0 19ML , 0 0 16 - The Michigan Daily - Kickoff '99 - Thursday, September 9, 1999 Thursday, September 9, 1999 - THE SCOUTING REPORT Will '99 be a Brees for Boilers ?0 PURDUE By Rick Freeman and Josh Kleinbaum OFFENSE Offensive Line: Could be Michigan's greatest strength. The line returns Steve Frazier, David Brandt, Steve Hutchinson and Jeff Backus, who have played 12 games with each other. Hutchinson is a preseason All-America candidate and was elected as a tri-cap- tain. The line has, in effect, seven starters since Jonathan Goodwin and Maurice Williams (both of whom may have started) have been barred from doing so as punishment for their involvement in the K-Mart thefts. Both saw significant playing time against Notre Dame. Frazier played most of the Notre Dame game at center, but said he and the other guards can rotate at any of the three positions. Tight Ends: Could be Michigan's greatest weakness. Very little experi- ence among the three main candi- dates. Shawn Thompson played most of Saturday's game, and made a cru- cial catch on Michigan's final drive.. Bill Seymour also saw playing time. Running Backs: Michigan is deep - on paper. The Wolverines have six true freshmen, and of their upperclassmen, only Anthony Thomas has been used as a workhorse back before this sea- son. He will be spelled more often by Walter Cross. Aaron Shea - a convert from tight end - has settled in to his new role. He will be spelled by sopho- more fullback Evan Coleman. Receivers: On a team that sometimes has torediscover the forward pass, this position could be full of sleepers. Marcus Knight somehow manages to be often overlooked but has soft hands. David Terrell and Marquise Walker (both recruited by Drew Henson, by the way) have plenty of ability, although Terrell has seen more action. DiAllo Johnson, the hero of last season's Citrus Bowl, and Ricky Bryant are capable backups. Quarterback: C'mon. You know what these guys can do. But Brady showed an even-keel confidence against the Irish, particularly on the first and last drives of the second half - both of which ended in touchdowns. Henson may have more raw talent, but Brady has started the past 14 games for Michigan, and 11 have been victories. Should Michigan's quarter- back question be settled by an injury, the backups are Jason Kapsner (3-for-5 career at Michigan) and Mark Bergin. DEFENSE Defensive Line: An experienced bunch. Rob Renes has started 26 straight games, and always seems to find a way to get his hands on the ballcarnier. Josh Williams and Eric Wilson join him on the front line. Pat Kratus has been an able backup. Linebackers: Michigan uses an atypi- cal approach to its linebackers - smaller, quicker linebackers play up the middle and the big, strong guys play on the outside. So Dhani Jones and Ian Gold, who total a measly 438 pounds, are the inside linebackers, with James Hall and first-year starter Grady Brooks - totalling 507 pounds - on the outside. They're quick up the middle, and Hall is a beast on the out- side. Brooks is the weak link, but, after getting a few games under his belt, should be more than able. Larry Foote By T.J. Berka Daily Sports Editor The scariest part of October usually falls on the last day of the month. When Halloween comes, ghosts and goblins come out to frighten the mass- es. But as scary as any ghoul - or for that matter "The Blair Witch Project" - may be, it has nothing on Purdue's October football schedule. Oct. 2, at Michigan. Oct. 9, at Ohio State. Oct. 16, Michigan State. Oct. 23, Penn State. Oct. 30, at up-and- coming Minnesota. "This season presents a heck of a challenge, that's for sure," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. Forget getting stuck in the woods. Getting stuck with the Boilermakers' schedule is enough to drive someone to feverish insanity. But Purdue isn't cowering in the corner, wishing it could skip the Wolverines and Buckeyes for a third consecutive season. Instead, the Boilermakers are hop- ing to use the schedule to prove that the last two seasons - in which they had two nine-win seasons and Alamo Bowl victories - were not flukes. "I can't wait to play those teams," safety Adrian Beasley said. "I'm look- ing forward to proving that Purdue can be one of the best in the Big Ten." The Boilermakers have the best quarterback in the Big Ten - and per- haps the nation - in junior Drew Brees. Brees tore up most of Purdue's indi- vidual season passing records last sea- son, completing 361 passes for 3,983 yards and 39 touchdowns. "The strength of team is the offen- sive line and the guy who lines up behind center," Tiller said. Purdue looks to put much of its hopes this season on its Heisman Trophy candidate, and Brees isn't shy- ing away from being the focal point of the Boilermakers. "I have always wanted to have center stage," Brees said. "When I was younger, I was called a ball hog because I always wanted to have the ball." While Brees has learned how to share the ball with his wide receivers, the Boilermakers would like to see him hand the ball off to his running backs more. J. Crabtree and Dondre Johnson did well in their limited rushing opportuni- ties, combining for 1,127 yards and averaging 4.3 and 4.5 yards per carry, respectively. Due to this, Tiller wants to make sure that Purdue's running game can take pressure off of Brees when neces- sary. "In 1999, I think its possible that Drew could throw for fewer yards than in 1998 and we could still be a better team," Tiller said. Along with an increased emphasis on running the ball, Purdue also acknowledges a need to increase defensive pressure. The Boilermakers lost their two main pass rushers, Roosevelt Colvin and Chike Ofeakor, to the NFL, leav- ing the defense a question mark. But Purdue is excited about sopho- more Akin Ayodele. Ayodele, who was recruited by Purdue but spent last sea- son at Coffeyville Junior College, wowed the players and coaching staff during spring practice. "Ayodele was great during spring practice," said all-America candidate Beasley. "He could step up and be a real key to this defense." Even with Ayodele, the Purdue defense has its hands full trying to emerge from the shadow of its power- ful offense. With the losses to graduation and the skill level of the offense, Tiller knows what will lead Purdue in the early going. "The defense does have some catch- ing uptto do," Tiller said. "We are going to have to score a lot of points early until the defense figures things out." If the defense does figure things out, playing Purdue could be a very scary proposition. B O I L E R 6-2 Big Ten, 9-4 overall defeated Kansas State, 37-34 october arbor OFFENSE QB LT LG C RG RT TE RB WR WR WR Drew Brees Matt Light Gene Mruczkowski Jim Niedrach Chukky Okobi Brandon Gorin Tim Stratton Dondre Johnson Vinny Sutherland A.T. Simpson Randall Lane SPECIAL TEAMS K Travis Dorsch P Danny Rogers __ _ DANA LINNANE / Daily Wide receiver Marcus Knight wasn't able to stay inbounds in the end zone against Notre Dame on Sunday, but he'll get plenty of chances throughout the season. FANTASY FOOTBALL FANS! and Eric Rosel will both see playing time off the bench, particularly in Lloyd Carr's '34' defense.. Defensive Backs: Suspect so far, but with definite potential to solidify. James Whitley returns at corner, and X N 4~t NNWj SCORE DIG WITH MY FOOTBALL DAILY AT Ratenews.com This one of a kind service gives you complete updates of NFL player news delivered daily to your e-mail. My Football Daily will put you inside the huddle so that you can make the right roster moves. Best of all - it costs you nothing!. " Our staff of top NFL beat writers are there to report fantasy football news as it happens. * Customizable reports to track just the players on your roster. " The Sunday morning news update prepares you for crucial game day decisions. * All servios provided free of charge to you, the die-hard NFL fan. Sign up today at www.rotonews.com 0 (Hong Kong Style) cafetens 510 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor, MI 48 cQ CD B7 e77C 1'dL '7e n £ 8104 BUSINESS HOURS Mon. - Sat. 11a.m. - 10p.m. 1 NSundaypa 12 Noon - p.m. Tel: 747-6662 Fax: 747-6620 DeWayne Patmon and Tommy Hendricks return at safety. Patmon made several quality tackles in crucial situations against Notre Dame. The real question is the open cornerback spot - Cato June and Todd Howard will compete for playing time. SPECIAL TEAMS Placekicking: Hayden who? Jeff Del Verne made four field goals from between 21 and 37 yards Saturday, including a 28 yarder soon after miss- ing a 26-yard chip shot, which shows his confidence. Hayden Epstein, the highly-touted full-scholarship kicker, is still recovering from a knee injury that threatened to sideline him for the entire season. His four first-half kick- offs all went for touchbacks, but two in the second half were returnable. His lone field-goal attempt hit the left upright from 51 yards away - not a difficult length for him in practice. Punting: Left with less than the usual 15 yards, punter Cory Sargent man- aged to get away a punt with no prob- lems while pinned deep in his own end zone Saturday. His three punts aver- aged 48 yards. When healthy, Epstein also serves as a punter, and took over the starting job at the end of last sea- son. If Sargent returns to last-season form, Epstein would likely take over punting duties. Henson has shown an ability to punt, and would make fourth down very interesting if he were the regular punter. Returners: Lloyd Carr has several options for kick returners - the key is holding on to the ball. Fumbled kicks plagued Michigan all last year, to the point that Michigan's best play was fre- quently letting the ball go. On punts, Knight will be the primary returner. He has decent speed, but isn't all that elu- sive, so don't expect to see him break too many great returns. On kickoffs, Carr can choose between Cross, Thomas, Terrell and June. Terrell has the most explosiveness,-Thomas is most likely to run through would-be tacklers, but Cross will be taking the most kicks. Why? Both Thomas and Terrell will see a ton of playing time in the offense, and using Cross on kick returns will help keep them fresh and healthy. DAILY SPECIAL: Sophomc Ayodele. A transfer from ( Ayodele impressed players expected to help soothe tr Chike Ofeakor along the fr GRADE: If football only co would get an A+. But the ball and play defense too. Rose Bowl contender. B+/I INDOO SO.CCE Headline: Septemnher R R 14th ;. I Qpetii Meri, W~mnie & Ged 6~ fumr~es fir $450i Leedses Nw. F rrr9 Call (734)913-4625 Calfor Details ROTOI1I SP FREE FANTASY SPORTS INFO eI EWORLPD ORTS CENTER -UW wwsnsrtsS c, T