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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, February 4, 2011 - 7

Rawis, Hayes join crowded 'M' backfield

By TIM ROHAN gan offensive lineman commit
Daily Sports Editor Tony Posada said Wednesday on
WTKA radio. "They want to run
Two more joined Fred Jack- the power-I offense. They want
son's party on Wednesday, but to get back to some smash-mouth
the guest list could shrink soon. football. But they're still going to
Michigan signed running do some spread."
backs Thomas Rawls and Justice "Running back is a part of the
Hayes to join an already crowd- game again, that's what I like,"
ed backfield consisting of junior Jackson said. "I love it when the
Mike Shaw, sophomore Vincent backs can have something to do
Smith, freshman Stephen Hop- with the outcome of the game."
kins, redshirt sophomore Mike The latest arrivals to the party
Cox and redshirt freshman will fit right in, though. Jackson
Fitzgerald Toussaint. gushed over Rawls' ability on
But as the Wolverines switch Wednesday - his high school
back to a pro-style offense, Jack- coach was Jackson's son, Fred
son, the Michigan running backs Jackson Jr., at Flint Northern
coach, was told he needs to have High School.
just two backs ready to play and At 5-foot-10, 220 pounds, he
one more waiting on deck as a has drawn comparisons to anoth-
"possible." er Flint, Mich. native, Heisman
Do the math. That leaves quite Trophy winner Mark Ingram.
a few odd men out. Jackson says Rawls is just like
"I think it's going to make a Ingram, but faster.
lot of guys look and say, 'I either "I saw him in games when
can do it or I can't do it,' because he had the football and it's 3rd-
some of the guys we've got aren't and-1, and he can either make
suited for this offense," Jackson you miss or run through you and
said. "And they're going to find keep on running," Jackson said of
out in two or three days when we Rawls. "A lot of guys run through
put pads on." guys getting ready to tackle them
The offensive scheme is shift- and that's where he goes down.
ing back to what Jackson used Thomas Rawls can hit you, lift
when he was tutoring the likes you - I call it hit-and-lift - and
of Chris Perry and Mike Hart. keep on going.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke is "That's a special talent."
selling toughness and physical- Jackson watched film of Chris
ity, starting with his offensive Perry on Tuesday night and
linemen - sounds like a revival recalled the same hit-and-lift
of three yards and a cloud of dust. style he said Rawls possessed.
"They want to get more Hayes didn't shy away from
physical on the line," Michi- coming into a class with Rawls.

During a radio interview on
WTKA on Wednesday morning,
Hayes said that he and Rawls
have already talked about play-
ing with each other. And as
Hayes put it, he could be the out-
side man while Rawls works the
middle.
Hoke said Wednesday that he
recruits a few high school run-
ning backs because they're usu-
ally the best athletes on the field.
It doesn't necessarily matter if he
already has a full stable of backs,
because they can be moved to
other positions, he said. That may
be the case with Hayes, who, at
5-foot-10, 175 pounds, could be an
athlete that Michigan will need
to find a way to get on the field.
"(Hayes) can play any posi-
tion," Jackson said. "Very ath-
letic, can catch the ball out of the
backfield. Tough kid. Very com-
petitive ... He can play anywhere
- corner, safety, running back,
slot. He's just athletic."
Jackson added that Hayes's
preference is to play running
back and that he will be given
a chance to play the position,
but Jackson didn't know where
Hayes would end up.
Even though he is on the small-
er side now, Hoke estimated that
Hayes could be up to around 190
pounds in the next year. When
Hoke arrived at Hayes's name on
Wednesday, as he announced the
recruiting class, Hoke knew the
running back for his quick feet.
Shiftier, more elusive running
backs like Smith and Shaw -

Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson will have to integrate the new commits into Brady Hoke's pro-styleaoffense.

the 1-2 punch last season under
Rich Rodriguez - may have to
step aside as the bigger Hop-
kins (6-foot, 230 pounds) takes
a increased role in this new
offense.
And the wild cards may be
Toussaint - who was interrupt-
ed by injuries in 2010 - and Cox,
who never saw much playing
time under Rodriguez.
The resurgence of the pro-

style offense also has brought
back the use of a true fullback in
the sets that the Wolverines will
run. But there's a problem: Rodri-
guez didn't recruit fullbacks and
there isn't one in Hoke's 2011
recruiting class.
Could Hopkins play some full-
back too?
"He may have to," Jackson
said. "But I don't think I have
another guy other than John

(McColgan)."
McColgan appeared in just
two games in 2010. Another pos-
sibility is that a player currently
on the team could make a posi-
tion change. For now, Jackson's
not even thinking about trying
Rawls there.
"No, I wouldn't do that with
Rawls," Jackson said. "I'm going
to keep Rawls back there dotting
that 'L'Iwanthimto dotthat'I."


Wolverines face formiddable
test at No. 13 Miami (Ohio)

Blue pumps iron
before hittingirons

By STEPHENJ. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
Shawn Hunwick glanced
behind him - after nearly 82
minutes of play, he knew he'd
been beaten. Former defenseman
Brian Lebler
skated along- Michigan
side the net at Miami
and slammed
his stick on the (Ohio)
crossbar, split- Matchup:
tingitin two. Michigan
Last March; 14-5-1; Miami
W the Michigan (Ohio) 11-7-4-2
hockey team's When: Friday
Cinderella 7:35 P.M.
story was over. Where: Steve
Then-No. 1 Cady Arena
Miami (Ohio)
netted the TV/Radio:
game-winner
just under two
minutes into the second over-
time of the NCAA regional final,
punching its ticket to the Frozen
Four and sending the Wolverines
home empty-handed.
This weekend, No. 9 Michigan
will have its first matchup with
the RedHawks since that double-
overtime thriller. And the Wol-
verines couldn't be up against
stiffer odds.
Though the Wolverines (14-
5-1-0 CCHA, 17-7-4 overall)
are four points ahead of No. 13
Miami in the conference stand-
ings, the weekend series will be
held at Cady Arena - a venue in
which the RedHawks haven't lost
in over two months and boast an
overall 8-3-1 record.
Last season, Miami (11-7-4-2,
14-9-5) sat atop the conference
for much of the year, but now the
RedHawks - unbeaten in their
past three games - are trying
to play catch-up in the CCHA.
Michigan is sure to face a formi-
dable attack on Friday and Satur-
day.
"The skill level that we'll play
against and the sense of urgency
that their team is under - and
our team, too - will bring out a
real challenge for us," Michigan
coach Red Berenson said. "Their
home record is pretty emphatic.
"Last year maybe they were
taking some things for granted
and they were cruising late in the
year, but they won't be cruising
now. I think we'll see their abso-
lute best hockey."
The Wolverines have the top
defense in the CCHA, yet Beren-
son has voiced his displeasure
with his team's defensive perfor-
mance over the past month, and

By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Writer
Lion Kim puts in a lot of time
during the offseason.
On a typical day, he spends
about three hours in individual
practice, after returning from
class. Immediately afterward,
he meets his teammates for
strength and conditioning work
- doing bench presses, squats,
lunges, all the typical major
lifts. His coach says this work is
necessary for succeeding in golf.
Wait ... golf?
When casual sports fans
think of a golfer, they may -pic-
ture a John Daly or a weekend
warrior crushing a six-pack
on the back of his cart. But for
every John Daly, there are hun-
dreds of Tiger Woods or Ricky
Barnes - workout machines
whose strength and fitness give
them an edge on the course and
cut down on strokes.
For the Michigan golf team,
whose lack of access to a play-
able course during the winter
months can put it at a disad-
vantage to southern schools,
effective offseason work can be
critically important.
From October until the
beginning of the spring season
in mid-February, the team is
in the gym five days a week, in
addition to work on the range,
chipping, putting and swing-
diagnostic work at the team's
indoor facility in the basement
of the University's golf course.
The work is designed to limit
the advantages southern schools
may gain during the winter
and also to give Michigan an
edge unique to colder-climate
schools.
"I think the nice thing for our
players really is they can work a
lot on their fundamentals with-
out worrying about having to
post a score," Michigan coach
Andrew Sapp said. "It can be
beneficial if someone's really
working on some swing chang-
es. Sometimes swing changes
can cause you to play poorly, ask
Tiger Woods. This way they're
not necessarily having to lose
confidence if they play poorly."
And while not being able to
play on a course may lead to
some higher scores at the begin-
ning of the season, sophomore
Miguel Echavarria says that
after the first two or three tour-
naments, scores begin to level
out.
By the time the bigger tour-
naments arrive toward the end

of the season, the team has
shaken off the rust and is still
able to capitalize on its training
regimen.
A successful college golfer is
cveated from hours spent on the
driving range and-the putting
green.
But the Wolverines are prov-
ing that work in the weight room
and on the track can be equally
as important.
During the winter, strength
and conditioning coach Jon
Sanderson puts the team
through weight training work
alternated with conditioning
sessions.
The program is designed to
limit injuries, build strength for
longer drives and increase stam-
ina. The latter might be surpris-
ing to those not familiar with
college golf.
"Swing changes
can cause (poor
play), just ask
Tiger Woods."
"I want to say 85 to 90 per-
cent is endurance in college
golf," Kim said. "You've got to be
really physically fit and ... men-
tally stay in it so that you don't
lose focus."
Including the practice round,
a typical tournament involves
72 holes in three days, half of
which are played on the first
day. That amounts to about nine
hours and 10 miles worth of
walking when you account for
the distance from the tee to the
green to the next tee box. Add a
bag that is comparable in weight
to a young child, and you've got a
pretty grueling day.
"Without conditioning, I
remember at the beginning
when I started, you do finish
really tired and sometimes your
more focused on ... your legs ...
hurting or (you're) just thirsty
and (you) don't want to keep
going," Echavarria said. "Now,
with conditioning, it's like, 'OK,
I've done this before. I've been
in worse situations in the weight
room where I've been more tired
and I've still ... accomplished
what I wanted to.'
"You just get it done, focus
more on the golf side of the
game."

SALAM RiDA/Daily
Senior forward Louie Caporusso and the Wolverines head to Oxford, Ohio for a weekend series with the RedHawks.

the RedHawks will be its biggest
test of the season. Miami has five
players with more than 10 goals
this season - Michigan has only
two.
The RedHawks are led by
the nation's two top scorers -
fowards Andy Miele and Carter
Camper, who have 49 and 46
points, respectively.
According to Berenson, if the
Wolverines display anything
less than an all-around defensive
shutdown, "they'll embarrass
you."
"We're obviously aware of how
dominant they've been all year,"
senior forward Louie Caporusso
said of Miele and Camper. "Their
points don't lie. I watched their
game against Notre Dame, and
they both looked like the most
standout players on the ice. Obvi-
ously we've got to keep an eye on
them ... Guys like that can change

the game, and we'll be looking
out for them."
Added Berenson: "We're not
going to change the way Miele
plays, or anyone else, but we've
seen it with our best players in
the past, if they're checked really
closely and not given the chance
to do whatthey're really good at."
Regardless, Michigan's
CCHA-leading defense is going
to be tested and tried by Miami's
league-leading offense.
Though Michigan is the
stronger team in the standings,
Berenson still considers the Wol-
verines the team left with some-
thing to prove in Oxford, Ohio
this weekend.
"We might not appear to be so
much of an underdog, but I see us
as an underdog going into their
building under the current situ-
ation," Berenson said. "So we've
got to play like the underdog."

As far as motivation goes,
Michigan doesn't need to look
past the 3-2 overtime heart-
breaker against the RedHawks
last March.
"It's always something we
remember, but things change,"
Caporusso said. "But it's a new
team this year, we're a new team,
so we'll see what this weekend
has in store. Obviously there's a
rivalry that's built up between
us."
NOTES: After being sidelined
for nearly two months with a
groin injury sustained before
The Big Chill at the Big House,
senior goaltender Bryan Hogan
will travel with the team this
weekend.
"(Bryan) is goingto travel, he'll
be our backup goalie," Berenson
said on Wednesday. "So we'll
take two goalies, but Hunwick
will play both games."