4 4E - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Tuesday, September 3, 2002 a . 't . :# . ' < : '< ,' ' . i. >s:: .$"' }s: sek : t4 4 {c° . ?% :.. 4as t 4 ' K t '° 1 4 404 'i.4 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 4" A446' '- b'y ~ s/4 ' '49 4~ X"7 44 >~<<444v'~~t%'4'AA 2 /% ,44. ,~:4, :4.44%:4K4/K ' j 44.. '<9 '" C> F" '" $~A<'4 44<,4 ~'>4~A4A . Sports Apparel & 3 "iftwear Nike Apparel 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." * Over 10% of all sales at the Michigan Union & Pierpont Commons Bookstores go back to support U of M student services. * The Michigan Union & Pierpont Commons Bookstores are the only book stores contracted by the University of Michigan. * A wide variety of our best selling items like gifts and apparel for all students, alumni, family, friends and kids available for purchase on-line.