The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom January 3, 2008 - 3C MAIZE GAUGE The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box- score. The defense-o-meter measures the intensity of the defense, the Carr-o-meter judges Lloyd Carr's demeanor following the game and the hypemeter measures the fans' game performance. DEFENSE-O-METER Yes, they the defense allowed 35 points. Yes, it didn't man- age to stop Heisman-Trophy winner Tim Tebow or wide receiver Percy Harvin, who had more than 200 total yards. Crables But the Wolverines introduced just enough new wrinkles into their defensive gameplan to slow the Gators when it mattered and made stops when they needed to. CARR-O-METER Carr was clearly emotional in the press conference, coming straight after his final postgame speech to his football team. He 4 discussed how much he will miss thejob and his close relation- Lloyd ship with the Wolverine players. Most oftthe questions didn't Carrs concern the game, and Carr seemed ready to finally look back on his career and allow some nostalgic moments. For everybody in the room, Tuesday's press conference was one to remember. HYPEMETER The Capital One Bowl, played in Orlando just more than 100 miles from Gainesville, functioned as a home game for Florida. But the Wolverine fans still represented Big Houses strongly and most appeared to stick around even through the postgame celebration and trophy presentation. RODRIGO GAYA/Dail Wide receiver Adrian Arrington said he has not yet decided whether or not he will return to the wolverines or enter the NFL next season. Rodriguez wants to woo Wolverines By JACK HERMAN DailySportsEditor ORLANDO, Fla. - With the nation's top recruit still consider- ing Michigan, incoming coach Rich Rodriguez is no doubt excited to hit the recruiting trail and solidify his first class at the helm of the Wolver- ines. But ouer thenext week, he'llactu- ally spend some time selling himself to players already in Ann Arbor. Preferring to stay out of the spot- light during Lloyd Carr's final days as coach, Rodriguez has not. had much of a chance to chat with the current Wolverines. To make up for it, he plans to talk to many of them one-on-one next week, he said before the Capital One Bowl. "I think there's alot of anxiety any time there's transition, and that's understandable," Rodriguez said. " I've been through this before." But Rodriguez has made an excep- tion for some players by already mak- ing a pitch to some individually. With the deadline to declare for the NFL Draft less than two weeks away, Rodriguez said he has talked to wide receivers Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham. Both have asked for an NFL evaluation of their draft prospects. In addition, Rodriguez has met twice with freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett, who is considering a transfer. Rodriguez assured the five-star quarterback recruit the coach's spread-style offense can be adjusted to fit whoever leads it. Although it has recently featured a dual-threat in West Virginia's Pat White, the offense also can be geared to a drop- back quarterback such as Mallett, Rodriguez said. "He's got to trust us, and if he doesn't, that's his decision," Rodri- guez said. "We certainly hope he'll stay around. He's a talented young man who has got alot of ability, and we can fit our system to the best quarterback. "But again, the best guys will play. He's got to make the decision himself whether he thinks he's the best." Carr told reporters yesterday morning that Mallett had already madehisdecision,butwouldnotelab- orate, according to The Wolverine. Mallett said after the bowl game that he would discuss his decision publicly once he got back to AnnArbor. . Rodriguez will be happy to know, though, that there are some players whose arms he won't have to twist. For instance, both defensive line- man Tim Jamison and cornerback Morgan Trent said they would be back for a final year. Still, Rodriguez said he under- stands why others - such as junior Terrance Taylor, who said after the game he still might declare for the draft - might not be as certain. "It's the unknown, particularly if you bring a lot of new coaches in," Rodriguez said. "They think, 'Do we have to prove ourselves all over again?"' After win, coaches move on By KEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editor ORLANDO, Fla. - Once the final seconds ticked off the clock on arguably the biggest upset of the college bowl season so far, the Michigan sideline erupted. '-t "''-'f Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was immediately swarmed by media. The Wolverine players sprinted_* over to the Michigan band. Lost among the mayhem were the assistant coaches, many of whom 5' were coaching their last game at Michigan. There was quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who jumped into the arms of one of his colleagues following the win. Teary-eyed defensive coordina- tor Ron English, who announced he would take the same position at Louisville next season, took a second to share an embrace with offensive line coach Andy Moeller on his way to the locker room. English said he decided to take the Louisville job late Monday night. He added he never likes to wait around and is excited for the opportunity to turn around the Cardinals' defense. English was in his second sea- son as the Wolverines defensive coordinator, having served as - Michigan's secondary coach the previous three years. "I've never been that kind of guy that's looking for a job," Eng- lish said. "It was a good opportu- 5'' " nity, and I'm excited about it." Many wondered about the future of Carr's staff after Rich Rodriguez was hired as the next Michigan coach on Dec. 17. Rodriguez said in his intro- ductory press conference that he would bring several of his assistants with him from West Virginia, including offensive coordinator Calvin Magee and secondary coach/recruiting coor- dinator Tony Gibson. Rodriguez also added he would consider rehiring some of the current assis- PETER SCHOTENFtS/Daily tants to smooth the transition. Former Michigan defensive coordinator Ron English is one of many current Wolverine coaches who will not be on the Michi- Two days later, Rodriguez gan sidelines next season. He accepted a job as Louisville's defensive coordinator. fired all nine assistant coaches after, meeting with each of them I'm going to miss coaching at at some point in his coaching he could take in the moment. briefly. Michigan," Loeffler said. "This career. "Nobody knows the future," Since then, Rodriguez has only place is special." "I want to come back to Michi- Campbell said. "We're just going rehired running backs coach Fred Loeffler has been Carr's quar- gan someday," Loeffler said. "It's to sitnback and enjoy this moment. Jackson, the longest-tenured assis- terback coach for the past six my home, it's what I know." We'll worry about the future later tant (16 years). The futures of most seasons and helped establish a Campbell, who has served on." others have yet tobe determined. pipeline of Michigan quarter- under Carr for 13 seasons and also As for Stripling secondary Some speculated Rodriguez backs into the NFL. played for the Wolverines, seems coach Vance Bedford and line- would also retain wide receivers But with Rodriguez bringing the most likely to return to the backers coach Steve Szabo, they coach Erik Campbell, defensive in a spread offense that usually Wolverines. The former Michi- all said they don't know what line coach Steve Stripling and relies on a mobile quarterback, gan cornerback and wide receiver they'll be doing next year. Loeffler, but Loeffler's comments Loeffler's tutelage of dropback has developed All-Americans like Prior to this season, Carr had after the game seemed to sug- passers would not have been a Braylon Edwards, David Terrell his assistants' contracts extended gest his immediate future won't good fit. and Marquise Walker. to two-year agreements, ensuring include staying in Ann Arbor. Still, the Michigan graduate But Campbell's only concern they would be paid through Feb- "I love coaching football, and would like to return to his roots after the game was making sure ruary 2009. CARR From page 1C ond time, also put together one of his finest gameplans. Between a season-high 40-plus plays in spread formations, numer- ous handoffs to wideout Mario Manningham and even a pass to All-American tackle Jake Long, DeBord proved he actually knew there was life beyond the zone left run. "They put in all this hard work game planning, and they could have been at Disney World hav- ing fun with their kids knowing that they didn't have a job here," senior Jamar Adams said. "This is the character that Michigan has. This is the part of the program that's character-built. It's respect. It's loyalty. That's what they showed." Character, respect, loyalty? Sounds like someone we know. The outgoing senior class, some of the most highly decorated indi- viduals in the history of the sto- ried program, finally put together a memorable team accomplish- ment in its last chance to do so. It was a great ending for some soon-to-be NFL stars who were 0-7 against Ohio State and in bowl games before Tuesday's win. But in the end, the day was Carr's. And rightfully so. ICING ON THE CAKE SWEET AS CAN BE Lloyd Carr was always going to be remembered fondly by most unbiased observers. His most valuable contributions to the pro- gram - running a clean program, running it with class and molding good football players into good people - were already solidified, no matter which team ran a ball into a little painted area more frequently. But Michigan's on-field perfor- mance Tuesday afternoon gave Carr the moment he deserved, whether he wanted it or not. After his team doused him with water as the seconds ticked down in Michigan's win, Carr quickly found himself on the shoulders of the players who tried so hard to send him out on top. Though his smile showed he thoroughly enjoyed the moment, Carr demanded his team put him down so he could shake hands with opposing coach Urban Meyer, the same man who vehe- mently argued that Michigan didn't deserve to play in last year's National Championship. About a half hour later, after giving a rousing final speech to his players where he pushed every player to stress academics and finish their degrees like they finished the game against Florida, Carr remained classic Lloyd in the post-game press conference, put- ting his players first. "I told them I loved them," Carr said of his locker room mes- sage. "And, most importantly I thanked them. Because that's what a leader does, the last thing you need to do is say thank you." But despite Carr's best efforts to put everyone in the spotlight but himself, it was no secret who this day belonged to. on the 10th anniversary of Michigan's split-decision National Championship, Lloyd Carr was declared a unanimous winner, both on and off the field. "I couldn't ask for anything better for this man and his career and what he's meant to Michigan football, what he's meant to the whole sport of college football," Athletic Director Bill Martin said. "He's been a great ambassador for us, and I'm so happy he went out this way." - Bell can be reached at scotteb@umich.edu. MOTIVATION From page 1C play, a Michigan player celebrated with a gator chomp or some sort of taunt, and the contest grew testier as it went along. "It was definitely getting intense, but it's all in fun," Arrington said with a smile after the game. The members of the Michigan defense especially took offense to the national pundits, particularly ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, discrediting their unit before the game. Michigan defensive coordina- tor Ron English said he didn't need to use any bulletin-board mate- rial because his players had already heard it all. The Gators were supposed to run over and around the Wolverines with the 235-pound Tebow. Flor- ida had the sub 4.4 speed in Percy Harvin to run around the "slow" Michigan defense. And Urban Mey- er's squad had the spread scheme to create the mismatches that had haunted the Wolverine defense against Appalachian State, Oregon and numerous other teams. But none of that mattered to the group of seniors looking to reestab- lish some respect for the Michigan football program. "We see the TV, we see the paper, we see conversations, and they doubt us," senior Chris Graham said. "It's about time now that we can show that we canplay and stand up to the credentials that Michigan football has had over the years." The Wolverines had plenty of motivating factors heading into the Capital One Bowl, but who could have guessed trash talk seeping through a wall would push them over the edge? "Everybody doubted us, and we liked it that way," senior Jake Long said. "And we shocked them, baby, we shocked them." S.