The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 30, 2011- 5
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Stuck behind Adam
Weber for two seasons,
all 6-foot-4, 240 pounds
of MarQueis Gray found
room at wide receiver for
Minnesota.
Now, he's the start-
ing quarterback, and the
uber-athletic Gray may
be the most dangerous
thing about a rebuilding
Golden Gophers team.
His 521 pass yards and
351 rushing yards can
attest to that.
At Big Ten Media Day
in August, Gray sat down
with the Daily to talk
about the upcoming sea-
son:
The Michigan Daily: How
dangerous are you with your legs?
MarQueis Gray, Most people
say I'm a dual-threat, and when
a play breaks down, I just try and
get the first down. If it enables me
to run, then I'll do it.
TMD: Dual-threat quarter-
backs get the reputation that they
can't throw the ball well. Do you
hear that? How do you feel about
that?
Gray: I feel like I'm a great
passer.
That stings a little bit to know
that when you get that title of
dual-threat quarterback, people
don't know - they only consider
that you can run. But once you
show that you can hit the deep
ball and those impossible passes,
then people will start warming up
to you.
TMD: But how confident are
you in your ability to make all the
throws?
Gray: I'm more confident now
than I was when I first start-
ed playing quarterback again
because I've been having more
reps to throw the ball. I've been
taking all the reps now in our
summer workouts.
TMD: I'm sure you've seen
Denard Robinson play. How do
you think you compare to him?
Gray: Just being a dual-threat
quarterback.
He's been able to showcase his
talents the last couple of years and
show that having a dual-threat
quarterback is hard to stop. And
hopefully, having a dual-threat
quarterback (at Minnesota), it'll
be hard to stop us.
TMD: How fast are you?
Gray: I can say I'm nowhere
as fast as Shoelace, but I've got a
good amount of speed to me.
TMD: If you look at Antwaan
Randle El, Brad Smith and other
college quarterbacks that play
wide receiver in the NFL, did you
ever think about not playing quar-
terback and focusing on playing
wide receiver at the next level?
Gray: I always wanted to play
quarterback - that's my child-
hood dream. But if that's the way
I'm going to get into the NFL,
then so be it. Being in the NFL is a
childhood dream of mine also.
TMD: What's it like to finally
be a quarterback?
Gray: I haven't played quar-
terback since my senior year of
high school, and I've been itching
to get back and I finally get the
chance to.
TMD: What's it been like mov-
ing around to different positions,
have you always wanted to be a
quarterback?
Gray: Yeah, I've always want-
ed to be a quarterback. But just
wasn't able to get that name
attached to the end of mine. It is
what it is, and I'm looking for-
ward to being a quarterback this
year.
TMD: Did you take snaps at
quarterback your first two sea-
sons?
Gray: When I first got here,
that's when I took most of my
snaps.
I was like legitimately second-
team (quarterback). Then last
year, they had me warm up with
the quarterbacks then I went with
the receivers throughoutpractice.
TMD: Did your former coach
Tim Brewster say to you, 'Hey,
you're a great athlete, we need
you to be on the field?' Because
you did have Adam Weber in front
of you.
Gray: Yeah, that's exactly what
he said. I said, 'Coach, I don't feel
like I can help this team from the
sideline.' He figured out I could
play receiver and that's what I did.
TMD: What did you learn
about being a quarterback from
playing wide receiver?
Gray: That's another way to
learn defenses.
But being a receiver you have
to learn how to sit down in cer-
tain holes in zone coverages and
myself, I can teach some of our
younger guys - to some of the
freshman wide receivers and
quarterbacks comingin - I canbe
a quarterbacks coach and a wide
receivers coach, because I did it
lastyear.
TMD: What's your coach Jerry
Kill like?
Gray: He's a little fiery guy. We
love him a lot. From the first time
he got here, he's been on us about
discipline, hard work and playing
fast.
(coP)ANDYKING/AP (BOTTOM)TOM OLMSCHEID/AP
Junior quarterback MarQueis Gray has thrown for more than 500 yards and has run for nearly 400 in four games this
season, as the Golden Gophers have started the regular season 1-3.
Minnesota has no answers for Blue
MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily
Michigan coach Brady Hoke has focused on winning the Big Ten since his introductory press conference back in January.
eyes prize: Big Ten Title
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
When Brady Hoke took the
podium for the first time as
Michigan football coach on Jan.
11, he made the team's initial goal
abundantly clear: win the Big
Ten Championship.
His sights weren't set on the
national title - not just yet, at
least.
"If you don't win your con-
ference championship, there's
no way in heck you're winning
the National Championship," he
said.
Hoke set the tone early.
When he first addressed the
team, it didn't take long for Hoke
to mention the Big Ten title.
"(Right) when he walked in
the door," redshirt sophomore
offensive lineman Taylor Lewan
said.
After "This is Michigan, for
God's sakes" and demanding to
know who thought head coach at
Michigan was no longer an elite
position, his five Big Ten rings
said everything he missed.
As fall descends on Ann Arbor,
this is when that elite job gets
tough: Brady Hoke, meet the Big
Ten season. Championships are
won in November, but late Sep-
tember isn't a bad time to get
started.
The Wolverines have entered
the Big Ten portion of the sched-
* ule unbeaten in each of the past
three seasons.
But the conference slate hasn't
been kind.
Michigan was 1-7 in Big Ten
games in 2009, 3-5 last season.
Progress, yes. But for the play-
ers, it's been an embarrassment.
"It's not acceptable by any-
one's standards," said fifth-year
senior defensive tackle Ryan
Van Bergen. "The guys who have
played here before us left a leg-
acy of competing for a Big Ten
championship, and we haven't
even been close.
"You can see our record
against Big Ten opponents, and
it hasn't been anywhere close to
where it needs to be. Who cares
about being 4-0 in non-confer-
ence? Yeah, it'd be great to be 4-0
rather than 0-4, but it doesn't
matter once you start Big Ten."
Even through spring camp,
fall camp and the non-confer-
ence schedule, Hoke has repeat-
ed the team's primary goal again
and again.
During fall camp, the Michi-
gan Stadium tunnel got a new
paint job, featuring former Mich-
igan coach Bo Schembechler's
famous phrase, "The team, the
team, the team."
Just beside Mi 's locker
room door, a fres rose was
painted on the wall alongside
a list of each of th 42 seasons
that Michigan has n the con-
ference champions
Hoke's given th layers all
the motivation theyneed.
The Wolverines haven't
topped the conf ce since
2004 - the longe ought in
Michigan football tory since
the early 1960s.
"The expectation is to win the
Big Ten Championship," Hoke
said. "If we don't do that, we've
got to retool it, re-fix it and do
whatever we have to do because
we're going to do that for Michi-
gan."
Hoke was brought to Michi-
gan to do what his predecessor
Rich Rodriguez couldn't do -
compete in the conference.
Rodriguez's Wolverines were
6-18 in Big Ten play, finishing no
better than seventh in the con-
ference.
Hoke has made it clear that
Michigan is his destination job.
He wants to retire in Ann Arbor.
He's known that since former
coach Gary Moeller hired him as
a defensive line coach in Febru-
ary 1995.
But at a place like Michigan,
job security comes only after his
teams prove they can contend in
the Big Ten.
Unbeaten through four games
is nothing for Hoke and his play-
ers - they have Big Ten on their
minds.
"Everyone who is on this
team has been 4-0 at one point,
and everybody realizes that
doesn't mean anything once you
get into the Big Ten schedule,"
Van Bergen said. "Coach Hoke
says championships are won in
November, and our November
record's not very good.
"What we do in the next two
months is what's going to be
remembered of our team - for-
ever - and that's all we have left
as seniors."
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor
By the end of Saturday's
game, the Michigan football
team may want to put the Little
Brown Jug in at linebacker. The
game should already be in hand,
and it would be nice gesture,
giving Minnesota a glimpse of
the trophy before it stays in Ann
Arbor for another year.
It certainly looks like a Mich-
igan loss in the Big Ten opener
would be a huge upset. Here's
what to look for this weekend.
Michigan pass offense vs.
Minnesota pass defense
It's the bad versus the really
bad. Which unit is which is yet
to be determined. Junior quar-
terback Denard Robinson has
yet to find himself in the pass-
inggame, throwing for less than
100 yards the past two weeks,
and the Gophers have a couple
of players who can make him
pay for his mistakes.
Minnesota defensive back
Kim Royston is a hometown kid
who leads the secondary and
also leads the team in tackles.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
singled him out this week as
someone who stood out on film.
North Dakota State came up just
short of 200 yards passing last
week against the Gophers.
But Minnesota ranks 108th
in the country in pass defense.
One of its starting cornerbacks,
Troy Stoudermire won't play
because of a fractured left wrist.
The defensive line won't help its
banged up secondary either, as
the Gophers' biggest problem
on defense has been generating
a pass rush. In four games, the
Gophers have just one sack this
season. If Michigan wants to get
its passing game on track, Rob-
inson will have the time to do so,
and Michigan's receivers should
be able to find open space.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan rush offense vs.
Minnesota rush defense
The Wolverines employ a
running back by committee for
the foreseeable future. In Big
Ten play, Robinson won't have
quite the speed advantage that
hee did in the non-conference
slate.
The Gophers' biggest
strength is their run defense.
Linebacker Gary Tinsley leads
a unit that ranks 33rd in the
country in rush defense. Minne-
sota hasn't given up more than
139 yards rushing in a game and
has surrendered 100 yards just
twice this season. Robinson had
200 yards last week.
Minnesota may be able to
contain Michigan's stable of
backs and could even stop
Robinson's designed runs. But
Robinson leads the nation in
rushing yards per game - he'll
find a way to get it done.
Edge: Michigan
Minnesota pass offense vs.
Michigan pass defense
The Gophers have weapons
on the outside. Senior receiver
Da'Jon McKnight leads a group
that may pose problems for the
Michigan secondary. Unfortu-
nately for Minnesota, the unit
doesn't have anybody to get
them the ball.
MarQueis Gray leads the
Gophers' two-quarterback sys-
tem and, like Robinson, he's
probably more dangerous with
his legs than with his arm. After
switching from receiver at the'
beginning of the season, he's
completing barely 50 percent
of his passes. Plus, he's deal-
ing with a toe injury. That may
mean freshman Max Shortell
carries more of the load. Short-
ell's completing just 46 percent
of passes and while he is a more
natural thrower, he doesn't
appear ready for the Big House.
Michigan's defensive line
should be able to get pressure on
whoever plays, going up against
an inconsistent offensive line on
the other side. Fifth-year senior
cornerback Troy Woolfolk will
play after suffering an injury
in the San Diego State game,
and his backup, freshman Blake
Countess, proved he's a service-
able backup. With the added
depth, the Wolverines should
be able to shut down the Minne-
sota passing game.
Edge: Michigan
Minnesota rush offense vs.
Michigan rush defense
The defensive line is fresh
off arguably its best game of the
season, and the rush defense
looks solid after halting the
Heisman talk of San Diego State
running back Ronnie Hillman.
Currently the 86th rush defense
in the nation, the question is
whether the Wolverines can
perform consistently against
Big Ten opponents.
The Golden Gophers can rush
the ball. Both running backs,
Duane Bennett and Donnell
Kirkwood, are relatively small
at 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10 respec-
tively, but they both weigh more
than 200 pounds. If Gray plays
significantly, he'll be one of
three rushers Michigan will see.
Like Michigan, the Gophers'
quarterback leads the way on
the ground, more than doubling
the closest rusher's total on the
team.
No Gray means Michigan
holds a significant edge; a hob-
bled Gray gives it just a slight
advantage.
Edge: Michigan
Special Teams
Although freshman Matt
Wile has been serviceable at
punter, sophomore Will Hag-
erup's return from suspension
signals a significant upgrade. He
struggled early as a freshman
but settled down throughout
the year and started booming
punts, including one 72 yarder
against Purdue.
In Hagerup's career, he's
averaged 43.6 yards per punt.
Gophers punter Dan Orseske is
averaging 45.9 this season. With
those two canceling each other
out, the special teams battle
mainly comes down to the kick-
ers.
Neither kicker is very good,
but while Minnesota kicker
Chris Hawthorne has is just
5-for-8 this season with long of
36 yards, redshirt sophomore
Brendan Gibbons did little to
instill confidence in Wolverines
fans, missing a 40-yard field
goal last week. Until he starts
making field goals consistently,
Michigan loses this matchup,
even with Minnesota's top kick
returner, Stoudermire, out with
an injury.
Edge: Minnesota
Intangibles
Both teams should be fired up
for Big Ten play, except it can be
argued that this is just another
game for Michigan. Minnesota
is playing for its head coach,
Jerry Kill, who began the week
in the hospital receiving treat-
ment for a condition that gave
him seizures.
The Gophers also lost to
North Dakota State last week.
Beating a ranked team would
bring back a smidgen of respect-
ability to the program.
Edge: Minnesota
Final Score: Michigan 42,
Minnesota, 17