustler
in both the Wisconsin and Michigan
State games.
INJURIES have not been a problem
in Rivers' three-year career - that is,
until last Saturday. He had to miss
two plays when the fingers on his left
hand were dislocated.
I still thought I could
do the job even
though my fingers
were almost
dislocated.'
- Garland Rivers
Trainer Russ Miller called him off
the field in the third quarter and pop-
ped the fingers back in place. Rivers
then went back and finished the game.
"When (Russ) saw my hand, he wan-
ted me to come out," the cornerback
said. "But I said 'No, I'm alright'
because I wanted to be in there every
play. I still thought I could do the job
even though my fingers were almost
dislocated."
With that kind of attitude, it is no
wonder that Schembechler has said
that Rivers is the kind of player he
likes to put his arm around and walk
into the stadium with. Even in the pre-
season, the Michigan leader predicted
that Rivers would be an All-American
before he left. The stats are beginning
to show Schembechler may be right.
Rivers' improvement has put him in
the spotlight in '85. If nothing else, op-
posing coaches now know what
position he plays.
THE TEMPTATIONS
Rivers
... third in tackles
cornerback and had to undergo, like
most freshmen, an adjustment
period. But he did get into action on
special teams and eventually
replaced an injured Brad Cochran in
the Iowa game.
HE ENDED up with nine tackles
that year and was the only freshman
to win a letter. "I wasn't ready to play
big time ball that year because I
wasn't ready to play corner," Rivers
noted.
Last year the Canton, Oh. native
started all 12 games at corner and got
the experience he needed facing high-
powered passing attacks like Iowa,
Daily Photo by DAN HABIB
Junior cornerback Garland Rivers heads for the endzone after intercep-
ting Wisconsin quarterback Mike Howard's pass last Saturday. It was.y
Rivers' first interception return for a touchdown at Michigan.
Women golfers freeze at Indiana, Purdue
WITH SPECIAL GUEST DOMINO
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1985
PEASE AUDITORIUM, 3:30 P.M.
Tickets Available at
All Ticketworld Outlets
By JERRY MUTH
The hole truth: the women's golf
team outdrove most teams this
weekend on their roadtrip to Indiana.
But. its performance on the links
wasn't quite up to par.
Michigan corralled a sixth place
finish out of nine teams in the Indiana
Invitational held Sunday and Monday
while managing a fifth place tie in the
13-team Purdue tournament last
Friday and Saturday.
COACH SUE LeClair wasn't par-
ticularly impressed with the results of
the Purdue tournament. "Our girls
should have played better than they
did," stated a disappointed LeClair.
"We were looking for a third (place
finish)."
Horrendous weather conditions
may have played their part in the
Purdue showing. Conditions were so
bad that the 54 hole tournament was
shortened to 36 holes after a rain
delay on Friday. More of the same
followed on Saturday. "Cold and win-
dy," was the way junior Terri Mage
described the conditions.
Purdue's 656 team total let the
sweet-swinging Boilermakers win
their own tournament, while
Michigan finished 38 strokes back.
Boilermaker Lorna Midema's rounds
of 78-79 captured individual medalist
honors. Michigan's top finisher, Jan
Idomir, placed 20th after shooting 83-
88.
After their unfriendly two-day stay
in West Lafayette, the weather as well
as the Wolverines' performance im-
proved, despite finishing 63 stroke.
behind Indiana's version of "The Bij
Red Machine." IU's team total of 92(
for the 54 hole tournament translate,
into an average round of about 76 foi
each golfer. Or as Mage said, "In.
diana blew everyone away." LeClai,
had milder words of praise, but saic
"Indiana has a super team this year."
Leading the way for Michigan':
return to consciousness were juni
Melissa Bauer and Terri Mage. Bau
fired 80-78-79 for a ninth place fihist
and Mage chipped in with rounds of
79-81-84. Tournament Medalis1
Michelle Redman of Indiana shot F
blistering 72-77-76.
Saturday the linksters will take t<
the road again, traveling t<
Lexington, Kentucky for the Lady Cai
Invitational held next week.
a
- M
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Griddes movie greats that were
originally mistitled
*The Gridde Horror Picture Show
*The Good, the Bad, and the Gridde,
with Clint Eastwood
*Griddefinger, starring Sean Connery
*Debbie Does Griddes
*The Griddefather, starring Marlon
Brando as the man who goes from
dealing olive oil to winning free
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If you enjoyed these timeless
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Just get your ballot to 420 Maynard by
midnight Friday and you could join
the Griddefather as winner of a Pizza
Express full-tray Sicilian pizza,
Chicago stuffed pizza, or whole sub
sandwich plus a Dooley's guest pass
good for two. Mama Mia!
1. MICHIGAN at Michigan State
(pick total points)
2. Iowa at Wisconsin
3. Indiana at Ohio State
4. Minnesota at Northwestern
5. Illinois at Purdue
6. Oklahoma at Texas
7. Nebraska at Oklahoma State
8. Tennessee at Florida
9. Baylor at SMU
10. Florida State at Auburn
11. Houston at Texas A&M
12. Alabama at Penn State
13. UCLA at Stanford
14. Boston College at Army
15. The Strategic Defense Bowl: Air
Force at Navy
16. Arkansas at Texas Tech
17. LSU at Vanderbilt
18. Harvard at Cornell
19. Marshall at Furman
20. DAILY LIBELS at Stress, Flab,
and Bad Nutrition
PRE-LA
DRY
VISIT WITH ADMISSIONS OFFICERS
AND DEANS FROM OVER 80 U. S.
LAW SCHOOLS. INFORMATION ON
ADMISSIONS, PRE-LAW COURSES,
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND MORE.
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