The Michigan Daily - SPORTSMonday - Monday, November 15, 1993 - 3 0' ' '' Bunch The former Wolverine fullback comments on the NFL, and reflects on his years in Ann Arbor From 1987 until 1990, the block- ing of fullback Jarrod Bunch was a big reason for the success of Michi- gan tailbacks Leroy Hoard, Tony Boles, and Jon Vaughn. In the 1990 NFL draft, Bunch was .the first pick of the New York Giants. In the two-and-one-half years since then, he has become the Giants start- ing fullback. Recently, the Daily's Jared Gerstenblatt talked with Jarrod Bunch abouthiscollege career with Michigan and his experience in the NFL with the Giants Daily: Do you enjoy playing with the New York Giants? Bunch: Yes, I enjoy playing here. It gives me a great opportunity to do a lot of different things besides foot- ball. I enjoy my role on the team. It has given me more things and more opportunities to do as a fullback than I had at Michigan. For example, I get to catch the ball out of the backfield, do a little bit of *running, and it's a much more diver- sified role than at Michigan. D: How do you compare Rodney Hampton with some of the players you played with at Michigan like Ricky Powers? B: Well, Ireallydidn'tgetachance to block for Ricky because he was a freshman but I blocked for Jamie Morris and Tony Boles and Leroy board and Allan Jefferson. The dif- erence really is everyone on the de- fensive team is so much better than they were in college. For the pros, actually, it's not harder but it's not easier, either. It's totally different. You just have to adapt to the speed and getting your position of blocking in a position where the defender can't make the tackle. Whereas in college, a lot of times, you can really just dominate, dominate, dominate on every person or all the players on the team. On different plays you can dominate dif- ferent people. Here the key is just to get the what you would like to do. The reality is the coachesjust coach to win. If you are not man enough to take care of those things that keep you in shape and keep you mentally alert to play the game, you'rejustgonnabe moved 'This Is your job. There Is nothing else that you have to do while football season is in. This is your job. This is what is paying the bills for you and what you would like to do. The reality is the coaches just coach to win. If you are not man enough to take care of those things that keep you in shape and keep you mentally alert to play the game, you're just gonna be moved on.' defender to your side of the block to make sure that he does not make the tackle. Sometimes you get the knock- out shot and some other times they are moving so quickly that if you can get in front of them and just block them from getting the tackle, you have done your job. D: How do you think the coaching compares from Michigan to the Gi- ants? B: It's totally different because in the college ranks you're a college athlete and the football is really an extracurricular activity besides the school. Here, football is your job, youroccupation. In college, there were coaches and coaches' assistants that tried to make sure that they could work around your schedule, make sure that you had time to get to a class if it was late at night or to get to a study hall or something like that. Here, it's your job. You're a grown man. This is your job. There is nothing else that you have to do while football season is in. This is your job. This is what is paying the bills for you and on. In college, the coaches, they try to work with you and make sure that, as much as possible, you can stay up on your books and the classwork as well as learning the game plan for that coming week. D: How would you compare (new Giants coach) Dan Reeves and (pre- vious coach) Ray Handley? B: I really don't even know, be- cause, to be honest, Dan has come in and taken over so much. It's so posi- tive that we have really just forgot about the last two years. The only thing we remember about the last two years is that one year was 8-8, the other was 6-10. He has changed so much and has made it so positive for us here that we don't even try to think about the previous years. D: How is Reeves' style and phi- losophy different from othercoaches? Is he more intense or laid-back? B: As a coach, no.'That is the big- gest difference that I have seen from college to pro in the coaching style is that, like I was telling you before, itis an occupation and it's their job, it's your job and there is not too much hollering, period. There is no hollering because these are grown men. We're grown men being coached by grown men whereas in college you have young men being coached by men. The difference is, you know, there are some coaches on the staff that are younger than some of the players. Players have been playing for 14 years. Phil Simms is 37 years old. We have coaches on the team younger than 37. But there is no hollering because you're a man, they're a man. Their job is to put you in the right position. Your job is to do everything you can to win by doing what the coach tells you to do. If you have a problem with what the coach tells you to do you can say it. You can say, "Listen, I think that this would work better." You have that option to come to him as a man and talk to him about it. In college, the coaches told you to do this because they've been around for so long. They've been in the game for so long and you're a young adult, some- times coming from all over the coun- try. You may be 18, 19 years old, 20 years old, 21 years old where you are still learning. 'Sometimes they are moving so quickly that If you can get in front of them and just block them from getting the tackle, you have done your job.' D: Do you keep in touch with anybody from Michigan? The play- ers or the coaches that you see around the league? B: The players, I see around the league, yes. As a matter of fact, Chris Calloway plays for us, and Bobby Abrams played for us the first year that I was here. Jumbo Elliot, he also plays with the Giants So in the last three years, I have played with, on this team, three other guys from Michigan that I played with at Michigan. D: Do you ever talk to any of the coaches from Michigan? B: No, I haven't, except for coach Morrison, who recruits in this area. Usually when he's in town recruiting, which is usually during the summer, I get a chance to talk to him. D: What do you think of the cur- rent Michigan team? B: Surprising, very surprising. Another surprise was that they were favored to win the Big Ten again when they lost the whole offensive line and a quarterback and some spe- cial teams players. I still thought that they would have been able to play better than they have been. What I've been reading about people leaving and quitting, it's been surprising. RYAN HERRINGTON 4 The R.H. Factor OSU-Michigan week is a reminder of family roots r my family, it is that time of year again. Sure the holidays are slowly approaching, but that is quite secondary to what will transpire next Saturday at Michigan Stadium. You see, it is the 90th Ohio State- Mich ... I mean the 90th Michigan-Ohio State game. Please, pardon my faux pas. I know this is my fourth year in Ann Arbor, but one must understand that in my family it is considered the Ohio State- Michigan game. After all, my Mom and Dad went to school in Columbus. So did my grandfather. And my other grandfather. And my great grandfather. And two uncles, two aunts, a cousin-- in fact, if one goes three generations into my family tree (the Buckeye variety, of course) he or she will uncover 15 graduates of The Ohio State University. Heck, even the Old English Sheepdog we had when I was a kid was named Buckeye. As one might believe, bleeding scarlet and grey was the only option for me growing up. I have baby pictures of myself in a mini-OSU jersey, holding a OSU football which played the school fight song. My grandfather was friends with Woody Hayes and dreamed that I would one day play football for the fiery coach (If he were still alive, I would not have been allowed to go to school in Ann Arbor). Thus, I became hooked on Buckeye football. I accepted that Woody was the greatest coach of all-time, despite the way he treated his players on the sidelines. I rooted for Art Schlichter, before his gambling problem. I cheered for Mike Tomczak, the last Ohio State quarterback to lead his team to the Rose Bowl. And, yes, even ... OK, I admit, I even rooted for Tom Tupa. So this week has always meant something special to me. Almost every year the game was played in Columbus, my family (with Buckeye in the back) would drive out from our home in Connecticut to Ohio the Friday before and stay with my grandparents, and Mom and Dad would go to the game. When we got into range of the Ohio radio stations, all you could hear was talk about the game and how the Buckeyes had the Wolverines' number that year. There was a sportcaster in Cleveland by the name of Pete Franklin who I remember most vividly. He would go into a tirade about the game, simultaneously slandering Michigan with every word that came from his mouth and poking fun at beloved Michigan announcer Bob Ufer. "Meeechigan doesn't stand a chance. Meeechigan is a bunch of sissies. Harbaugh can't hit the broad side of a barn." Alas, those days are gone. I have been converted from the dark side. I am a true blue Wolverine fan (as anyone who has seen my ankle can tell, which bears a maize block 'M' tattoo). OK, I still think Woody was a better coach than Bo, but besides, that my allegiance to OSU has died. That being the case, this game is now kind of a sticking point in my family, especially considering that Ohio State has not beaten Michigan since I enrolled here in 1990. Actually, the Buckeyes have not beaten the Wolverines since my sophomore year in high school - a 23-20 victory in what was Earle Bruce's final game as head coach. Suffice it to say, that is not something my relatives are very proud of. That, and the fact that their alma mater has not played a game in Pasadena since 1985. But this year has been radically different. It is the Buckeyes who now come into the game with the decided advantage and the Wolverines wondering what happened to all their talent. OSU fans take as much joy from seeing Michigan falter as they do from seeing their team still undefeated heading into its final regular season game. While one of the most important goals in any Buckeye season is defeating Michigan, the incentive to beat the Wolverines runs even deeper this year as a victory Saturday will send Ohio State to the promised land of See HERRINGTON, Page 8 FOR YOUR EYE EXAMS & EYEGLASSES \iclirdwn $ Calvin Klein e y e w e a r STUDENT DISCOUNTS 320 S. State St. (Located in the lower level of Decker Drugs) HOURS: M,T,TH,F 9 AM- 6PM WED & SAT 9 AM- 1PM FILE PHOTO PEAD ABOUT ;T.s. p [ _ ' MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL SPECIAL AT / s IYIs® IIIsa Ul ~IN:: .tHE N :':": rn57 Featuring: Ony Roost Beef Sandwich and Coors ight Pitchers...$325 fMD, COME PLIY 0811 FrlQL..#389 ix. .... 11 estates k 1220 S. 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