Ilk : -E v W. v w w 8B - The Michigan Daily - Kickoff 2003 - Thursday, September 4, 2003 TURNING THE CORNER Jeremy LeSueur's career has been full of misfortune and mistakes, but the fifth-year senior is always looking forward BY COURTNEY LEWIS DAILY SPORTS EDITOR The Michigan Daily - Kickoff 2003 Power of three Can Navarre, Perry and Edwards become Michigan's offensi By Naweed Sikora Daily Sports Editor t was there before they arrived, and it will be there after they're gone. They don't know who started it, but they believe in it. The members of the Michigan secondary have a saying, a mantra: Go to the next play. "It's a mentality you have to have as a defensive back, because you might get burned this play, but you ~have to have your head ready and play the next down," safety John Shaw said. "If you don't know it, you have to learn it, because if you sit there and dwell (because) you got beat on this play, you're going to get beat again." Nobody on the secondary knows that better than Jeremy LeSueur. *Nobody has struggled with the credo more, and nobody has relied on it more. For LeSueur, those aren't just words to play football by; they're words to live by. Beginning his fifth and final sea- son at Michigan, the veteran corner- back is one of the leaders on the defense. He's coming off his best . year, one in which he solidified his role as a starter. He recorded a career-high 52 tackles and his 583 kickoff return yards set Michigan's single-season record. In the 2003 season opener last weekend, LeSueur grabbed his third career interception. "He's going to be a guy that will have some postseason honors if he has a season like he's capable of, because he has tremendous ability," head coach Lloyd Carr said. That's the kind of player LeSueur was expected to be coming out of Holly Springs High School in north- ern Mississippi. But it has been a long road to get this point, and it's fair to say he has taken the scenic route. In 1999, the talented 6-foot-1 cor- nerback was a cocky kid whose sea- son ended on a fluke injury in practice. LeSueur tore his ACL and was forced to redshirt. He lost some of his confidence after that, and he lost more as he struggled through the following season. LeSueur was a highly-touted recruit and his first two years were disappointing. But his lowest moment came in his third year. In the final minutes of Michigan's 2001 matchup with Michigan State, LeSueur all but handed the game to the Spartans when he committed a blatant personal foul on Michigan State receiver Charles Rogers. The HIGiH N~f=MFGY DF1C#- L JE. Spartans won on a last-second touchdown and the fans and media blamed LeSueur. One columnist called the play a "brain freeze," - a comment that LeSueur took person- ally because his younger brother Jeremane is mentally disabled. His struggles on the field contin- ued, and in the offseason, he was arrested for soliciting a prostitute and subsequently suspended from the football team. Of all of his problems - on the field and off - LeSueur said the aftermath of the 2001 Michigan State game was the toughest thing to deal with and that "people didn't understand" how hard it was. He admitted that it stuck with him for a long time. "You never forget that, but you've got to learn from it," LeSueur said. "There's nothing you can do about it so you have to move on." LeSueur's teammates and coach say they've seen him change a lot since his freshman year. They describe him as a much different football player and a much different guy now. "He had some adjustments to make, and he had to learn how to compete," Carr said. "He had to learn how to compete every day." LeSueur's teammates attest that he has done that. Cornerback Markus Curry said the two things that stand out about LeSueur now are his toughness and his competi- tiveness, and receiver Tyrece Butler has seen those qualities first-hand while practicing against him. "He hates to lose battles," Butler said. "To get a pass caught on him - he hates that. We worked over the summer, one-on-one. Like, I run a route and he's, 'Hey Tyrece, if I play this way, will I stop you?' Or, 'What can I do to make myself bet- ter?"' Butler added that that is a big dif- ference from the LeSueur who "came in with a lot of attitude as a TE LESUEUR FILE Position: Cornerback/ kickoff returner Height: 6-foot-1 Weight: 202 lbs. Year: Fifth-year senior Jersey No.: 21 Hometown: Holly Springs, Miss. In the opener: Last Saturday against Central Michigan, LeSueur had three tackles and a 27-yard interception. He also returned a kickoff 28 yards. Breakout year: In 2002, LeSueur started seven ga:es and recorded 17 more tackles than he had in 2001. College football is by no means a three-man game. It takes the effort and contributions of each player out on the field to build a championship-caliber team. But sometimes, having a fearless quarterback, a powerful running back and a big-time receiver could prove to be all a team needs. Michigan hasn't had a dominating combination like that since 2000, the days when Drew Henson, Anthony Thomas and David Terrell roamed the Big House field, terrorizing Michi- gan's opponents in the air and on the ground. The trio com- bined for more than 400 yards of offense per game in what has been tabbed as one of Michigan's strongest offenses in history. The Wolverines haven't beaten Ohio State since that 2000 season. In that game, Terrell caught five passes for 99 yards and scored two touchdowns, Thomas ran for a difficult 60 yards on 29 carries and Henson threw for 303 yards and ran for John Navarre Probably no player has developed as much over the past three seasons as John Navarre. Marked as a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, Navarre has taken major strides - and abuse - to be in a position to lead the Wolverines. "Development-wise, when I was young and inexperienced, I used to try and get on by raw tal- ent," Navarre said. "Once I grew into the system, I realized that there is much more than that. Once I matched up the mental part of my game with the physical, things started working for me, and I was able to do my job consistently and do what's expected of me as a Michigan quarterback." After his sophomore season in 2001, in which Navarre struggled to finish with a 53 percent completion rate, many people ques- tioned his composure and versatility in the pocket. His decision making in pressure situa- tions came under fire, as did his ability to look off receivers and read the defense well. Of course, following Drew Henson would be ., difficult for any quarterback. Last season, under the tutelage of new quarter- backs coach Scot Loeffler, Navarre proved he had the ability and drive to improve, as his stats increased across the board. And with Perry slowly emerging as a solid option in the backfield, Navarre had more time to move in the pocket and follow through on his passing attempts. "He has been absolutely instrumental in my development in the last two and a half years," said Navarre of Loeffler. "We work hard. We study film and the offense just as hard as anybody. He has been a great help and a great friend." Navarre averaged 20 more passing yards per game last season, finishing the season on a very high note in the Outback Bowl where Michigan defeated Florida 38-30. Navarre threw for a career-high 318 yards and one touchdown in that game. Brimming with confidence, Navarre will not only bring talent his talent to the table this season, but experience as well. "Navarre, make no mistake, is tough mentally, physically, and he's talented and smart" Carr said. "I don't know what else you need." With the powerful offensive line Michigan could boast this season, as well as strong perform- ances by Edwards and Perry, Navarre could bring the Wolverines back to the top of the Big Ten, and possibly the nation. * TONY DING/DaLily Veteran cornerback Jeremy LeSueur hopes to make his last season his best. After a tumultous start to his career, he has earned the respect of his teammates. a touchdown with just ter to secure the win in Over the past two se signs of development Braylon Edwards bei three?" Each has show: capability to lead a sta the year Michigan's of style of 2000? Chris Perry freshman." But dropping the attitude and playing hard all the time have not been the biggest lessons of LeSueur's Michigan education. "How to handle adversity, being a man, just growing up and just tak- ing on life - that's the best thing I've learned," LeSueur said. Butler, another fifth-year senior, said even though he likes to tease his classmate about his lingering Mississippi accent, LeSueur has come a long way from the "country boy from Holly Springs (who had) never seen much." "He was almost like a little kid, but now he's grown up into a man," Butler said. "He's a Michigan man, and everything he does, he thinks first. He's a guy I like." It was Jeremy LeSueur the boy that let down his teammates and embarrassed himself and the pro- gram. It is Jeremy LeSueur the man that Curry called a leader on the team and Jeremy LeSueur the man that the coaching staff relies on in big games and on crucial plays. For a while, it looked like LeSueur's career would be defined by one bad play, so having the trust of his coaches means a lot to him. "That's a really good feeling. You always want to have the coaches behind you and know everything is going good." Like the rest of the secondary, LeSueur likes to look forward rather than backward, but when he does think about his career, he doesn't dwell on regrets. "I never thought it would be easy," he said. "You know, you never know what the future holds and everything (happens) for a rea- son, but you learn from it and you move on. I'm glad I came here, and I'm glad I made that decision. I just learned from it." LeSueur certainly couldn't have predicted the challenges of his first four years, but he does picture an ideal way for his last year to play out. "Just getting to the mountain - the national championship. Just tak- ing it one game at a time, winning each game, and it comes down to that game. Yeah, it would feel real good. Just learning from what you've been through and just com- ing out at the end on top." LeSueur is still pretty far' from the summit - the Wolverines have played just one game - and it's a rather imposing mountain. But then, Jeremy LeSueur knows something about long, hard climbs. Bra Bray fans ex ability take was Edwa jersey, I in Mich which 1 Carr away Edwar not p like belie can. "My played obviou know Michigz tion," i said. "I number number that if I would t that nur Edwa a superl caught I yard rec Edwa in the c says th improvi ments, other a I "Johr it's goir compar son/Dav found al chemist If the Edward prove tc Secondl in the ba After years, ( on the primed for the "I thi fidence competi have an this stag There is no player whose success is more cru- cial to the Wolverines this season than Chris Perry. Since the departure of Anthony Thomas, The Wolverines have lacked any sort of a running game, and without that option, the overall offense has suffered. In 2000, Thomas rushed for 1,733 yards - an average of 144 a game - and scored 18 touchdowns. But Perry is ready for a big season. Like Navarre, the running back is com-_ ing off a solid Outback Bowl per- "I think we formance, where he set a a Michigan bowl record with four rushing touchdowns. Perry says the offensive line has improved greatly over the off sea- son, and it will be up to him to for a big Perry on Nav "Everybody up front knows what they are doing and I am better at reading defenses. So, it really depends on how I run the ball." Perry, like Navarre and Edwards, has been both brilliant and unstable over the past two seasons. His inability to find the holes and make the right move led to several frustrating drives for the Michigan offense. In the past two seasons, Perry averaged 3.8 and 4.5 yards per carry, both less than Askew's averages for the we all poised two seasons. But as Askew began to be used mainly as a year. blocker last season, Perry varre, Edwards emerged as the top rusher. and himself Carr says that Perry's speed, strength and footwork are what set him apart and make him an outstanding all-around football player. "He's developed into a complete football play- er," Carr said. "He's smart, he's very smart, and he's competitive. He's a big, strong guy who has wonderful feet, and I really like him." Another important aspect of Perry's game is that he understands his role in the offense and knows what he can do for his teammates. He says that if he can run well, it will allow Navarre and Edwards to have outstanding sea- sons along with him. "I think we are all poised for a big year," said Perry of Navarre, Edwards and himself. "Navarre is coming into his third year as a starter and Bray- Ion is coming off a great year. I'm coming off an okay year. We are all ready to go out there and prove once again that we are very good players." make things happen on the ground. "I think the reason we can be better this year is because the line is more experienced," he said. POWER STRUGGLE Michigan has lacked a formidable quarterback/receiver/running back combination since the departure of Terrell, Thomas and Henson. Can Navarre, Edwards and Perry help the Wolverines regain their offen- sive fluidity of 2000? 2000 Leaders 2002Leaders Anthony Thomas: 1,733 yds., 18 TD, 144.4 ypg Chris Perry: 1,110 yds., 14 TD, 85.4 ypg David Terrell: 1,130 yds., 14 TD, 94. 2 ypg Braylon Edwards: 1,035 yds., 10 TD, 79.6 ypg Drew Henson: 2,146 yds, 18 TD, 238.4 ypg John Navarre. 2,905 yds., 21 TD, 223.5 ypg. 2001 Leaders B.J. Askew: 902 yds,, 10 TD, 75.2 ypg Marquise Walker: 1,143 yds., 11 TD, 95.3 ypg John Navarre: 2,453 yds,, 19 TLS, 202.9 ypg 2003 Leaders Chris Perry: ? Braylon Edwards: ? John Navarre: ?