The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 7E
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September 8, 2009 - 7E
RATKOWIAK
From Page 3E
Experience will solve some of
thosein-gameproblems, andimprov-
ing the product on the field will obvi-
ously be the Wolverines' top priority.
DesignatingaNo.t quarterbackfrom
day one will help with team attitude
and consistency. Rodriguez's on-the-
field problems will be the easiest
to fix because this year's freshmen
will be sophomores, and that year of
experience could be the difference in
next season's close games.
POSTGAME
Losing is unacceptable, but a
fragmented team is intolerable.
There had been hints of it all sea-
son, but the careful display of team
unity the Wolverines tried to pre-
serve all season finally crumbled
Saturday.
It had been starting to publicly
unravel for a few weeks before-
hand, when Rodriguez announced
last week that Zion Babb and Jason
Kates were no longer on the team.
Others will certainly follow, includ-
ing the still-unannounced but likely
departure of sophomore safety Artis
Chambers.
Upperclassmen David Moosman
and Terrance Taylor have both said
more than once in the last few weeks
that some of their teammates don't
always understand the importance
of playing hard.
"Some people in the shadows that
maybe have different agendas, we're
weeding those people out," Moos-
man said lastMonday.
But it wasn't until Satorday that
the team's disconnect became glar-
ingly, embarrassingly clear, starting
with senior Charles Stewart's fight
with the coaching staff in the first
quarter and ending with Brandon
Minor stopping just short of calling
his teammates out by name after the
loss.
"It's like some people don't even
like leaving theirself when they step
on the field," Minor said. "Can't
really blame Rich Rod because
everybody on the team didn't buy in
like they were supposed to."
Going into next season, Rodri-
guez's first priority needs to be
getting his team to act like a team
again. He has said he wishes he
got to know his players better on a
personal level, and starting now, he
should make sure he does that.
In the end, Rodriguez said he
hopes this 2008 season will be
remembered as a "blip on the radar."
With all the notoriety it has gained,
that's doubtful.
Tying a program-record, five-
game losing streak within a season.
Five more average points per
game allowed this season than the
previous worst Michigan defense.
Five more losses than the Wol-
verines had last season.
That just means five months from
now, with spring practice done and
the start of seasontwo in the transi-
tion looming, the Wolverines' prog-
ress needs to be obvious.
- Ratkowiak can be reached
at cratkowi@umich.edu.
TOP TEN HEADLINES OF 2009-2010
"Will Michigan wake up from its 3-9 nightmare?"- After the
team's worst performance in school history, the Wolverine
faithful have hope, at least for the Motor City Bowl.
"Is the basketball team sweet enough for the Sweet 16"- After a
great second year under John Beilein, Michigan looks to avenge
last year's second round loss with nearly everyone returning.
"Should RichRod use the Force?"- With one of the worst QB
performance's in recent school history, will coach Rodriguez
opt for true freshman standout Tate Forcier under center?
"Who totes the rock?" - With team leader C:J. Lee lost to gradua-
tion and Kelvin Grady in football pads, the basketball team has a
hole at point guard. Is it freshman Darius Morris' spot to lose?
"Can Hutch bring home another Title?"- Softball endured a
tough loss in the College World Series, but with nearly every-
one back, can it replicate its '05 Championship season?
"Goalie Tendencies"- Michigan goalies dominate the regular
season but just can't get it done when it counts. Will this year
be different with Bryan Hogan between the pipes all season?
"Quick to judge"- Will new defensive coordinator Greg Robin-
son's "quick" position on defense make a difference? And who's
going to be Robinson's first hybrid guinea pig?
"Running away with a legacy"- Tiffany Ofili may have been one
of the best athletes in Michigan sports history with five national
championships. How does the track team replace a legend?
"Pryor-itizing"- After the Terrelle Pryor recruiting debachle,
RichRod is aiming at another Rivals No. 1 recruit - Seantrel
Henderson. Can Michigan sign the OL cornerstone it needs?
"King of his court"- Michigan tennis welcomes the nation's No.
1 recruit - Evan King - to Ann Arbor. Can King change the Big
Ten landscape that has been Buckeye-dominated for so long?
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WILL MOELLER/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein at the NCAA selection ceremony held at Crisler Arena
on Sunday March 15, 2009. Michigan was selected as the No.10 seed.
BEILEIN
From Page 4E
Grady, redshirt sophomore for-
ward Anthony Wright and senior
forward Jevohn Shepherd.
But the Wolverines have stayed
together.
"What Ilove about this program
is that is a unified team," Mar-
tin said. "There are not factions
among that team, it's all about the
team. There's not, 'I'm not going
to pass it to that guy because I
don't like him,' It is not that at all.
It's a very cohesive team. Again,
that's a reflection of the leadership
through the coaching staff."
After a 10-22 season in his inau-
gural year in Ann Arbor, Beilein
faced many doubters.
Could his system survive the Big
Ten? Would he recruit better play-
ers or just ones to fit his system?
MINOR
From Page 4E
NO REGARD FOR HIS
OPPONENTS
Redshirt sophomore left guard
John Ferrara remembered watch-
ing an Illinois player lie on the
ground after a kickoff late in the
Wolverines' 45-20 loss Oct. 4. He
didn't see what happened on the
play, but he was told Minor deliv-
ered the big hit.
"I wasn't really that surprised
because I know hard he comes all
the time," Ferrara said.
It doesn't matter if it's on spe-
cial teams late in a blowout game
or in practice - Minor plays hard.
"He just really gets after it,"
said Ferrara, who played defen-
sive tackle before this year. "He'll
come downhill and he'll really put
his face on you. A lot of running
backs will try and juke out of the
way.
But there's times he'll go jack
someone hard enough to knock
him out."
And could he lead Michigan to its
first NCAA berth since 1998?
"Naw, I didn't," Jackson said
when asked if he thought Michi-
gan would make the Tournament
this season. "I think we set goals
from the very beginning about
where we wanted to be. And we've
taken one of those steps today."
Michigan is starting to follow
the same path as Beilein's previ-
ous teams: struggling to learn his
system in the first year, bouncing
back in the second and build a
winning tradition.
"When you're 10-22, you're not
expecting (the NCAA Tourna-
ment)," Beilein said.
"I said it would bea roller coast-
er.... I'm not trying totell anybody
I'm wiser than anybody else, but
experience tells you you're going
to be up and down."
And to be up in the middle of
March is pretty good.
Minor runs with a passion that
makes it seem like he's trying to
use each step to stomp out any
doubts anyone might have had
earlier this season.
Minor has eight rushing eight
touchdowns on 89 carries this
year, a pace of a touchdown every
11.125 carries. Tom Harmon is the
only Michigan season-rushing
leader to run for scores more fre-
quently, notching a touchdown
every 10 runs in 1939.
NO REGARD FOR HIS
TEAMMATES
Minor is one of Michigan's big-
gest trash talkers, and he doesn't
bring generic insults, either.
"I'll talk about them personally
- stuff they're sensitive about,"
Minor.
Does anybody ever take it the
wrong way?
"Sometimes, they probably do,"
Minor said. "But that's what we
need on the field."
It doesn't matter if it's on spe-
cial teams late in a blowout game
or in yractice - Minor plays hard.