Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Sports Monday- December 9, 1991
d
'r
Trophy collection
Emtman 's desire leads to Outland and Lombardi honors
by Bob Harkins
The Daily (Univ. of Washington)
Believe it or not, Steve Emtman
originally wanted to help quarter-
backs, not.hurt them.
"I watched the Seahawks; I was a
big Steve Largent fan," Washing-
ton's 6-foot-4, 290-pound defensive
tackle said. "I wanted to be (a re-
ceiver) but mom's cooking was a
little too good."
"He'd be a great tight end,"
Washington defensive coordinator
Jim Lambright joked. "I'm not sure
you could send him deep very often,
but he'd be a heck of a blocker, and
he'd do a great job catching the short
ball."
"Mom's cooking" and working
on the family farm near Cheney,
Wash., made Emtman a big kid from
the start, ruling out the possibility
of becoming a receiver. But Emtman
didn't complain, he simply turned
his large frame into an advantage.
"I've been big all my life. I used
to be the short, fat kid," Emtman
said. "I started lifting (weights)
probably in sixth or seventh grade,
and got really serious about it in
ninth grade - it was a big part of
my life from there on out."
Proper weight training has
helped mold Emtman into one of
the nation's toughest linemen in
just his junior year. While he pos-
sesses broad shoulders and mam-
moth biceps, his leg strength has
made the biggest difference.
"So many people you see down
here (at the weight room) are doing
arm curls and stuff like that,"
Emtman said. "They're fine for the
beach and the girls, but it doesn't do
you a damn thing for football.
"That's where I got on the right
road - working on leg strength."
He leads the nation's top defense
with 17.5 tackles for loss, and ranks
second behind linebacker Donald
Jones with six sacks.
"His great statistics are directly
correlated to his desire to get to the
ball," he said. "He plays the game
upfield so much that it's really hard
to stop him."
That desire has helped make
Emtman the most recognized Husky
in the nation. He received both the
Lombardi Award (top linebacker,
offensive or defensive lineman) and
the Outland Trophy (top offensive
or defensive lineman), and has been
forecasted as the top NFL draft
choice should he leave school this
year.
But Emtman never garnered such
recognition before last season, and
that always motivated him.
"When I came out I was in a to-
tally underdog situation," Emtman
said. "I was not expected to be a
player by any means; I always had
that kind of thing drive me.
"There were always these play-
ers who were supposed to be better
than me so I just kind of had a chip
on my shoulder that I had to prove
that I could play the game - I just
went and took all my frustrations
out on the weights."
He was not highly recruited out
of Cheney High School. The only
Pac-10 schools that showed interest
were Washington, Washington
State, Oregon and Oregon State -
and even they weren't all that ex-
cited about him.
"It's kind of odd that a college
like WSU, which is an hour away,
didn't send me my first recruiting
letter until halfway through my se-
nior season," he said. "I think it had
a lot to do with not really seeing me
in a small town. I was just kind of
overlooked."
Lambright agreed with Emt-
man's assessment..
"The smaller farm communities
might have a great player every once
in awhile, but he's not going to get a
lot of ink," Lambright said. "We
saw a player who was big and made
things happen. He pushed people
around in high school, there was no
question he was good enough to re-
cruit."
But Emtman didn't want to be
remembered only as someone "good
enough to recruit," he wanted and is
still working to be the best.
"Steve Emtman is one of those
guys who's going to be as good as he
wants to be," teammate Dave
Hoffmann said. "He's playing great
football right now, but he's going
to keep on getting better and better
as he goes on and goes into the
NFL."
While the Huskies' top-ranked
defense may be loaded with talent
and leadership, Emtman is the man
all the defenders look to for emo-
tional inspiration. Once an underdog
with a chip on his shoulder, Emtman
has become the best of a talented
group of Dawgs.
N
Washington defensive lineman Steve Emtman's team-best 17.5 tackles
for a loss helped him earn the Lombardi Trophy and Outland Award.
TOWNSEND
Continued from page 3
the WLS anchor from Chicago
cover the Bulls lockerroom.
After every game, the Bulls
have a 20-minute cooling off period
before they let the media into the
lockerroom. So the media gathers
outside the door waiting to spring
in to get to who they want to
interview first. The anchor
Townsend was helping told him:
"As soon as they open the door up,
I want you to run into the door and
block everybody else off and then
push back and let us get through.
"I looked at him like he was
crazy, but he was totally serious,"
Townsend said.
As soon as the door opened,
Townsend broke through, and then
stopped allowing other guys
through. Others behind started to
shove until they realized they were
attempting to move a 6-foot-3,
228-pound muscular frame.
Townsend then went into the
lockerroom, where he helped set up
an interview with Scottie Pippen.
As a bonus for being in the
lockerroom, he got to meet
Michael Jordan. But the moment
only seemed to prove how
unknown Townsend felt on the
football team. Just as he was
releasing Jordan's hand he noticed
Jordan's eyes look over his
shoulder.
"Hey, what's up Tripp?" Jordan
said.
Low and behold, Michigan
safety Tripp Welbome and
longtime friend of Jordan was
standing right behind Townsend.
"What's up (basketball guard
Demetrius) Calip? O-Dog
(football safety Otis Williams)?"
Jordan said, continuing to
recognize every Michigan player.
"I see you met my boy Brian,"
Welborne said. All of a sudden,
Jordan had a genuine interest in
Townsend.
But as an intern, Townsend
continued to make a name for
himself. This fall, he stayed on at
the station and McLaughlin re-
warded his dedication by allowing
him to produce two video pieces.
The first was a tour of
Schembechler Hall that ran on an
October edition of the Sports
Update show, and the second was a
piece on the fifth-year seniors that
premiered at the Michigan
Football Bust two weeks ago. Both
times, he produced everything,
arranged all the interviews and
even did some on-camera work.
And along with all this has
come his success on the field.
"It's been interesting because
we've never had to cover an
intern," McLaughlin said. "I knew
he was a decent college player,
nothing special. But it's been neat
to watch this kid explode."
He also gets his share of ribbing
when he goes to the station now.
"It's the sack master," or "You
better watch out, he's making a
name for himself. He's about to
come and take one of our jobs," are
common phrases tossed around the
sports desk.
Townsend will graduate Sunday
with a degree in communication. If
the NFL doesn't come calling, he
will attend graduate school next
fall at Michigan and work with the
sports administration department
here. But first he has one more goal
to accomplish: "My ultimate goal
is to start in a Rose Bowl and to
contribute to a win in the Rose
Bowl."
The
Minatch ups
0
Billy Joe Hobert, who has engineered the
Washington offense with the poise of a
veteran, broke a Washington record by
throwing 22 touchdown passes this sea-
son and ranks 12th nationally in passing
efficiency. He is also capable of eluding
rushers with his mobility.
A vantagie:ic igan
Elvis Grbac has led the Wolverine offense
simply by avoiding mistakes. Hehasthrown
24touchdown passestoonlyfive intercep-
tions, three of which came againstFlorida
State. Grbac's ability to make the right
decision has helped him lead the nation in
passing efficiency with a 169.0 rating.
0
it s tne Kier Bs-junior Beno Bryant ana
Joe Barry. Bryant led the Huskies with 973
yards and eight touchdowns, while Barry
racked up 751 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Bryant will have added incentive to be
excited on New Years Day- it's his 21st
birthday. Matt Jones has seen most of the
action this year at fullback.
A vantage: ic ig an
KICky rowers nas neen the worunorse or
the Michigan backfield, but the Wolver-
ines have three backs each capable of
having a big game. Jesse Johnson has
greatquickness,andTyroneWheatleyhas
tremendous strength and sprinter speed.
Burnie Legette has been a constant force
at fullback.
Both teams are outstanding up front.
Washington features massive tackles
Siupeli Malamala (6-foot-6, 300 pounds)'
and Lincoln Kennedy (6-foot-7, 315). Cen-
ter Ed Cunningham, the team's offensive
captain, is also excellent
EVEN
Michigan's line is anchored by all-Ameri-
can tackle Greg Skrepenak. Matt Elliott
was an all-Big Ten selection, and center
Steve Everitt should be 100 percentfor the
first time since suffering a broken jaw
against Notre Dame.
Micnigan aoes not nave as big an eage
here as it usually does. Husky wideout
Mario Bailey is a 5-foot-9 speedster who
caught 17 touchdown passes this season,
second in the nation only to Michigan's
Desmond Howard. Orlando McKay is a
capable second option. The Huskies also
thrnw to their tinht and. Rruce Railev
A vanta ge: Cic an
The onlything separating Howard fromthe
Heisman Trophy is five days. He does itall
forthe Wolverines, delivering the big plays
when the Wolverines need them. The
surehanded Yale VanDyne is the second
option for Grbac.Walter Smith has proven
himself in three-receiver situations.
0
UUUU KAN TER/Daily
Brian Townsend (front) works with Channel 7 editor Pat Shaughnessy.
I
Michigan
Washington
Passing
Player C-A Yds TD int
Grbac 152-228 1955 24 5
Collins 15-24 135 0 0
Sollom 5-6 32 0 0
VanDyne 0-1 0 0 1
Totals 172-259 2122 24 6
Rushing
Player Att Yds Ava La
R Powers 230 1187 5.2 48
J Johnson 103 604 5.9 56
Wheatley 77 480 6.2 74
Legette 43 213 5.0 50
Howard 12 16513.8 52
McThomas 19 80 4.2 18
Washington 5 20 4.0 6
E Anderson 1 1919.0 19
Collins 3 11 3.7 5
Buff 1 3 3.0 3
Sollom 1 -12-12.0 -
Grbac 15 -61 -4.1 7
Totals 510 2709 5.3 74
Receiving
Player No Yds La TO
Punting
PIayer No Yds Ava La1
Azcona 27 1018 37.7 551
Stapleton 5 170 34.0 431
Team 2 6 3.0 61
Totals 34 1194 35.1 551
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg Lg
Howard 15 261 17.4 93
VanDyne 3 31 10.3 13
D Johnson 1 6 6.0 6
Wheatley 1 -3 -3.0 -
Ritter 0 21 21.0 21
Totals 20 316 15.8 9q
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Ava La
Passing
Player C-A Yds TD Int
Hobert 173-285 2271 22 10
Brunell 26-44 333 4 2
Bjornson 4-7 36 0 0
Barry 0-1 0 0 _0
Totals 203-337 2640 26 12
Rushing
Player Att Yds Ava La
B Bryant 158 943 6.0 65
J Barry 146 718 4.9 81
N Kaufman 67 307 4.6 19
Mt Jones 43 222 5.2 36
LJohnson 17 100 5.9 23
E Harris 15 89 5.9 14
D Turner 23 83 3.6 18
B Hobert 33 56 1.7 19
M Brunell 13 25 1.9 15
E Bjornson 4 20 5.0 9
E Huckaby 3 3 1.0 - 5
o McKay 1 -2 -2.0 -
Team 1 -13 -13.0 --
Totals 524 2551 4.9 81
Receiving
Player No Yds Lg TD
M Bailey 62 1037 71 17
o McKay 47 627 69 6
Punting
Player No Yds Ava La
J Werdel 31 1266 40.8 58
B Hobert 16 612 38.3 59
Team 1 0 0 0
Totals 48 1878 39.1 59
Punt Returns
Player No Yds Avg La
B Bryant 33 267 8.1 53
N Kaufman 8 66 8.3 16
R Hairston 4 17 4.3 8
D Hall 1 14 14.0 14
C Fraley 1 6 6.0 6
Totals 47 370 7.9 53
Kickoff Returns
Player No Yds Ava La
Next to Howard, Husky defensive tackle
Steve Emtman may be the most talented
player in this game. In addition to making
first team all-American, Emtman landed
both the Outland Trophy and Lombardi
Award. He is joined on the Husky line by
Tyrone Rodgers and Andy Mason.
Chris Hutchinson will try to establish a
strong pass rush with senior Mike Evans, a
first-team all-Big Ten selection. Tony
Hendersonand BusterStanleyhaveshared
time at nose tackle, but Ninef Aghakhan
made the mostof the opportunities created
by Hutchinson's injury.
Advantage: Washington
Dave Hoffman leads a veteran unitfor the
Huskies at the inside slot Chico Fraley
joins Hoffman onthe inside. Donald Jones
is an all-Pac-10selection,and he and Brett
Collins fill the outside slots.
EVEN
Michigan's linebacking corps centers
around Butkus Award winner Erick
Anderson. The other inside slot will be
filled by a healthy Steve Morrison, but
Marcus Walker displayed his talents dur-
ing Morrison's injury. Neil Simpson and
Brian Townsend provide quickness and
strength on the outside.
Howard 12
Wheatley 6
Alexander 3
Legette 4
J Johnson 1
McGee 1
VanDyne 1
Washington 1
Diebolt 1
373
105
56
52
18
6
1
1
0
31.1
17.5
18.7
13.0
18.0
6.0
1.0
1.0
0.0
93
22
22
29
18
6
1
1
0
0
"
T Smith
N Kaufman
J Barry
W Bailey
B Bryant
J Clifford
D Schmidt
8
7
2
3
2
1
136
119
39
39
28
11
7
17.0
17.0
19.5
13.0
14.0
11.0
7.n
40
25
20
17
18
11
7
Cornerbacks Dana Hall and Walter Bailey
have a betterchance ofcontaining Howard
than anyone since Florida State's Terrell
Buckley. Baileyleadstheteamwith seven
interceptions, and Hall, a hurdler on the
Washingtontrackteam, has speed to burn.
Thn nani_ Cam ..t_. n~sa a
r -
iviicnigan shumles persunneiun ana O TU
its backfield. Strong safety Otis Williams
and free safety Corwin Brown are the
strength of the unit, with Brown applying
the explosive hits. Senior Lance Dottin and
Dwayne Ware will play at corner. Senior
nlnid Ritter hae sakna-kfnr makinnthe hin
L-
L
Totals 30 612 20.4 93
Totals 24 379 15.8 40
I v-- I