8 - Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Despite attention, Robinson stays humble
By TIM ROHAN most impressive thing. He's not the
Daily Sports Editor kind of guy who wants more of it. He
actually doesn't like it. ... He's not
The list of awards that sopho- going to be taken by the storm. It's
more quarterback Denard Robinson not gonna fluster him, it's not gonna
has not won shrinks with each pass- take him off his game. And he's han-
ing week. Accolades and national dling itbeautifully."
attention are expected for a player Robinson carried the ball 57
who amasses 885 times in Michigan's first two games
yards of offense NOTEBOOK - 36 more times than any other
in two games and teammate. With those 57 carries,
leads the nation in rushing yards - Robinson amassed 455 yards, for an
as a quarterback nonetheless. average of eight yards per carry. A
He has won the Walter Camp natural question to ask is whether
Player of the Week and Big Ten Robinson can withstand that kind
Offensive Player ofthe Week for each of workload throughout a physical
of the first two weeks of the season. Big Ten slate of games.
He's the fourth FBS player ever to "Listen, we have 500 yards rush-
win the Walter Camp award twice ing, if all 500 come from one guy, I
in a season. The Wolverines have 10 don't care," Rodriguez said. "We've
more regular season games left. got to do what we have to do to win
But Michigan coach Rich Rodri- the game and score points. We're
guez said at Monday's press con- going to make them defend all 11
ference that he isn't worried about (players). Everybodysays, 'Wellyou
all of it going to Robinson's head. can't run your quarterback 20-some
Robinson said his family has been times a game.' Um, well did they say
encouraging him to stay focused. that when they handed off to Barry
Does he pay attention to the hype? Sanders - you can't run Barry Sand-
He doesn't even have cable televi- ers 20-some times a game? If he can
sion, he said, and he tries to stay off handle it, he can handle it. Would
the web. you like to have more balance? Yeah
The Wolverines have no doubts if they give you that - great.
that Robinson's head is screwed on "I promise you, Denard wouldn't
right. have whatever he has rushing if he
"Denard's probably the best per- didn't have some dudes blocking for
son that could handle all of this him up front and guys catching the
fame," redshirt junior center David ball. He'd be the first one to tell you
Molk said. "He knows how to han- that."
dle it. He understands it. He doesn't In Rodriguez's spread, the quar-
search for it, which is probably the terback is at the center of the offense
- he's the ringleader.
"Our quarterback in our offense
is like a point guard that can shoot
the three," Rodriguez said. "He's
got to be able to distribute it some-
times. And sometimes he's got to
shoot the three. Denard's been tak-
ing a lot of threes."
Rodriguez said that in practice,
Robinson doesn't take any hits (none
of the quarterbacks have since camp
started in August).
UNDER (LESS) PRESSURE:
After defeatingtwo teams, in Con-
necticut and Notre Dame; that were
considered strong opponents before
the season, Michigan finds itself
ranked in the top 25 illboth the AP
and the Coaches polls this week.
The Wolverines are ranked No.
22 in the Coaches poll and No. 20 in
the AP poll.
Senior cornerback James Rog-
ers said Monday that half the team
probably doesn't even know they are
ranked.
Before the season, Rodriguez,
who was 8-16 in his first two sea-
sons, was on the hot seat. The
success the Wolverines have expe-
rienced the first two weeks of the
season hasn't changed Rodriguez or
his team, he said. He isn't worrying
about how many people are jumping
on the maize and blue bandwagon.
"Am I different guy now than I
was two weeks ago - same guy,"
Rodriguez said. "Same coaches,
same players, same staff, same
people. We've won two games. If
so
Sophomore QB Denard Robinson runs for an 87-yard touchdown in the Wolverines' 28-24 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday
somebody's perception changed
with that, if it changed for the bet-
ter, that's good. If it changed for the
worse, that's not good. I worry about
what I can control. And what I can't
control is whatsomebody else's feel-
ings are for whatever reason. I'm
not going to worry about that.
"Everybody likes to be liked.
I've said that before. ... I will live
in world where if you win, more
people are happy. There's probably
some people who are still unhappy
no matter what we do. And they'll be
unhappy the restof their lives. What
are you goingto do?"
KICKING UPDATE: After red-
shirt freshman kicker Brendan Gib-
bons missed two second-half field
goal attempts in Saturday's game,.
Rodriguez decided to use redshirt
freshman Seth Broekhuizen for the
Wolverines' last point-after attempt.
Rodriguez stressed on Monday
that the kicker competition is wide
open and that he's not sure who will
handle the duties Saturday against
Massachusetts.
INJURY UPDATE: Sophomore
linebacker Mike Jones broke his leg
in the win over the Fighting Irish
and will Rodriguez said that he is
"doubtful" for the rest of the season.
Redshirt junior linebacker Bren-
don Herron sprained his ankle on
Saturday. He will be day-to-day.
MEN'S
soccer
w 4
Blue expects young talent P R E I E
to play big offensive roles
By STEPHENJ. NESBITT
Daily Sports Writer
As he assessed the depth chart
before the season began, Michigan
coach Steve Burns knew that he had
a special offense at his disposal - a
talent-laden attack with the most
potential of perhaps any team he
had ever coached.
After losing forward Mauro
Fuzetti - the team's top goal-scorer
last season - to the MLS draft, the
Michigan men's soccer team (2-1-1)
reloaded up front by landing a few
of the nation's top recruits.
And with two of last year's three
leading scorers returning in senior
forward Justin Meram (a JUCO
transfer last year) and sophomore
midfielder Hamoody Saad, Burns
already had a solid foundation in
place. He didn't want tocompletely
revamp his team's makeup, but he
added a few players to help bolster
the offense.
The biggest addition was for-
ward Soony Saad, a five-star recruit
out of Dearborn, Mich., and brother
of Hamoody. Soony scored a state
record 172 goals in high school, was
named Mr. Soccer for Michigan
and received the Gatorade National
Player of the Year award this May.
"Soony is a legitimate goal scor-
er; the most prolific to ever come
out of the state of Michigan, and
the best in the nation," Burns said
through the athletic department
earlier this year. "We expect him to
have a dynamic career wearing the
Maize and Blue."
Yet adding just one piece wasn't
going to solve the puzzle for the
Wolverines.
Burns' final count had seven true
freshmen coming into the offensive
ranks, including Fabio Pereira Vil-
las Boas, a highly-touted, Brazil-
ian-born attacking midfielder. The
team also has redshirt freshman
forward Noble Sullivan back this
season after he was forced to miss
last year with an injury.
"We've got a strong freshman
class coming in, and the success of
our season is going to rest partially
on their success over the course of
their firstcyear here," Burns said fol-
lowing the season opener. "We're
counting on them to contribute, and
they're capable of it."
According to Meram, adding
youth to a team playing with a
strong, experienced backfield is a
major advantage.
"It's a new crew up front for us,"
Meram said. "The advantage is that
other teams don't know what the
new guys are about, and they have
so much talent. When all of us are
together on offense, it scares even
our own team because we've got so
many threats."
The rookies were thrown to the
wolves right from the onset, as No.
14 Drake came to Ann Arbor looking
to avenge an upset loss to Michigan
last season. Burns showed complete
trust in his new offense, sending
out Meram, Boas, sophomore mid-
fielder Latif Alashe, and the Saad
brothers to start - two freshmen,
two sophomores and a senior.
With those proven weapons
leading the offensive charge, the
outlook for Michigan is much more
promising than in past seasons.
"This year our offense is a lot
better than what we had last year,"
Hamoody said. "Last year we were
expected to have a bad year, and
that really brought the team down.
But this year we feel like we have
the most talent in the Big Ten, and
with our forwards combining very
easily, this year we're ten times bet-
ter than last year."
OFFENSIVE OVERHAUL
Although the game versus Drake
ended up in Michigan's loss column
as a 1-0 defeat, the young offense
more than doubled the Bulldogs in
shots,shots-on-goalandcornerkicks.
That aggressive style of play has
been constant through three games
this season, as the Wolverines have
doubled every team in those same
three categories. Their attack-
ing attitude has also earned them
twice as many fouls as they've been
penalized for, which keeps the play
in the opponent's end of the field.
As far as the aggression that the
team has displayed, Meram credits
the team playing with more energy
than in the past.
"We're just hungry," Meram
said. "We're all goal-scorers, from
me to Hamoody, Soony and Fabio,
we compete every day at practice
because we all want to score. We're
unselfish, so we all help each other
out, and I think that's really the bot-
tom line."
Another explanation for Michi-
gan's spike in offensive shot pro-
duction comes from an unexpected
source. And because of this seem-
ingly minor detail, Hamoody said
he has the opportunity to "be more
lethal on the field."
The conference's new gamepiece
- the Adidas' Jabulani ball that was
so controversial during this sum-
mer's World Cup in Africa - has
been an interesting addition to say
the least.
"It's a weird ball," Hamoody
said. "(It) can go in one direction
and then all of the sudden dip and
change direction. When we shoot it
from far out it's so hard for the goal-
keepers to handle. There is no way
a goalkeeper is going to catch that
ball, he has to push back out, so that
just gives us another opportunity to
shoot off the rebound."
And the effects have already
shown themselves, as Hamoody
took a strike from long-distance
and fooled the goalkeeper to beat
Detroit 2-1,in overtime, on Sept.1a
THE CAMARADERIE OF
A BROTHERHOOD
This offensive group seems to
have a special connection while
playing on the field, even after just
four games, and that's not only
because of the brotherly connection
between Hamoody and Soony.
The offense has displayed trust
throughout the beginning of the
season, which has resulted in a
plethora of quality scoring chances.
As for the brothers, they've
kicked things off just right. They
are first and second on the team
in goals, with little brother Soony
leading the race with three goals.
"I feel like the younger players
on the team almost have the same
mindset," Hamoody said. "We play
for the person next to us, we don't
play for ourselves. If I had a shot
that I had a 50 percent chance of
making, and I saw Fabio had a 51
percent chance of scoring, I'd give
it to him."
As the Big Ten season draws
near, that on-field connection will
play a huge factor in determining
whether this team will be a true
contender or a non-factor in the
conference.
In his last season as a Wolverine,
Meram promised that it would not
be the latter.
"You will see us compete for a
Big Ten championship this season,"
Meram said. "I guarantee you that."
Right in stride, Hamoody pushed
the ball a little further still.
"Every year we set the goal of
winning the Big Ten. I feel like
this year we all know that we have
a good chance of actually doing it.
If we get our forwards clicking on
offense, as well as helping out on
defense, we can really make a big
splash in college soccer and finally
makea name for ourselves."
SAMANTHA TRAUBEN/Daily
Experienced deense led by
keeper, a strength for 'M'
By CASANDRA PAGNI
Daily Sports Writer
If defense wins championships,
having a goalkeeper nicknamed
"brick wall" for his physical pres-
ence and skill in the net can surely
make a team breathe easier.
The 2010 Michigan men's soccer
team (2-1-1) boasts an experienced
backfield from the keeper position
on out.
Two seniors - Chase Tennant
and Jeff Quijano - will hold down
the outside positions of the Wolver-
ines' back line this year. Tennant is
two starts away from engraving his
name on the top 10 list for career
starts at Michigan, and Quijano
has been a four-year starter for the
team, making experience plentiful
between the pair.
Sandwiched between the senior
defenders are two sophomores -
Kofi Opare and Brian Klemczak -
who play in the center of the back
line and have fit right in with the
veterans around them. Opare and
Klemczak each started 10 games
for the Wolverines last season and
have locked down starting spots
thus far this season.
"(Quijano) and I can both help
the sophomores a lot," Tennant
said last week. "They've really
developed immensely as players.
Right now, we are practicing (with
the defense) like that and we're
doing really well in the back, with
(Quijano) and I supporting the two
players in the middle."
While Michigan coach Steve
Burns isn't afraid to experiment
with his lineup, especially after los-
ing defensive MVP Julian Robles
to graduation last season, the back
line of Tennant, Klemczak, Opare
and Quijano is the one that he's
featured in each of the Wolverines'
four games this season.
Burns has every reason to be
confident in his defenders, as the
group has become increasingly
familiar with one another's style
and tendencies on the field.
But even players who have a
good sense of how their fellow
defenders will react to a play know
that nothing is guaranteed, espe-
cially when facing potent offensive
threats like No. 14 Drake and Seat-
tle University. The Michigan back
line continues to work on its forma-
tions during opponents' set pieces
- especially free and corner kicks
- as that's one area Tennant iden-
tified as a problem in past seasons.
"In the past we've had problems
as far as our defensive shape and
the way we move," Tennant said.
"That's one of the things we've
been working on this season is
being able to move as a team, and
we can cover more ground if we're
all on the same page."
The Wolverine defense has
allowed opponents to get18 on red-
shirt senior goalie Chris Blais this
season - the keeper that senior
midfielder Alex Wood called a
"brick wall."
With a shutout already under
his belt this season - coming in a
2-0 Michigan victory over the Uni-
versity of Illinois-Chicago - Blais
now owns seven shutouts in his
Wolverine career.
"We expect (Blais) to make
big-time saves," Tennant said.
"Throughout his time in the goal,
especially last season and now this
year, he's been able to do that.
"He's really one of those guys
that we can depend on if the
defense makes a mistake. We have
every reason to believe he'll make a
big time save, and he has the confi-
dence to do it."
Blais has made 15 saves in the net
this season, with four goals getting
1
past him. Ranked second in the Big
Ten in goals-against average and
save percentage last season and
third in number of saves 67, Blais is
a keeper that has proven his ability
to shut opposing offenses down.
"Obviously my redshirt year I
learned a lot," Blais said. "Playing
with Seattle (overthe summer) was
a huge help butjust gave me experi-
ence to know that going into games
you're goingto be the one playing.
"Experience is just in playing
games, knowing your defenders.
I'm pretty used to playing with
(Quijano, Opare, Klemzack and
Tennant). I know how those guys
play. There's definitely a pretty
good comfort level back there as I
have been doing that since the start
of last year and in to this year."
Michigan has made Blais its
main guy this season, naming the
keeper a team captain for his lead-
ership and electric presence from
the box.
While Blais embraces the honor
that comes with a captain's title, he
is understandably more concerned
about winning soccer games. As
the only guy who can see the entire
field ahead of him, Blais continu-
ally makes sure he is vocal enough
from the goal to motivate his team-
mates.
Blais continues to amp up the
rest of the Wolverines off the field
as well and as a spoken leader, he
uses his experience to make sure
everyone knows how vital they are
to the success of this year's squad.
"We have talked a lot about how
this is everyone's team, not just the
captains and not just the seniors,"
Blais said. "We didn't want a cul-
ture where seniors were talking
down to other guys, because when
it really comes down to it, everyone
is playing for Michigan and every-
one is playing to win."