1, s °,.r" + ,.r 4B - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 27, 2006 FOOTBALL SATURDAY tISE I, nywhere Drew Tate went, But instead of leaving with a smile Shawn Crable was close and a starting job, Crable just received behind. another wake-up call. In Saturday's 20-6victory When Crable entered, Carr pulled against Iowa, the linebacker a stack of papers out of his desk and set was like Tate's shadow, who them out in front of his underachieving is wi e yought of as one of the nation's linebacker. grittiest and most talented quarterbacks. The documents ended up beingtransfer Tate's reputation didn't scare Crable, papers, and Carr offered to sign them for though - he broke through the line time Crable on the spot. after time and continued bringing Tate to Crable had never asked for a trans- the ground. fer, and was very surprised by his coach's Along with numerous knockdowns, actions. Crable posted a career-hightotal ofthree "I looked at him like, 'Man, you're a sacks to go along with a forced fumble. jerk,' " remembers Crable. "He told me How did his coaches feel about Cra- he thought I should transfer, because I ble's seemingly dominant performance? wasn't doing anything." "He's coming along," first-year line- Crable didn't know that this was a backers coach Steve Szabo said. "I traditional motivational tactic Carr had thought he could have made some more pulled with many of his players. plays tonightcthat he didn't make." "When you reach a point where a That'snotexactlytheringingendorse- guy is not cooperating, and I tell them ment you would expect after playing the I'll help them transfer, I'm serious on game of his life in front of millions on one hand," Carr said. "The message I'm television. sending them is, 'Hey, you're not going to But that's nothing new to Crable - his be successful here, because you won't do career at Michigan has been filled with the things that you told me you would do tough love. when I recruited you."' Instead of accepting Carr's offer to WAKE UP CA LL transfer, Crable took Carr's challenge to After suffering an injury before heart and rededicated himself to football. ever stepping onto the field his fresh- Before Michigan, things had always man year, the 6-foot-5 linebacker rarely come easy to Crable, a four-star recruit played during his redshirt-freshman and the No. 2-ranked linebacker coming season, either. out of high school. He realized after the He picked up just seven tackles in meetingthathe should turn his intensity nine games that season. That's a sharp upa couple notches. contrast from the 17 sacks he tallied his "A lot of what he was saying (in that senior year of high school, when he gar- meeting) was true," Crable said. "If nered All-State honors at Washington someone is telling you something you High in Massillon, Ohio. know, you can fight itor you can actually But Crable remained optimistic that do something about it. I left that meeting his sophomore season would be differ- wanting to do something about it." ent and that Michigan coach Lloyd Carr After his meeting with Carr, Crable would be eager to work him into a more consulted Sam Sword, a former Michigan active role in the lineup. linebacker and a then-graduate assistant. So when Carr summoned Crable to The conversation calmed Crable, as his office at the beginning of that year, the straight-shooting Sword informed Crable almost rushed into the office in Crable that Carr had asked him to trans- anticipation of what could result. fer when he played, too. Crable appreciated Sword's honesty, Crable's teammates were both about the transfer situation and throwing him a baby shower in anticipa- Crable's on-field performance. tion of the birth of his second child, Tay- "He'd tell you straight, tell you exact- ten, who was born a little more than two ly what you needed to do and stuff like weeks after the shower. that," Crable said of Sword. Diapers were replacing blitz schemes That brutally honest approach seems for at least one night, and, although to be the common theme for the coach- Crable's teammates were able to focus ing staff when dealing with Crable. on football the next day, the balance of Then-defensive coordinator Jim Her- football and fatherhoodbecame a reality rmann followed Carr and Sword's lead for Crable once again. with liberal criticism of Crable, who felt "Ihad a weird camp,"Crable admitted. as if he should've started as both a fresh- "I missed a couple meetings to do things. man and sophomore. The two sat down I missed a couple practices because I had midway through last season to address to see my son born. It (wasn't) really a Crable's playing time, which had picked line-up-and-play-football-and-that's- up from the previous year, but still wasn't all-you-think-about camp." where Crable felt he should be. Crable made tripsback and forth from "He told me I needed to play harder practice to University Hospital during and be better than everybody else on the camp. Since school hadn't started yet, field before I even get a chance to be on he could check on his girlfriend, Julie the field," Crable said of his conversa- Parker, and their newborn son without tion with Herrmann. "I thought maybe I having to worry about missing classes. wasn't getting a shot, or maybe it wasn't Parker, who also hails from Crable's my time. I just needed to know. hometown of Massillon, shares an apart- "We talked about what I needed to ment in Ann Arbor with him, where they work on just to get on the field. I think it also take care of their first-born child, 2- helped me a lot. I took what he said and year-old Jayvian. it got me on the field. That was the best Though the additions to Crable's fam- part - he kept his word." ily may appear to be an extra distraction And Crable kept his, too. to Crable's football career, he said Tay- He tallied 10 tackles, three sacks and ten and Jayvian actually inspire him to a pair of pass break-ups in the season's be a better player. final four games. Crable collected just "I've got to try to create a better life two solo tackles in the seven games prior for them," said Crable, a general studies to his meeting with Herrmann. major who has shown interest in educa- Crable's late-season surge put him tion down the line. "Whether it's getting in line for a starting job for this season, my degree, whether it's playing football, which he solidified this spring. Crable whether it's whatever, I've got to ensure was the lone linebacker who guaranteed that their lives are OK. himself a spot in the starting lineup in "I can't cheat them out of it because the spring, after a performance that Carr I decided not to work hard (or) decided called the best of any of his linebackers. not to do what I was supposed to do." Crable can already see a shift in his : 'III -'- ij" - maturity and thinks he's already become a It was a day before theTegmiing stronger person both on and off the field. of training camp - Aug. 5, to be exact "That's what had me playing subpar - and excitement spread throughout a earlier in my career - I was living the room filled with Wolverines. college life," Crable said. "I think this But it had nothing to do with football. situation has got me more grounded. It's got me focused on what I need to be focused on." With all of the drama and obstacles behind him, Crable has finally found his niche on the Wolverines' top-ranked defense. And even though his outgoing person- ality has caused his teammates to refer to him as one of the bigger jokers on the team, he's letting his play on the field do the talking for him, now. As a starter, Crable has made an immediate impact. He has doubled his career totals in nearly every category in just eight games as a starter this sea- son. His five sacks are tied for second on the team behind LaMarr Woodley and are already more than he had in his two prior seasons with Michigan (four). "He's stepping up big time for us," fel- low linebacker David Harris said. "You know he's agreat athlete. He can do a lot of things for our defense, and he's just stepped up his game in a big way, and he's just helping bring something differ- ent to the table." Crable's versatility has been on dis- play under new defensive coordinator Ron English. Crable oftentimes lines up on the line to create a more potent pass rush. But he can also drop back and cover receivers, too, which is surprising considering his 6-foot-5 frame. "He's a big guy, extremely athletic, probably one of the fastest lineback- ers we've had at Michigan," Carr said. "Shawn can run with the best of them. He really has come on." His linebackers coach agreed, but also added a trademark criticism at the end for motivation. "The kid is a great football player, and he's doing good things for us," Szabo said. "Ijust think with his physical abili- ties, he'll be able to do more." Do more? That's a scary thought for opposing quarterbacks. -uES I ASEY/Daily CrablechasesafterQuinn in South teed. His 6-fot-5 frame and 4.5 speed in the 40-meter dash make him a versatile member of Michigan's top-ranked defense. So far this season, Crable has a career-high five sacks, along with numerous knsckdowns and quarterback hurries.