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4C - The Michigan Daily - KICKOFF 2001 - Thursday, September 6, 2001
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Thursday, September 6, 2001 - KICKOFF
Mistakes cost 2000 team
the prize that it coveted
The General
OFFENSIVE LINE
SECONDARY
Michigan head coach Lloyd
Carr is going into his seventh
season at the helm of the
Wolverines and few coaches
have been more successful.
Carr's accomplishments put
him at the level of Michigan
greats.
His record in his first six sea-
sons gives him the seventh
best start for a head coach
in Division I-A history. Here's
a quick briefing of his stats.
Overall record: 58-16 (.784)
Big Ten record: 37-11 (.771)
Bowl game record: 4-2
Against the top 25: 23-10
Against the top 10: 11-1
National titles: 1 (1997)
Big Ten titles: 3 (1997,
1998-t, 2000-t)
Players drafted by NFL: 30
Average final AP rank: 11
Against Ohio State: 5-1
By Jon Schwartz
Daily Sports Editor
When the 2000 season started, the
Wolverines were loaded. Offensively,
Michigan could boast having an all-
world wide receiver in David Terrell,
an exceptional quarterback in Drew
Henson, Anthony Thomas, who would
become Michigan's all-time leading
rusher in the Wolverines' Citrus Bowl
victory and an offensive line that
would graduate four members to the
NFL.
But in the end, the Big Ten
Championship that the Wolverines
claimed despite a 6-2 conference
record (9-3 overall) was not enough to
quiet the critics who expected more.
Losses to UCLA, Purdue and
Northwestern by a combined total of
seven points spoke louder than the 58-
0 drubbing of Indiana, the 14-0
Michigan's N
Drew Henson
Northwestern
loss, a loss
that cost the
Wolverines a
Rose Bowl
bid.
FILE PHOTO ijsiu ii < _.
shutout against Michigan State and the
now annual wins over Wisconsin and
Ohio State.
And the Wolverines proved that any
errors can turn a season on its head. Be
it a late-game interception throw by
Henson's backup John Navarre at
UCLA, poor clock-management and
even poorer field-goal kicking at
Purdue or an Anthony Thomas fumble
on what would have been an insurance
touchdown against Northwestern, mis-
takes killed the 2000 Wolverines.
The team continued its recent bowl
success with the 31-28 squeaker over
Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, but had.to
watch Purdue fall to Washington in the
Rose Bowl, a game that many expect-
ed Michigan to play in.
The Citrus Bowl also marked the
last time that Terrell, Henson, Thomas
and the stars of the offensive line
would suit up in maize and blue.
Carr
After losing Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, Maurice Williams an
David Brandt to the NFL, Michigan has some serious reloading tc
do along the 0-line.
But, this is*Michigan, so replacements are ready and waiting to
step into starting roles and excel.
Jonathan Goodwin #78: Wondering who's the only return-
ing starter from last year's front wall? Look no further
than Goodwin, who is the starting left guard this year.
Goodwin will have to be a leader at least early on, as
the four new starters may take a game or two to devel-
op some chemistry.
Questions abound as new season starts
By Jon Schwartz }<
Daily Sports Editor 9
d Michigan returns a number of experienced players in
o the secondary. Whether or not this is a good thing is
entirely debatable.
After getting torched time and again last year,
Michigan has to pray that a year older and a year
wiser means a year better.
Cato June #2: Every Michigan fan can breathe a sigh
of relief, now that June is returning to his spot at
free safety. A unit that lacked any semblance of
leadership last year now has a certified headhunter
back in the fold.
Jeremy LeSeuer #21: After sustaining a knee injury in
his freshman year and showing flashes of skill last
season, LeSeuer rang in the 2001 season with a
crucial endzone interception of Miami (Ohio) quar-
terback Ben Roethlisberger last Saturday.
Ernest Shamor #15: There's no guarantee that Shazor
will even see any playing time this season.
Regardless, the freshman is arguably the top sec-
ondary recruit in the country. After what happened
last year, at least fans know that the secondary has
some hope for the future.
When last year's football season
ended in the Citrus Bowl, the Wolverines
were left with a few questions to answer.
Would wide receiver David Terrell
stick around? Could the team count on
having Drew Henson at the helm?
Would Michigan make up for the mis-
takes of the 2000 season?
These days, only one question is left to
answer. Terrell did the predictable. He
joined Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus,
Maurice Williams and Anthony Thomas
in the NFL Draft.
Also, Henson threw a bit of a curve-
ball when he decided that what he really
wanted to do was focus on hitting the
curveball. And the fastball, slider and, on
some days, the knuckleball.
About the only one not taken aback
when Henson announced his intention to
join the New York Yankees was
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr.
"Drew's decision was not surprising,"
Carr said at Big Ten Media Day in
August. "I want to be very clear at this
point that I respect Drew for what he did,
the way he handled everything."
Unfortunately for the Maize and Blue,
that one remaining question becomes
about 15 pressing queries when eyes
gaze at the week-old Michigan season.
Is John Navarre ready to stand under
center and lead the team? Will he be the
quarterback that threw four touchdowns
against Bowling Green last year or the
one that went 1-11 in the second half at
UCLA and threw a pivotal interception
that gave the Bruins the win?
Will running backs B.J. Askew and
Chris Perry be able to step in'and put up
numbers comparable to Anthony
Thomas' last year?
Kurt Anderson #71:
Anderson is new to the
starting lineup, taking over
the center spot from
Brandt, but the fifth-year
senior certainly is no
stranger to the lineup.
The 6-4, 299-pound behe-
moth played three games
at offensive guard last.
year. He now shifts to cen-
ter to anchor the 0-line.
Demetedus Solomon #74:
Solomon, like Tony Pape,
was a blue-chip recruit
three years ago. This year,
he will bookend Pape as
the starting right tackle.
At 6-6, 297 pounds,
Solomon can block out the
sun. Michigan will be
thrilled if he squashes a
few defensive ends this
season.
. *:.:................:.m
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Junior running back B.J. Askew will shoulder the load for the Michigan offense.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Michigan's deep defensive line, sacked last year with the loss of
Jake Frysinger for the season, should get more pressure on oppos-
ing quarterbacks this time around.
Is a young offensive line capable of
protecting Navarre the way that last
year's line kept trouble away from
Henson?
Is the defense as good as people are
saying? Wasn't it the among the worst in
Michigan history just a year ago?
"Every year you know as a team that
certain parts of your team are going to be
in question," Carr said. "A year ago there
was a tremendous question mark about
the (defensive) secondary. This year the
question marks, because of our losses
offensively, are in the offensive line and
with some of the other positions where
we lost players. That's just part of every
year. You understand that there are ques-
tion marks and I think that motivates
you."
There's no doubting that the team has
tremendous talent. The questions lie in
the inexperience. And for many players,
any experience gained last year is going
to have vast importance as a confidence
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builder for the new season.
Navarre got three and a half games
under his belt last year when Henson
was injured. He had some success, some
very visible difficulty, but he strongly
believes that it's prepared him well to
lead the team this year.
"My confidence is much higher than a
year ago," he said. "As far as preparation
and knowing what to expect, it is a total-
ly different feeling this year as opposed
to last year."
Likewise, Perry saw the ball more
than he expected to last year. And it has
him feeling ready for this year.
"If you're going to take over a posi-
tion, you have to be confident," Perry
said.
As for the defense, it's hard to predict
too much based solely on one game. The
players are solid and the experience is
there, but it's all about the execution. A
year ago, the total defense ranked sixth
in the Big Ten, 74th nationally. Those
numbers have to improve significantly if
the team is going to contend for the Big
Ten title.
"Coach Carr always tells us that you
have to have a good defense to win
championships," standout senior line-
backer Larry Foote said. "Last year we
learned that. We had some games we
should have won because the offense
was doing well and we let them get away.
"As a unit we met a lot over the sum-
mer to get ready for this year and when
we get into games, we want to make sure
we keep the lead.."
This year's schedule sees Iowa and
Minnesota replacing Northwestern and
Indiana. And the slate will test the
Wolverines quickly with the game at
Washington on this Saturday. The
insanely loud Husky Stadium (nick-
named "The House of Pain") is often
considered among the toughest places in
the country for visitors to win, with
Washington taking 42 of its last 47 home
games.
But Perry is not concerned.
"They get real quiet after you score."
Jake
Fryskger #99"
Frysinger's
return should
solidify
Michigan's defen-
sive line. His experi-
ence was missed last
year after he went down
in the opener against
Bowling Green.
Going into the Miami
game, Frysinger hadn't
played a game in almost a
year. If he can stay healthy
this year, Michigan's
defense should improve
across the board.
Norman Heuer #90:
Haven't heard of Norman
Heuer? Maybe that's
because he changed his
last name from Boebert
before this season.
Whatever you want to
call him, he started two
games for Michigan last
year, including the.
Citrus Bowl.
In his nine career
games, the redshirt
sophomore has recov-
ered three fumbles,
tying him for the Big Ten
lead last year.
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MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Dan Rumishek #92: Rumishek started 10 ofj
Michigan's 12 games last year. In the process, he
recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and record-
ed 28 tackles.
The fifth-year senior was named M ichigan's top
defensive lineman in 2000 en route to earning his
second varsity letter.
Shantee Orr #53: The redshirt sophomore started three
games last year and played in all 12. Last year, Drr
compiled 20 tackles and one sack.
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