4
Michigan Hall of Fame Dinner
Friday, October 2, 7:00 p.m.
Crisler Arena
$30 per person
SPORTS
Women's Volleyball
vs. Indiana
Friday, 7:30 p.m.
IM BuildingP
Page 10
The Michigan Daily
Wednesday, September 23, 1987
Dyn-o-Jmite athlete: Jj. Grant puts football before
- track and field for good times
By RICK KAPLAN
Michigan recruited a superb track
athlete out of upstate New York in
1985. He is the only person ever to
win gold medals in four different
events at the Empire State Games.
But J.J. Grant left for Ann Arbor
to be an inside linebacker.
At age 13, fate turned t h e
Liverpool, N.Y., native to the shot
put, his best field event. "I luckily
got into the shot put," Grant said. "I
was a sprinter. I injured my knee
because we hadn't had the track
resurfaced and we were practicing on
the streets. So, when they told me to
sit out, I walked over to the shot
putters and started hanging around
with those guys."
GRANT STILL holds the prep
shot-put record at the prestigious
Penn Relays with a 67' 3" toss.
Also during his senior year, he won
championships in shot put, discus,
javelin, and hammer throw at the
Empire State Games held at
Syracuse University.
Despite his diverse track talents,
Grant said he never considered
competing in the decathlon. "I think
I'd have a little problem with the
pole vault," said the 6-1, 237-
pounder.
Since disappointing t h e
hometown fans by choosing the
Wolverines over the Orangemen,
Grant has gradually increased his
emphasis on football. The redshirt
sophomore participated on the track
team in his first year, but sat out
last year to concentrate on his
academics. Grant says he will try to
go out for the track squad next
spring.
In the meantime, the Wolverine
football team is happy to have him
in the fall. Grant made his first
career start at inside linebacker last
Saturday, and he figures to be a
fixture at that position for the next
few years.
Last year, Grant was a key special
teams player. He also saw action as
a backup linebacker in nine games.
THE FORMER Parade High
School Football All-American was
expected to win a starting nod at
inside linebacker this spring, but he
felt he did not play well enough to
secure the position.
He came back for fall workouts
primed to prove he deserved the job.
But before he got a chance, he was
tripped up - literally. Grant fell
over a bag in agility drills on the
first day of two-a-day, full-contact
workouts. The accident caused him
to partially tear his left pectoral
muscle and miss all of the double
practices.
The injury disheartened Grant.
"Being hurt the day we started
putting pads on was just a terrible
feeling," he said. "I felt like I let the
team down. Right off the bat I
couldn't prove myself.
"You feel like you can't help the
team in any way. You know and
your teammates know that it's just a
matter of time until it heals. But
during the time that it takes you just
feel really useless."
MICHIGAN inside-linebacker
coach and defensive coordinator
Lloyd Carr said Grant was not
rendered useless by the muscle tear.
"He had the advantage of having a
lot of game experience - more so
than all the other guys playing
there," Carr said. "He had played a
lot (on special teams). He's a very
smart football player, so I don't
think it was a great setback."
The set backs on the opposipg
offenses must be wary of Grant's
knack for getting in the middle ova a
play. "He understands the game,"
Carr said. "At the middle linebacker
position, there are a lot pf
adjustments to formations and
checks that have to be made. He does
a great job on those things."
Grant feels he needs to do the job
more aggressively. In high school,
Grant was the subject of a story
titled: Once Grant becomes surly,
he'll be a sensation.
"Once I can go out and be a crazy
dog on the field, once I can turn that
switch on, I'll be a better player," he
said.
Rosh Hashannah
September
Reform
Hillel
Conservative
Michigan Union Ballroom
Orthodox
Friends Meeting House
1420 Hill St.
Tashlich
1429 Hill St (Old Hillel)
23rd
7pm
7pm
7pm
24th
25th
loam
9am,7pm
9am,7pm
9am
9am
I
5pm
Join your friends for a walk through the Arb where we will toss bread
crumbs into the Huron River, symbolically throwing away the year's
regretted acts. 663-3336
I
I
Advertise in
The Michigan Daily
The most
exciting few hours
you'll spend
all week.
Run. Climb. Rappel. Navigate.
Lead. And develop the
confidence and skills you won't
get from a textbook. Enroll
in Army ROTC as one
of your electives. Get the facts
today. BE ALL YOU CAN BE.
Call Captain O'Rourke
764-2400
Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY
Linebacker J.J. Grant (95) sets his sights on Notre Dame's Tim Brown. Grant made his first start of the season last week against
Washington State.
Griddel
Following the New York Jets'
defeat of the New England Patriots
on Monday night, the NFL Playersi
Association called its 1,600
members out of the locker rooms
and onto the picket line.1
The major issues which divide;
the owners and the players are
economics, free agency, and, yes,
last week's Griddes.
It seems that player
representative Gene Upshaw and the
executive director of the NFL
Cause of NFL
management council Jack Donlan
both participated in last week's
Griddes. Not only did they play, but
they finished in a virtual first-place
tie. Both, however, were disqualified
because their picks were identical,
and foul play was rumored.
Meanwhile, U.p s h a w
commented that the, NFLPA had
offered to give up all claims to free-
agency if the owners would admit to
copying Upshaw's Gridde picks.
I,
ARMY RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING
CORPS.
. i I
"That Domino's pizza coupon means
more to me than any free agency,"
he said.
Things may be looking up,
though, as the Griddes staff has
decided to put an end to the strike.
They are presently reviewing the
situation on instant replay.
1. Long Beach State at
MICHIGAN (pick total
points)
2. Florida State at Michigan
State
3. Missouri at Indiana
4. Kansas State at Iowa
5. Central Michigan at
Minnesota
6. Ohio State at Louisiana
State
strike
7. Northern Illinois at
Northwestern
8. Notre Dame at Purdue
9. Ball State at Wisconsin
10. Nebraska at Arizona State
11. Auburn at Tennessee
12. Miami, Fla. at Arkansas
13. Georgia Tech at Clemson
14. Arizona at UCLA
15. Penn State at Boston
College
16. Pittsburgh at W. Virginia
17. S. Mississippi at Texas
A&M
18. Alabama at Vanderbilt
19. E. Michigan at Kent
I
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4
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20. Edinboro at
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mass meeting
OMING
':30
UNION
Major Events presents REGGAE!
AND THE
4 "Pressure Drop"
4 "Monkey Man"
4 "Funky Kingston"
t "54-46".
< ieig __y__GG 4 s1 ,
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SEPTEMBER 22, 23, 7
UAC OFFICES
Just ask when ordering!
Now's the time to try that
extra topping you've been
thinking about - it's FREE
when you order two or
more toppings. Great pizza
Watch for Domino's Pizza's
First Super Sunday
Coming Sept. 27, 1987
Details in Friday's
Michian rDail Sent .! 5197
2ND FLOOR MICHIGANl
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