0 -f kIcko '92 I Fiisy SepmbrA1,19 . . . . . . . . . . . . :' J .'. i."::.te'.'e r itc rr;,;_ f :: i.; r;",'";. :, : ........... S24 f . %s'S'r iti tri l f'{ '}i j'r''!. -:1 tea:: i ' ' "i :"tJ+f rrJ " " ' r ... rr.1' .... r:' .1..". ti:C"Lii: ,Ci;: 1Jfy ." C"i i "J. LCN:J i }:r ......":..4::..... .;r " DEFENSIVE LINE' Line adopts aggressive stance The strength of Michigan's defense should be the defensive line. Senior defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson will lead the troops for new line coach Jerry Mattison. Mattison has tinkered with the rush patterns for the Wolverines, hoping to accentuate the speed of the outside rushers. "Coach Mattison changed a lot of our stunts," Hutchinson said. "We've been doing some things to take a guy and put him in a one- on-one situation with the tackle. I think we've got a lot of speed and a lot of quickness up front." Hutchinson was an all-Big Ten selection last season, collecting 44 tackles, including seven for losses, in nine games. Last week Hutchinson was voted one of the Wolverines' tri-captains. "Everyone looks to me," he said. "In the past I was playing for other guys. This year I'm playing for Corwin (Brown), Pat Maloney and Dwayne Ware. This year I'm trying to assume a leadership role for the younger guys." The players Hutchinson will be leading are redshirt sophomore middle guard Tony Henderson and redshirt senior defensive tackle Buster Stanley. Both Stanley and Henderson started much of last season and will provide experience up front. Henderson recorded 37 tackles last season in his first season of eligibility. His best game came against Notre Dame when he made nine tackles. Stanley saw his most extensive action last season, finishing with three sacks and 45 tackles. Against Indiana, he had 11 tackles, including four for losses. Backing up Stanley is Ninef Aghakhan, who started the final four games last season. He recorded a career high eight tackles in the Rose Bowl against Washington, - The backups at tackle will be Steve Rekowski, Gannon Dudlar and Trent Zenkewicz. Rekowski Indiana Indiana has built a home in the middle of the Big Ten. The Hoosiers have played in five bowl games over the last six years, but have never threatened for the Big Ten title. They have always been an upset or two away from either the top or bottom of the league, but those upsets have not come. Last season the Hoosiers won every conference game in which they were favored while losing every time they were underdogs. Coach Bill Mallory wants to knock off one of the top teams this year. "When you talk about last year, we had a good team, but were close to being a fine football team," Mallory said. "We're close to knocking on the door, but we're not quite there. That's the challenge for this season. Our goal is to shoot for the title." Indiana will have to meet that challenge without a marquee running back this season. The Hoosiers have had the luxury for the past six years of either Anthony Thompson or Vaughn Dunbar and their 1,500-yard seasons. But the cupboard is not bare in Bloomington. Mallory has a trio of young backs poised to replace Dunbar, Sophomore Brett Law, redshirt freshman Emmett Pride and true freshman Kenyetta Williams are the leading candidates for that job. However the bulk of the offensive responsibility will fall in the lap of senior quarterback Trent Green. Green threw for l 2,462 yards last season, completing passes at almost a 60-percent clip. "We're going to throw on first1 down," Green said. "Last year, we just didn't do it. We're going to bootleg, throw the short pass and just mix it up a lot. Against Michigan last year, we got all our first downs on passes. It depends on how the defense plays us." Green's No. 1 target will be junior Thomas Lewis, who pulled down 39 receptions and six touchdowns last season. Defensively, the Hoosiers are Minnesohe New Minnesota coach Jim Wacker is hoping to energize the Twin Cities with the run-and- shoot. The Gophers went 2-9 and averaged a 14-year low 36,370 fans per game. Wacker hopes the new offense will play dividends on the field and in the stands. "When we get this offense. going, we'll light up the Metrodome like a pinball machine," Wacker said. "A dome is great for the run-and-shoot because it's always 70 degrees with no wind." Wacker comes to Minnesota from Texas Christian, where he was frequently on the receiving end of Houston Cougar offensive attacks. The Gophers can hardly do worse than last year when they were last in the nation in scoring Mattison and Dudlar have both seen playing time the previous two seasons. Zenkewicz was one of the most sought after linemen in the nation before coming to Michigan last season. However, he did not see any game action. - Josh Dubow led by junior lineman Charles Beauchamp. Beauchamp was a second-team all-Big Ten selection last season. The biggest problem will be replacing linebackers Mark Hagen and Paul Williams, who combined for 195 tackles last season. "I'd like to think we can be a championship defense," Mallory said. "We've got to win the matchup up front, which will be harder with our young linebackers. But we have to be able to handle the run to play pass defense." - Josh Dubow with 9.5 points per game. The leader of this offense once again will be senior quarterback Marquel Fleetwood. Fleetwood has a strong arm and exceptional mobility - two essentials for a run-and-shoot quarterback. "Fleetwood is a talented quarterback who has started for two years," Wacker said. "He is quick as a hiccup. The key is surrounding him with top players." Wacker will have a problem surrounding Fleetwood with any experienced players. Projected starting running back Chuck Rios was lost for the season when he suffered a major knee injury in spring ball. He will be replaced by Antonio Carter, who ran for 660 See MINNESOTA, Page 21 S may also see some action at quarterback, where he put up the best numbers in Michigan high school history. The defense is also still very young. Only two seniors are listed on the top defensive unit, but seven members are returning starters. Linebacker Rob Fredrickson was an honorable mention all-conference pick last season and hopes to add to his credentials. Cornerback Myron Bell leads a secondary that lost only safety Alan Haller. - Albert Lin KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Daily Senior defensive tackle Chris Hutchinson spearheads the Wolverine defense. Brown anchors old but u Senior free safety Corwin Brown anchors a defensive backfield full of veteran talent, but lacking in starting experience. Brown, the team's leading returning tackler, was a second- team all-Big Ten selection last season after starting all 12 games. Considered one of the hardest hitters in the league and one of the most vocal, Brown was tabbed as one of the Wolverines' tri- captains last week. "I let Corwin do the talking," said Chris Hutchinson, Brown's defensive co-captain. "He's a real emotional guy, he gets really jacked up before games." One of the biggest battles in preseason drills this fall was for the strong safety spot. Junior Shonte Peoples, at 6- foot-1, 227 pounds, apparently has won the starting job for now, by default. Senior Pat Maloney, 6-2, 194, injured his ankle and missed two weeks of fall practice. Peoples played in 11 games last season, grabbing his first careeer interception in the game against Minnesota. Maloney, who stars for the Michigan baseball team in the ntested defensive spring, has seen plenty of action Burch playe the past two seasons. last season ands Senior Coleman Wallace, 6-0, time increase co 193, wrestled the starting short the last half of t cornerback job away from 1991 Law, 6-0, 185, f starter Dwayne Ware. has been the me Last season, Wallace had five the five freshma tackles in each of Michigan's last - Law, Deollo two games, against Ohio State and Little, Steve Ki against Washington in the Rose Charles -in fa Bowl. Ware, 5-11, 193, was "We call the seventh on the team in tackles. Guns," Brown s Junior Alfie Burch, 6-2, 192, "They can all h will man the other cornerback slot, pretty good spe but he is being pressured by true he'll cover you1 freshman Ty Law. backs d in all 12 games saw his playing onsiderably over he season. But rom Aliquippa, Pa., ost impressive of an defensive backs Anderson, Earl ng and Jean-Agnus ll drills. m the Young aid of the recruits. it. They've all got ed. And Ty Law, like a blanket." - Jo/n Niyo The top 25 college football teams, as ranked by the Associated Press: Indiana quarterback Trent Green will hav Vaughn Dunbar, last year's leading rush 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. Miami Washington Notre Dame Florida. Florida State Michigan Texas A & M Alabama Syracuse Penn State Nebraska Colorado Oklahoma Georgia Clemson UCLA California Mississippi Sta N. Carolina Stal Tennessee Stanford .Ohio State .Virginia Georgia Tech Brigham Young Michigan State Heralded as the best pizza around. Or even quare 1985 Best in Ann Arbor* 1986-Best in Ann Arbor* 1987-Best in Ann Arbor* 1988-Best in Ann Arbor*' 1989-Best in Ann Arbor* 1990-Best in Ann Arbor* 1991-Best in Ann Arbor* 1992-Best in Ann Arbor's 1~ te ate Michigan State coach George Perles is back and concentrating solely on football. University president John DiBaggio forced Perles out as athletic director, and then, his job apparently done, left East Lansing to take over at Tufts. Former NCAA assistant executive director Merrily Dean Baker is the new athletic director, and it will be interesting to see how Perles is able to co-exist with her. However, taking directions may be the least of his problems. A young Spartan team finished 3-8 last season, the worst of the Perles era, and some key players departed. Courtney Hawkins, State's No. 2 career receiver, end Bill Johnson, linebacker Chuck Bullough and punter Josh Butland are all gone, but quarterback Jim Miller and tailback Tico Duckett return. Duckett has rushed for nearly 2,600 yards the past two seasons and is a postseason award candidate. Miller took the job from UCLA transfer Bret Johnson in the team's fourth game last year and gained valuable experience. He has good size and a strong arm and looks to improve on his totals of 1,368 yards passing and six touchdowns. Miller will have a big, but still young, line to work behind. Left guard Toby Heaton is a three-year starter but the smallest member of the starting five. Shane Hannah (6-foot-5, 327 pounds) and Brian DeMarco (6-7, 308) are both redshirt sophomores, while Brett Lorius (6-4, 309) is a junior. The center will be either senior Jeff Graham or another third-year sophomore, Mark Birchmeier. The Spartans' superstar-in- waiting is all-purpose threat Mill Coleman. "The Thrill" will start at flanker and return kicks, and he 11 *Michigan Daily "Best of Ann Arbor" readers' polls. Large Round or Deep Dish Pizza with Cheese and two Toppings only $8m95 I I I I I Medium Deep or Medium Round with one Topping $5.95 (plus tax) s$hto t946 - lat Iw+ Mb. One Coupon Per Person, Not accepted at William St. Restaurant or the Cottage Inn Cate. Expires: 930/92 0 1(plus Tax) Stoke 1948 One Coupon Per Person, Not accepted at William St. Restaurant or the Cottage Inn Cafe. Expires: 93092 North Campus 927 Maiden Lane 995-9101 Main Campus I 546 Packard I 769-5555 1 i _ _ _4 7 __* -a. . . -~..b., a a~,. -a - , , j , s _. I ,. . - - --,... o= . ,+.« ,- .