Th ichigan Daily. -, Kicko k -- Friday, Sep em er 9, X74

~~8-Th~~ichganDail Kikofq. -Fridy, eptenbe Thdichga74a0l

0_

ThlicllYigan' Daily

Don't let this man scare you
By RACHEL BACHMANI
M att Dyson's Crazy} fft'x
Bunny is wrapped up fSv {xi'<f.frf4r
tght. It sits in his
apatment stuffedbo straight
ahead, head cocked unnaturally to
one side-- waiting to become the i
topic of conversation.
"I found this belt-like thing and I}
strapped it around him like a straight'
jacket," the Michigan senior
linebacker says. "I tell everybody,
'You better leave him alone. He
might hurt you." The football
standout keeps the bunny around in
part because people expect him not
Dyson is a man who disdainsa. x'
stereotypes. To him, they are simply
a display of ignorance. "People will
give me something and they'll say,
'Oh, it looks just like you," he says,
his voice going impossibly high.r x,
"'You're just like a big o' teddy
bear.' I beg to differ. Teddy bears fx
don't eat people."
He laughs off the last comment,r
dimples appearing. You know thep
'gentle giant' cliche bothers him -
he is more than that. But, being 6-
foot-5, being sculpted by
Schembechler Hall's weight
machines, being Black, and being
"well-spoken," as TV commentators
call him, Dyson cannot escape theyr}<..
attention, or the pigeonholers. And
they cannot resist labeling him.
True, he is one of the most
dominant players on any given field
- He made the All-BigTen team as
a sophomore, the second team in
1993. This year, the Sporting News
ranked Michigan's linebackers
second in the country to Illinois',
largely because of Dyson. He is an
All-America candidate. And there is
talk of him being picked early in the
NFL draft. But football is just a
measure - albeit an important one
- of what he can do.
"My approach to things is: I can
do anything, God willing," he says,
and there is not a blink in his eye.
Shawn R. Baker, Dyson's
football coach at Maryland's LaPlata
High School, knows this about ther
man. Baker sets no limits on Dyson's
potential, but is waiting for him to
want success badly enough.
"I don't think he knew what he ,b
could do," Baker says. "Sometimes,
he didn't go because he didn't want
to hurt the kids. He just kind of sat
back, and I said, 'Matt, let's go. Get
the game over with.' And all of a
sudden came this great burst of
~ability." 'uw '"r
That ability blessed Dyson also
on the soccer field (he played every
position), on the basketball court (he
averaged 18 points his senior
season), and on the track team (he a
,,was state champion in discus, second
in shot put and sixth in high hurdles).s
"At that time, he wanted to be a n..

M'"puntg, kicking teams remain lessti

Ever since J.D. Carlson's career
with the Michigan football team con-
cluded, coach Gary Moeller has been
searching the ends of the earth for a
consistent kicking. His quest contin-
ues into 1994.
The past two seasons, the erratic
Pete Elezovic performed a majority
of the kicking duties.
Going into Michigan's opener
against Boston College, Moeller re-
mained hesitant to name a kicker be-
fore deciding on senior Erik Lovell.

Lovell successfully scored on his lone
career field-goal attempt vs. Wash-
ington State in 1993.
With Lovell performing the scor-
ing duties, Remy Hamilton, a third-
year sophomore, takes care of kick-
offs. Hamilton has just as much expe-
rience as Lovell but Moeller preferred
to Lovell against the Eagles.
The performances against BC may
have forced Moeller to second-guess
himself. Lovell missed one extra point
and nearly failed on another try.

Hamilton did not secure his position
on the Wolverines with kickoffs that
routinely fell short of the 10-yard
line.
His best kickoff went to the eight.
Another kick resulted in Michigan
recovering an onside kick inside the
Boston College 30-yard line after the
kick originally landed near the Eagles'
20.
"We'll continue to worry about the
kicking game," Moeller says. "I'm con-
cerned but know it will get better."


r

*Bagels *Pasta Salads
eMuff ins *Soups
*Frozen Yogurt eVegetable Salads
(Gise-Glace) *Fruit Salads

,0

Just as uncertain is the
aspect of Michigan's speci.
Nate DeLong and Kraig
shared duties last Saturday.I
a left-footed punter, made h
against BC after seeing no
1993.
DeLong brings impressiv
tials to the Wolverines. Si
rated him the third-best kiclk
nation in 1992 after averag
yard per punt and hitting all
PATs. Yet his performance
DON'T JUST
C
CL
Student discounts:
*FREE equipment on
*FREE beginner lessc

ORIENTAL CUISINE
625 5. MAIN ST.
(NEXT TO 5. MAIN MARKET)

eDeli Sandwiches
715 N. University

L

Nk moomp-


o r f

I

I

THAT INCLUDE
EGG ROLL&
FRIED RICE

0uI ONPW5

o .?.
, ; ...
L
'

SPECIAL
OFFER: W
Windows, t
Windows,
Webster's F
and Thesat
See your local c
more infonnatif

The nmost powserf d DOS
application ever

FREE DELIVERY!
(MIN $8.00)

4.
J
{

,The uite toolfor graph-
ics-and presentations!
Pli4:

$go

golf game

HH"'ANW(

WordPe,ecis a registered trademark of Novell, Inc All other brand or product names are registered trademarks of their respective companies @1994 Novell. Inc