cbe £kbidigan ailI SPORTS michigandaily. com/sports. TUESDAY OCTOBER 9, 2001 9 I Purdue loss no longer stings for Varsit Michigan opts to give # h ..%... Detroit freshman safety . Shazor redshirt season Daily Sports Writer << h h JON SCHWARTZ Getting past tough years, one small step at a time Last year, Michigan built a seemingly insurmount- able 28-10 lead against Purdue before watching the Boilermakers mount a furious second-half comeback Travis Dorsch's 33-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in regulation gave Purdue a miraculous 32-31 win which FOOTBALL ignited the Boilermakers' run to the Rose Bowl. Notebook With that contest still fresh in everyone's minds, the Boilermakers and Wolverines will square off this Saturday in an early statement game for Big Ten supremacy. Along with Ohio State, Michigan and Purdue are the only 2-0 teams in the Big Ten, so the winner of this game will have a clear leg up in the conference race. Considering what happened last season, it's easy to think that Michigan has revenge on its mind. Think again. "I think that works on an individual basis," defen- sive tackle Shawn Lazarus said at the weekly media luncheon yesterday. "Personally, I just kind of let things in the past be in the past and focus on the future." Lazarus wasn't alone in trying to downplay last year's debacle in West Lafayette. At least publicly, the Wolverines claim that they aren't out for revenge against Purdue. The loss "was last year," wide receiver Ron Bel- lamy said. "I'm just ready for this year." SHAZOR TO REDSHIRT: Anyone who watched Michi- gan play last year knew that the secondary had to be a focal point in recruiting for this season. With that in mind, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr went out and signed a top-flight group of defensive backs. Cornerbacks Marlin Jackson and Markus Curry have cracked the Wolverines' secondary rotation and should be major contributors for the rest of the season. In particular, Jackson has made quite an impression and might chal- FILE PHOTO Purdue kicker Travis Dorsch defeated the Wolverines last year on a 33-yard field goal in the final seconds of the game. Last week he earned Big Ten special teams player of the week honors for the second time this season. lenge Jeremy LeSueur for the No. 2 cornerback spot. But the man who was possibly Michigan's best sec- ondary recruit - and, arguably, the nation's best sec- ondary recruit - won't play this year. Carr announced yesterday that Ernest Shazor, a 6-4, 215- pound safety from Detroit, will redshirt this season. "We decided that early in the season," Carr said. "But, I expect him to be a great football player here at Michigan." BEING READY: Sophomore offensive tackle Courtney Morgan said Michigan offensive line coach Terry Malone repeats this mantra to all of his charges every week: "Prepare like you're a starter." But, it's been difficult at times for Morgan to pay heed to his coach's advice. Last year, Morgan - who has played all over the offensive linesince coming to Michigan - was stuck behind standouts Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus, Maurice Williams and David Brandt. With all of those players now in the NFL, Morgan appeared to have a good shot at a starting spot. But, as the season opened, he was listed as the third offensive tackle, behind fellow sophomores Tony Pape and Demeterius Solomon. On Saturday, Morgan finally got a chance to show what he can do when Solomon went down with an injury. As excited as Morgan was to be playing, it did- n't completely hit him until Sunday. "The day after, I was still in shock, like, I just played a lot," Morgan said with a smile. "Every week, coach tells you to prepare like you're a starter, so I was ready, and I went in and just played some football." Hard to believe that college basketball is quickly approaching. It seems like just days ago that the Wolverines were marred by an era that was, unquestionably, the most pitiful col- lege basketball experience that Michigan fans have ever - and should ever - know. Tommy Amaker's team is going to win more games this year than last. More importantly, he should make the program a worthwhile rep- resentation of Michigan's athletic department. But he's going to need some help. So here is one suggestion that I've come up with to return the basket- ball team to prominence - not just on the court, but also in the minds of fans. There's an open space on Michi- gan's football schedule for next year. The Wolverines weren't satis- fied with a suicidal schedule that included nonconference games against Washington, Oregon and at Notre Dame. So Oregon was dropped. If the team is looking for a pansy team to face, here's one - Duke. Sure, the Blue Devils have had Michigan's number on the basket- ball court - they've had every- one's. But the majority of the players on their football team couldn't make most high school All-State lists. If I'm Amaker, I'm on the phone with football coach Lloyd Carr right now, begging him to schedule the game. Can you imagine the way that Michigan would bend Duke over? In case you can't, here's how I see it playing out. Duke receives the opening kickoff and goes three-and-out (heretofore referred to as "the usual," as I see the Blue Devils losing yards on more drives than they gain.) Michi- gan does the same, because the Wolverines are incapable of scoring on their early drives. But after Duke loses 42 yards on its next attempt, the Maize and Blue's offense takes form. In the next eight minutes, Michigan scores three touchdowns - two on passes to Ronald Bellamy, and the third on a 79-yard run by Chris Perry. The touchdowns are set up by a Michigan secondary - surprisingly improved after graduation - that makes three interceptions. With 7:32 left in the first half, a 21-0 Michigan lead and a Duke team that has amassed a total of neg- ative-32 yards, Carr pulls every offensive starter from the lineup. Michigan's Philip Brabbs tacks on a field goal as time expires and the head to the lockerroom for the break. Things slow down a bit in the third quarter. Duke finally gains some positive yards, which are quickly erased on a Victor Hobson 23-yard sack. But the Jermaine Gon- zales-led Michigan offense sputters, gaining only 226 yards in the entire third quarter. The only touchdown comes when Gonzales goes in to fake a punt and runs 73 yards before fumbling at the Duke 11. Shawn Lazarus picks up the fumble and runs the remaining 11 yards in just a hair under 30 seconds. Duke does the usual six more times, bringing its total to 24 for the game. Trey McDonald becomes the first punter to ever tell a coach that See SCHWARTZ, Page 10 Early signings benefit new Michigan coaches By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor New Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker knows that while he can't lose focus on the future of the program and possible recruits, he needs to concentrate on the pre- sent - in the form of his current Wolverines. And rounding out a top-10 recruit- ing class for 2002 by the end of Sep- tember will definitely help him do just that. "Certainly it gives us a great feel- ing," said Amaker about landing recruits so early. "We're very pleased with the direction and where we're heading with things. We've addressed some of our needs and are also getting quality kids, kids who want to be here, and kids that can compete on the highest level." While Amaker said that he's used to finishing his recruiting early at Duke and Seton Hall, it's not a com- mon occurrence for college coaches. The early signings will also help the new Michigan coaching staff as not only do they get a head start for the 2003 class, but they also can also put extra attention on this year's Wolverines, who have to learn a different system and grow accustomed to the coaches before the season starts in a month. Michigan doesn't start official practices until Friday night at mid- night - as per NCAA rules - but Amaker has had the chance to observe the Wolverines in workouts and conditioning over the past month and has been "pleased with their work ethic." Through all the scrimmaging, weightlifting, conditioning and indi- vidual workouts, Amaker has had time to break down his team and see where it stands without having to rely solely on tapes from last sea- son. "We don't have a lot of margin for error," Amaker said. "We need to be precise with a lot of attention to detail. We're going to have to outwork people and do all the little things." In order to prepare the Wolverines to do just that, Amaker said his challenge in these workouts is creat- ing high energy by being active and teaching "positivity" to the players while also having the proper balance of being demanding. Amaker said that while he doesn't see the Wolverines as a "run-and- gun" team, he can notice. the style of play Michigan will show on the floor this season and what it needs to work on. "We're going to have some free- dom on the floor," Amaker said. "But we'll have to use discretions with our shot selection to provide us with best chance of winning. "We're not very deep and I think it's obvious. We need to be healthy and wise out on the floor. We recog- nize the limitations when it comes to our team. We have to massage it and make our way through it." Michigan is especially lacking in the post, where the graduation of Josh Asselin has left Chris Young and Josh Moore as the only experi- enced post players. This makes the 7-foot-2 Moore's necessity to stay out of foul trouble vital to Michi- gan's success. "Josh has done well," said Amak- er about Moore's performance in workouts. "Conditioning will be a big key with him. The better shape he's in will help prevent the fatigue fouls or early fouls he had last year." In the backcourt, depth should prove less of a problem for Michi- gan, as six guards will be competing for playing time. Amaker said that junior Gavin Groninger has stepped up with a good spring and summer, and has followed it up with solid workouts this fall. Amaker said that Bernard Robin- son, who is still recovering from mono with which he was diagnosed with this summer, is "getting better, but not 100 percent." MAIZE RAGE: Now that the Maize Rage, the Michigan basketball stu- dent fan club, is a legitimate student organization, it is on a mission to make more of a presence at Crisler Arena this season - which brought a smile to the face of Amaker. "I'm so happy and pleased," Amaker said. "We can't have any- thing better than having our students support our team." And what would be his reaction when the Maize Ragers follow the Wolverines on the road to places such as Mackey Arena in Purdue? "That would be wonderful," Amaker said. "And very much need- ed." This Week In London... You could be " catching the red hot hit "Mama Mia" in the West End " shopping in Covent Garden for one-of-a-kind clothing and jewelry " sitting next to a rock star in a trendy Kensington eatery Or... . * cheering like crazy at a football match between Arsenal and Tottenham (that's soccer to us Yanks). * taking a train this weekend to Wales for horseback riding and some of the best scenery in Britain Sound good? * In many ways London is the classroom for the BU London Internship y Program. Quite aside from taking classes in Advertising, Film, Theater, Political Science or the Liberal Arts, you'll learn about England by living in London. All the while you'll be y preparing for a career when you graduate with a for-credit Internship as part of the Program. That means you'll be working in London as well as , < enjoying it to its fullest. Want to live and learn in London? / r, i / i , ffit' TM TM 1 : %wCNTACTS We deliver You sve.T v AACUVUE" . ' . Call us at (617) 353-9888 or check us out on the web at ,., : , ' 4 ,,i