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4E - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Tuesday, September 3, 2002
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Loeffler returns to Michigan to
decide quarterbacking carousel
By Joe Smith
Daily Sports Editor
In two months, Spencer Brinton
said he has gone from not knowing
"defenses from defenses" to feeling
the confidence he once had when
he became the first quarterback to
start for San
Diego State as a
true freshman
more than four '
years ago.
And when n
Brinton meets F
with offensive
coordinator Terryw
Malone to go Loeffler
over his progress,
he'll know who to thank for his
improvement.
In February, Scot Loeffler was
hired to replace Stan Parrish as the
new quarterbacks coach.
Since then, Loeffler has given
Brinton and the other Michigan quar-
terbacks a crash course in reading
defensive coverages and maintaining
solid mechanics in the pocket.
Loeffler has "made a huge differ-
ence," Brinton said. "He's come in
and given me a lot of confidence.
He's taught me a lot of the things I
need to be a quarterback.
"I've never been around somebody
who knows more about football in
my life."
Loeffler, a former Michigan quar-
terback who served as backup to
Todd Collins, has a pretty good
grasp of the position. After a serious
shoulder injury cost him a chance to
start for the Wolverines, he immedi-
ately worked himself into the mind-
set of a coach.
Loeffler served as a graduate
assistant for Michigan in 1998 and
1999, coaching the scout team and
playing a significant role in the
development of former Michigan
quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew
Henson.
After two years coaching quarter-
backs at Central Michigan, Loeffler has
returned to make an impact on Michi-
gan's signal-callers, who were in great
need of guidance after last season.
"Playing quarterback doesn't hap-
pen overnight," Loeffler said.
"There's a lot of new things they
have to learn. But they're coming a
long way."
Loeffler said that with the new
offense that Malone has installed,
both Brinton and last year's starter,
John Navarre, are in the "same boat"
learning and development-wise -
which should make for an interesting
summer competition.
Brinton seemed to have the upper
hand in the spring game, looking
more poised in the pocket and gen-
erating three scoring drives for a
total of 17 points - while taking a
majority of the snaps later in the
scrimmage.
Navarre, on the other hand, strug-
gled a bit, completing 6-of-18 passes
for 63 yards and mounting just one
scoring drive.
His points came on a long field
goal after Navarre failed to take full
advantage of the excellent field
position that he inherited following a
Brinton interception.
While the Michigan defense
seemed to hold the upper hand in the
game, Loeffler has prided himself on
knowing a tremendous amount about
the different pass coverages and
defenses that other teams will throw
at Michigan.
So much so, that he even surprises
Brinton.
"He pulls out these defenses that
I've never even heard of," Brinton
said. "But he's also done a great a
job of teaching us what he knows
about the position itself."
And when the decision time
comes about the starting quarter-
back, there's no doubt that Loeffler's
opinion will be trusted greatly. He
said he meets with Malone every day,
along with the rest of the Michigan
coaches, to discuss the progression
of each quarterback and to have a say
in the offense.
"Coach Malone wants us to think
of it as our offense, not just his
offense," Loeffler said.
ALL PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATION BY DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daly
Spencer Brinton (7), John Navarre (16) and Jermaine Gonzales (18) will be the trio that new Michigan quarterbacks coach
Scot Loeffler will have to decide from by the season opener on Aug. 31 against Washington.
Students now required to show
M-Cards at football contests
By Charles Paradis
Daily Sports Writer
Students will not only see a drastically different
approach to the problem of students scalping tickets,
but also an increase in Football season ticket prices
next year.
The Athletic Department announced March 15 that
student ticket prices have increased $1 per game plus a
$5 service charge and will now cost students $134.50
for the entire season. The deadline for returning stu-
dents purchasing tickets was last April. Tickets are
available through the ticket office.
In an effort to prevent scalping, the Athletic Depart-
ment also announced that those presenting student tick-
ets at the gate will also need to show their MCards.
Students will only need to flash their IDs at the gate,
but the department hopes to add card scanners at the
gates in the future.
"Right now, we will rely on a visual check," Athletic
Ticket Manager Marty Bodnar said. "Maybe in the
future, we will be using scanners, but right now just a
visual check."
Due in:part to the possible delay caused by students
having to show their IDs to gain entry, the Athletic
Department is stressing that fans will have to arrive
early to the games to ensure prompt entry.
"We always encourage everybody, students and non-stu-
dents, to get into the stadium as soon as possible," Bodnar
said. "We certainly encourage students to arrive early."
Despite the changes in policy, Bodnar said students
will still be able to bring family and friends to football
games next season, provided they take the appropriate
steps in advance. Students can transfer tickets from stu-
dent to non-student status at the ticket office prior to the
game. Students wishing to transfer tickets will need to
pay the difference - approximately $26 - between a
student and non-student ticket.
Bodnar was not sure what the precise method for
transferring tickets will be. But the ticket office will
inform students in August as to the exact procedure of
validation for tickets.
Despite decreased ticket sales last year, the Athletic
Department has chosen not to put a limit on the number
of student tickets to be sold this season. Last season,
19,600 students requested tickets and the department
considered limiting student tickets this year. But
instead, it decided to adopt the ID and transfer policy.
"We had planned for Fall 2002 to allocate 20,000
tickets for students," Athletic Director Bill Martin said.
"But as we began to discuss this plan with U of M stu-
dent leaders, many of them voiced concerns that some
students might be shut out of purchasing season tickets.
They urged us to accommodate all student ticket
requests for this season and they supported the notion of
requiring student identification. Thus, we are not going
to place a cap of 20,000 on the number of student tick-
ets available, but establish this ID policy instead."
2002 MichIgan Schedule
(Home games in italics)
Aug. 31 Washington 12:00 p.m. Oct.19 @ Purdue TSA
Sept. 7 Western Michigan TBA Oct. 26 Iowa (Hc) TBA
Sept. 14 @ Notre Dame 1:3 p.m. Nov. 2 Michigan State TBA
Sept. 21 Utah 12:10m. Nov. 9 @ Minnesotat 745'p.m.
Sept. 28 @ Illinois TBA Nov. 16 Wisconsin TBA-
Oct. 12 Penn Stat; TA Nov. 23 0.Ohio State 12:15 p.m.
DAVID KATZ/Daily
Fifth-year senior Joe Denay (No. 73) and sophpmore Adam Stenovich consult with new offensive coordinator Terry Malone on
the sidelines during April's spring game.
Replacing last season's starters
is the key to O-Line's success
By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Writer
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The Michigan offense has already
found a theme for this upcoming
season: Please be better than last
year.
Just about every position made
this rallying cry in spring practice,
and the unit that could make or
break the Wolverines' quest for
improvement is the offensive line -
a group that performed below Michi-
gan's lofty standards last season.
The unit allowed 30 sacks, the
most given up by a Michigan offen-
sive line in more than four seasons,
and the Wolverines' rushing attack
produced just 143 yards per game
- 72 yards fewer than in 2000,
when future NFL first-round draft
picks Steve Hutchinson, Jeff
Backus and Maurice Williams
manned the line.
Like last season, there is signifi-
cant turnover on the line. Stalwarts
Jonathan Goodwin and Kurt Ander-
son - the only holdovers from 2000
- are gone, and the makeup of this
year's line remains uncertain.
"Last year when times got rough,
we stuck together," junior offensive
lineman Courtney Morgan said. "We
have to step it up from our perform-
ance last year. We just know we got a
job to do."
The line's job description is sim-
ple, yet demanding: Resurrect a run-
ning game that averaged 3.6 yards
per carry last season and protect a
group of quarterbacks that desper-
ately needs time to deliver the ball,
while also learning offensive coordi-
nator Terry Malone's new system.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has
made the establishment of consistent
running attacks paramount in prepa-
ration for this season.
The running backs' goals are to
average at least four yards per carry
and to break out for more sizeable
gains - the Wolverines didn't have
one run for more than 30 yards last
season.
The offensive line has "been
improving the whole spring," tail-
back Chris Perry said. "They've been
working hard, and I think they'll do
better than they did last year. That's
really going to help us out."
If this past spring scrimmage was
any indication of the group's
improvement, the Wolverines still
have some work to do. The rushing
attack was held in check for most of
the game by the swarming defensive
line, as Perry, Michigan's leading
rusher, ran 12 times for 34 yards -
an average of 2.8 yards per carry.
"I thought our defense did a great
job of getting off the ball, and we
didn't sustain our blocks well
enough," Malone said.
"I was a little disappointed in the
way we blocked up front," Carr said.
The rushers were not the only
group that was tortured by the expe-
rienced defensive front. The quarter-
backs spent most of the day on their
heels, avoiding pressure from ends
Shantee Orr and Alain Kashama.
"We did not protect the passer as
well as we'd like to," Carr said. "I
think the truth is that there's a lot of
guys in that (defensive) front four -
about two or three deep - that are
not easy to block. There's some great
pass rushers there."
The turnover on the line has left
Michigan's coaching staff with the
task of evaluating seven redshirt
freshmen and two sophomores who
have not played in a game for the
Wolverines.
"The biggest thing is getting out
there and getting experience," senior
offensive lineman Dave Petruziello
said. "Everyone's improved and
that's the biggest thing."
Carr and Malone agree that fresh-
man Adam Stenavich has "stood out"
as a guy who is ready to play, even
though he has put on some weight in
the offseason.
"What he needs to do this summer
is work on his quickness a little bit,"
Carr said. "Because he put on
weight, he's not as quick as he was
last fall. But Adam's going to be a
good football player."
Malone, who coaches the offen-
sive line along with his duties as
coordinator, said that junior Tony
Pape has impressed him this spring
and will be an "anchor" for the line
this season. Morgan has also raised
some eyebrows with his strength and
athleticism and has moved to left
tackle for the moment to add some
much-needed depth.
"Athletically, Courtney gives you
something in terms of being able to
protect the passer," Carr said. "And
that is an issue for us with a left-
handed quarterback and two right-
handed quarterbacks."
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