The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 7A Daily Sports Power Ranikings } r Nick Sar 11 Dail Snorts Editor SAM WOLSON/Daily Redshirtsophomore cornerbackJ.T. Floyd makes a tackle in the Wolverines' 34-17 loss to the Spartans on Saturday. Rodriguez speaks on struggling secondary Senior setter Lexi Zimmerman holds the school record for assists in a career. By RYAN KARTJE Daily Sports Editor When senior cornerback James Rogers left Saturday's game in the third quar- ter with cramps, NOTEBOOK true freshman cornerback Cullen Christian replaced him and lined up across from Spartan senior wideout Mark Dell. Soon after Christian took the field, Michigan State quarter- back Kirk Cousins challenged the freshman in a big way, as he loft- ed a 41-yard ball to Dell, who left Christian in his dust. With the Wolverines' secondary as young as it is this season, plays like Cousins' deep-ball touchdown to Dell have become standard for a Michigan pass defense that ranks 119th out of 120 teams in the NCAA. "Most coaches will tell you that most true freshmen who play are either so talented that you had to get them on the field some way or they're talented enough because you have to play them because your depth is what it is," Michi- gan coach Rich Rodriguez said at his Monday press conference. "They're talented enough to play, but they're playing at positions that not many true freshmen play to the extent that they're playing." Along with Christian, true freshmen Terrence Talbott and Courtney Avery have played sig- nificant time at corner, while lead- ership roles have been left to senior James Rogers - a wide receiver convert this offseason - and red- shirt sophomore J.T. Floyd, who has started in just seven games in his career. Rodri coaches not" att ners, as take on Iowa's I gan will "The' things," think t though pains w true fre level, itc "... So 1S: are soly aren't g night, v them th still win DELI% MENT: silver l defensiv with so the field a lot of experiei better p "(Rig ented a goingt "When four or are play in the s iguez said he and the other Carvin Johnson, (freshman defen- are taking a "ready-or- sive end) Jibreel Black ... if we do itude with the young cor- our job in developing those guys, the Wolverines prepare to boy, they're going to be really good Big Ten quarterbacks like in the next couple years. Ricky Stanzi, who Michi- "We really haven't had a chance 1 play next week. to develop them yet." y've done some good Rodriguez also said he was Rodriguez said. "And I pleased with the way this year's hey're growing up even recruiting class has gone after the there's some growing Wolverines' roster numbers were ith that. To play this many "ridiculously low" in the past two shmen on defense at this years. doesn't happen very often. "We'll still be young," Rodri- me of the issues we have guez said. "But at least we'll have the bodies there." Although the team hasn't been low at running back, last Friday, Some of the the Wolverines received a com- mitment from Demetrius Hart, sues we have the nation's No.1 all-purpose back, who hails from Dr. Phillips High n't going 0to get School in Florida. Hart told the Orlando Sentinel ed over night." that despite Michigan's depth at the position, he feels he can still help out. "I'm a versatile guy, and they ;oing to get solved over- need that guy at running back who we just have to minimize can break tackles and have speed me best we can so we can around the edge, and I think I can zballgames" bring that to the table," Hart said. VERING ON DEVELOP- INJURY NOTES: Junior slot Rodriguez tried to find a receiver Martavious Odoms broke ining to the Wolverines' his foot against the Spartans and re struggles. He noted that is expected to miss "an extended many young players seeing period of time," Rodriguez said. , those players should have Rodriguez wasn't sure whether time to develop hands-on the injury was season-ending ... nce, which should lead to a Rogers, junior nose tackle Mike roduct in the end. Martin and center David Molk ht now,) we're not as tal- are all fine after sustaining minor s we'd like to be or we're injuries against the Spartans ... to be," Rodriguez said. Running back Fitz Toussaint is you're talking about these expected to miss Saturday's game five true freshmen that against Iowa due to issues with ying quite a bit, the guys his injured knee. Rodriguez hopes econdary, (freshman spur) he'll be back after the bye week. Lexi Zimmerman, Setter (Volleyball) U Yes, you read that correctly. After throwing three interceptions in Saturday's loss to Michigan State, Denard Robinson is no longer No. 1. But by no means did Zimmerman earn the spot by default. She posted her second-ever triple-double with 43 assists, 13 kills and 13 digs in a statement win over No. 6 Illinois on Saturday. Those would be some video game-like numbers if volleyball video games existed. The victory vaulted the 15th-ranked Wolverines into a tie for first atop the Big Ten standings. 2 Denard Robinson, Quarterback (Football) Michigan fans could barely make it out of their own sections without hearing an inevitable onslaught of questions. Is the Heisman hype too much for Denard? Is this what we should come to expect against legitimate Big Ten defenses? Has he been exposed as an inadequate passer? And should hefinally start tying his shoes? Probably not. And he's still at the forefront of the Heisman con- versation. But clearly, all three of the Spartan picks were costly and resulted from bad decision-mak- ing. And if the Wolverines couple the loss to Michigan State with another one to Iowa this weekend - just as they did last season - Michigan fans will have to wonder whether they're back at square one. Louie Caporusso, Forward (Ice Hockey) * As Caporusso goes, so go the Wolverines. Last year, the early-season Hobey Baker contender was ice cold to start, and Michigan had one of its worst starts ever under Red Berenson. This season, Caporusso has two goals and four assists in the first three games and Michigan is 2-0-1. Granted, the two wins came last weekend over Bowling Green, a team that typically finishes in the CCHA cellar. But if Capo- russo keeps up this torrid pace, the Wolverines will find the types of results they found atthe end of last season, when they nearly reached the Frozen Four. 4Alex Hunt, Outside Hitter (Volleyball) For every triple-double Zimmerman puts up and every Michigan record she breaks, there is yet another solid performance by Hunt. Last weekend was no different, as she led the Wolverines in kills in Friday's 3-0 victory over Wisconsin and the aforementioned win over the Fighting Illini. She is now ranked 15th in the nation in kills per set. At that rate, she may just have a Michigan record of her own one day. Lion Kim (Men's Golf) * After a brief hiatus, Kim is back in the rankings at No. 5 with his fifth-place finish at the Rod Myers Invitational on Monday. With the accolades he has compiled in the last few months, Kim almost made the list last week without even playing a round of golf. His latest performance - fueledby a three-undet 69 in the second round - was his second top-five finish in the last three weeks. He won the Windott Memorial Classic on Sept. 27 after nailing a 45-putt on the 18th hole. And most notably, he's earned a spot in next April's Masters. 6Denise Muresan (Women's Tennis) Muresan was the star of the Michigan tennis program at last week's ITA All-American Champion- ships, reaching the semifinals before fallingto the second-ranked player in the nation. Her run included three wins over top-25 players, taking two of the victories in straight sets. She entered the tournament as the nation's 12th-ranked player. But after being one of the last four standing, she will be moving up at least a couple of spots. 7 Justin Meram, Forward (Men's Soccer) E No Saad brothers? No problem. In last Wednesday's victory over Cincinnati, Meram scored his sec- ond game-winning goal in as many games without Hamoody or Soony on the field. Hamoody was side- lined due to a knee injury and Soony was held out because of a red card in the previous game. Meram then extended his goal-scoring streak to three games with a goal in Sunday's tightly contested 3-2 win against Wisconsin. 8Rachael Mack, Forward (Field Hockey) The field hockey team is getting contributions from all over the field. Three players have earned spots on this list in the last three weeks. On Monday, Mack earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors for the third time this season after scoringtwice and adding an assist in Friday's 4-3 overtime win over Miami (Ohio). Her second score decided the game with just 55 seconds remaining in over- time. Following two wins on the weekend, the team has won nine of its last 10 games. 9 Jon Merrill, Defenseman (Ice Hockey) For the past couple of seasons, Michigan has had trouble finding goal scoring from its back line. But through the season's first three games, the Wolverines may have found a defenseman who can find the scoring touch. Merrill has had an impressive start to his freshman season, with a goal and an assist in Saturday's win over Bowling Green. His four points are second on the team to Caporusso so far. 1 Jason Jung and Evan King, Doubles (Men's Tennis) = Jung and King squeak into the rankings after performing well in the doubles portion of the ITA All-American Championships. Their run ended in the quarterfinals of the main draw, but they did knock off UCLA's fifth-ranked duo. Neither fared well in singles play though, as Jung lost in the first- round of the main draw and King lost in qualifyingto the nation's third-ranked player. DON'T AGREE WITH OUR POWER RANKINGS? Let us know who you think should be No.1 E-MAIL YOUR THOUGHTS TO NICKSPAR@UMICH.EDU I I _______ De pai tvi ue next recce .arq p:>volunteuci uciouui. Special Information Event: Meet Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams Thursday, October 14 at 6:30 p.m. Kuenzel Room, Michigan Union http://peacecorps.umich.edu/events.html Apply this Fall for programs leaving in 2011 --Peace Corps'50th Anniversary Year! Life is calling. How far will you go? 800.424.85801 peacecorps.gov/application Master of Science in Biotechnology lintergrated training for biologists, chemists, & engineers Earn a graduate degree in only 15 months and prepare for a rewarding career in biotechnology or pharmaceuticals. Apply today at: www.MBPnorthwestern.edu NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY