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to

DAILY SPORTS BREAKS DOWN THE WEEKEND THAT WAS

a

2B - October 8, 2007

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

SAID AND HEARD
"When you're in your third year in
college, you're not a kid anymore. What
I'm hoping is his maturation process will
improve here, because he is a great kid,
and he's a very, very talented guy."
- Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
on Mario Manningham

LINDSEY COTTRELL

The fifth-year senior
defender helped the
Wolverines shut out
Purdue, which has the
Big Ten's top offense.
She also had Michigan's
lone assist in a 1-1 tie
versus Indiana.

4

Searching for the real Super Mario

123-yard performance two weeks
ago against Northwestern remind-
ed everyone of
just how super
he can be.
But who is
Mario Man- x
ningham?
Is he the
speedy, domi-
nant receiver
on nearly every -
pre-season SCOTT
All-American BELL
list? Or is he -

the mysterious receiver who's been
making headlines for all the wrong
reasons?
Entering this season, it seemed
like that question should been a
no-brainer.
At Michigan Media Day in
August, Manningham was asked
what he wants to be remembered
for at year's end.
"I want to play hard every
game. That's it," he said. "That's
all I want to do - play hard every
game."
His actions, however, haven't

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exactly matched his words.
With the Oregon game all but
determined, Manningham gave
up on a deep ball thrown by Ryan
Mallett in the second half.
Incidents like that prompted
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr to call
out his star receiver, a rare lashing
that's usually kept within the walls
of Fort Schembechler.
But questions about Manning-
ham's effort have abounded since
Carr's public criticism.
Manningham has short-armed
certain passes. He simply hasn't
run at full speed on others. It's
not always blatant and it's not
happening every down, but it's
enough to be a direct contradic-
tion of what he hoped for at the
beginning of the season.
Still, Manningham's problems
extend beyond a dogged route
every now and then.
The junior watched Saturday's
game in street clothes after Carr
suspended him for one game.
It was reported the suspension
stemmed from a violation of a
team rule, but Carr refused to
confirm or deny that. Senior
quarterback Chad Henne said it
was for off-field issues, though.
And considering fellow wide
receivers Adrian Arrington
(domestic violence charges) and
Greg Mathews (kicking an oppo-
nent in the groin) each had to sit

out just an opening drive for their
respective issues in the past year,
Manningham's mystery mishap
must have been a pretty big deal.
This behavior isa contradiction
to another pre-season Manning-
ham comment.
At Michigan Media Day, the
soft-spoken receiver seemed ready
and willing to break out of his shell
and take more of a leadership role
within the receiving corps and the
team.
That desire seemed odd, since
Manningham is shy, but his team-
mates confirmed Manningham
was leading by example much
more after Steve Breaston's gradu-
ation.
"Mario's always showing people
how to work hard," Arrington said.
"That's one thing he strives to do
- he tries toset a great example
for all the younger players on the
team."
Manningham may be setting
an example for his younger team-
mates, but is it the right one?
Trailing by nine in the North-
western game, Manningham
took a lateral six yards down the
field. After being tackled near the
Northwestern sideline, he got
up and celebrated his mediocre
gain in front of the Wildcat bench
before heading back to the huddle.
Again, Michigan was down nine.
See BELL, Page 6B

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