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i 8A - Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

8A - Wednesday, September 28, 2011 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom

M unveis speed option play
MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor"

If there's one word to describe
junior quarterback Denard Rob-
inson,"t' speedy. He runs fast,
his teammates say he talks fast
and most of the time when he
struggles, the coaches say he just
needs to slow down. So when the
coaches unveiled their newest
offensive wrinkle, it was only fit-
ting that it started with speed -
the speed option, that is.
Despite working on the speed
option since spring practice,
Michigan hadn't run a speed
option the first three games this
season. The only option they ran
was a read option. Robinson was
inthe shotgun, readthedefensive
end and decided whether to hand
the ball off or keep it. In Michi-
gan's fourth game last Saturday
against San Diego State, offen-
sive coordinator Al Borges didn't
waste any time unleashing the
new weapon and called the play.
On 3rd-and-2, Robinson went to
the line and checked the play to
the right."Junior running back
Vincent Smith went in motion as
Robinson snapped the ball.
Robinson took a few strides
horizontally, found a crease and
sprinted 53 yards into the end
zone.
"You got a guy who can run
(a) 4.3 (40-yard dash) with the
ball," Borges said before laugh-
ing. "That's a little scary to the
defense, that kind of ball car-
rier. It just forces them to defend
more."
The Wolverines ran the play
a couple of more times, to vary-
ing success. Robinson did make
the pitch to redshirt sophomore
Fitzgerald Toussaint for five
yards. Then Robinson converted
on fourth down. Borges said that
most defenses are playing man

MEN'S GOLF
Blue disappoints
in rain-shortened
18-hole tournament
ZACH HELFAND junior Miguel Echavarria, who
Daily Sports Editor shot a five-over 76.
The Inverness Club - the
For the first time since host course for the tournament
1993, the Michigan men's golf - gave the team difficulty with
team played just one round its short game.
in the rain-shortened 18-hole "The greens at this course
Inverness Intercollegiate were very small, so they're
Tournament on Tuesday. For hard to hit, which puts pres-
the second time in two weeks, sure on your short game,"
Michigan finished with a dis- Whitten said. "I thought our
appointing score by its own shots around the green were
standards. maybe a little bit sloppy at
The Wolverines tied for sev- times."
enth with an aggregate score Three other Big Ten teams
of 301. The tournament was participated in the tourna-
originally scheduled for two ment. Michigan State and Penn
days, but rain forced officials State finished directly ahead of
to cancel Monday's round. Michigan.
Senior Matt Thompson and The Spartans took fourth
junior Matt Alessi were Michi- with a 295, followed by the Nit-
gan's top golfers for the round. tany Lions, who shot one stroke
They tied each other for 17th ahead of the Wolverines. Ohio
with a pair of three-over 74s. State, which finished ahead of
"(The one-round tourna- all three teams in last spring's
ment) was an unusual event," Big Ten Championship, fin-
said Michigan coach Chris ished last in the 11-team field
Whitten. "Statistically, the with a 305.
more golf you play, the bet- Michigan has struggled in
ter teams are going to rise to both of the tournaments it has
the top. But in a one-round played in this year, as it fin-
shootout, we prepare for every ished sixth as the host team
round the same way, and we at the Wolverine Intercolle-
think that every shot we hit in giate Tournament earlier this
the tournament has the same month. Still, Whitten says the
value. So it's no different game team is not far off from its
plan, no different attitude. Just potential.
a little bit of unusual routine "I think we're still figuring
maybe." out what our team looks like,"
Whitten said nobody Whitten said. "We don't have
stepped up to carry the team to make huge jumps in terms
through a below-average of our games, but I think the
round, but he was impressed results will definitely get bet-
by former walk-on Alessi and ter."

0

MARISSA MCCLAIN /Daily
Junior quarterback Denard Robinson and junior running back Vincent Smith combined for one deadly option combo.

coverage on the receivers, leav-
ing a couple of guys keying on
Robinson while trying to. force
him to pass. Running the speed
option is an effort to counterbal-
ance that defensive set.
"(It) is a way to really back
people off from man coverage,"
said Michigan coach Brady Hoke.
"Because if you've got your pitch
man and whoever's going to take
the quarterback - when you play
man and you're going to blitz,
you've got to be right."
Despite the success of the
option, Borges said he wasn't
surprised the Wolverines hadn't

run it until now.
That may have been due to
the original plan of the offense.
Before the season, Michigan's
offensive mantra was to take
the pressure off Robinson's legs,
partly in order to prevent some
hits to Robinson's body.
After four games, Hoke and
Borges have been adamant that
they're going to do everything to
win, even if it means exposing his
quarterback to more hits through
the option or otherwise. Robin-
son has carried the ball 47 times
for nearly 400 yards in the past
two games. As No. 19 Michigan

heads into the Big Ten season -
which beat up Robinson last year,
knocking him out of multiple
games - Robinson's health is a
concern. But Hoke has said Rob-
inson has been "doing the best he
can" in avoiding contact.
The option won't be a new
wrinkle-from here on out, but if
it continues to work, Michigan
will still run it. According to
Borges, novelty may not be an
issue.
"There's more," Borges said.
"We're in the Big Ten now, and
the're's going to be more stuff
that we haven't done."


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