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To stop Gray, Hoke says, 'Chase the rabbit'
Coach Chilcoat, is to be a father figure to these young men.
Be a character guy. Teach them how to do things the right
way.
"Be the stability in the storm when they've got things
going on and they need help."
Hayden was the stability, and oftentimes, Chilcoat
brought the storm.
"I was the hard-ass on the staff because I'm an older
person," the 61-year old Chilcoat said. "They looked to the
younger assistants for guidance ... people who could under-
stand their situation better than I could."
Varina's football program was unlike most high school
programs.
"We really demanded a lot from them," Chilcoat said.
"From grades to participating in an offseason program to
summer programs to fundraising, we really did alot."
By his senior year, Marell was a team captain. At the end
of the season, he was named first-team All-State and was the
Richmond Times-Dispatch Defensive Player of the Year. He
was also an All-District basketball player.
The kid without a father became a big brother to the
underclassmen.
"Marell was a full-front leader," Chilcoat said. "He
stepped up, just did whatever we asked of him."
It wasn't always a smooth ride - but that was part of what
made Marell special.
"He had some bumps along the way, butthey were always
ironed out pretty easily," Chilcoat said. "You just have to
like those kids that pull themselves up when you don't have
much at home and don't have much of yourself, and to get
out of situations that he's been in on his own has been pretty
remarkable.
"I just really love that trait in him."
That trait was one of many that helped push Marell to do
anything he could to accomplish something no one in his
family had ever done.
"It was important to him to get a scholarship and to have
an opportunity to play at the college level," Hayden said.
"He did whatever he needed to do to do that. He'd watch
film with me. He would always finish every drill harder than
he started. He'd study hard. He'd do the things he'd need
to do in class. He improved all his grades through his high
school career."
Not only did he graduate - he was academically eligible
to accept a scholarship to one of the best academic schools
in the nation.
It was August 2009, and Marell Evans had just announced
his decision to leave Michigan.
The soon-to-be-junior linebackerthad started just one
game in his short two-year career - the 2008 season-open-
er against Utah.
He recorded four tackles and a half sack in that game, a
25-23 loss, but was burned deep several times.
"It was fast," Marell recalled in an interview with
MGoBlue.com on August 25."I didn't do too good in that
game. I made a couple tackles, but I didn't play to my poten-
tial:"
Just as quickly as he earned the starting job, he lost it.
He played almostcexclusively on special teams for the rest
of theyearunderheadcoach RichRodriguez. Soon after the
season ended - a season in which the Wolverines went 3-9
in Rodriguez's first year at the helm - Marell was gone.
Most figured it was because he wanted more playing
time. Others speculated he didn't like Rodriguez's system -
Marell was recruited by former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
and had played for Carr his freshman year. And there may
be some truth to both notions.
But even Rodriguez
wasn't completely sure of
the reason for the trans-
fer.
"Good, young men,"
Rodriguez said of Marell
and defensive tackle.
Vince Helmuth, whoT
transferred around the
same time as Evans.
"Sometimes that hap-
pens. Guys think, 'Maybe
I'm not getting a lot of
reps, I'm not on the depth
chart.' I try to remind the
guys that the depth chart P
is not going to be solid
until the first week (of
games.)"
Marell didn't put the
blame on Rodriguez, like
most other transfers that
year did. He never quite
gave a reason for his
transfer but always hinted
that there was somethingR
other than just football on
the line. Not long before the season opene
"Me and Coach Rod are was told he was ruled ineligible be
on good terms," he told
the Detroit Free Press on August12, 2009. "It was more than
playingtime or academics or anything like that. It was a lot
of things. Coach Rod is a great coach and Iwish him plenty
of success. I wanted to finish my career in a different way."
Originally, few people understood.
"The coaches didn't understand, but I have to do what's
best for my future," he told the Free Press.
But it really wasn't just about his future.
While Marell was in Ann Arbor living out his dream of
playing college football, his mother, Valerie, and 16 year-old
half-brother, Eugene, remained home in Richmond.
Financially, Valerie often had troubles making ends meet.
And in Michigan, there was little Marell could do to help.
With his vigorous class and football schedule, he didn't have
time for a job.
Something had to change.
"I was thinking family before anything," he said. "I got a
brother who is on the right track, just making sure he's OK,
before I do anything about football. I was very focused on
helping my mother."
Marellrand Eugene share the same mother. Eugene lost
his father when he was young, too. Marell didn't want
Eugene to have to grow up without a father, like he did.
So he didn't let him.
"I was a father figure to him," Marell said. "When things
go wrong in my life, I feel like I let him down. I do every-
thingsI can to show him the rightsway, sodsI want to help pay
for his college. That's my goal."
He couldn't do that from Ann Arbor.
Once he left the team, Marell spent the next five months
at home with his family trying to figure out what his next
move would be. He picked up a job at a nearby warehouse,
working eight-hour days.
"It was very humbling," he said. "Understanding what I
had (at Michigan) and anywhere I could be, it's as humbling
as it could get."
During the 2010 winter semester, Marell decided to
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By TIM ROHAN another to New Mexico State.
Daily Sports Editor Michigan defensive coordinator
Greg Mattison is on notice. Recent
quarterback's dreadlocks history says the Wolverines can't
against his jersey, hang- stop mobile quarterbacks - there
the back of his helmet as he was Appalciahian State's Armanti
d down field. He ran the read Edwards, Texas's Vince Young,
play out of Oregon's Dennis Dixon, Illinois's
tgun with Minnesota Juice Williams and Ohio State's
ilback all Terrelle Pryor. This will be Matti-
ng, finish- at Michigan son's first true test.
h 163 pass- Matchup: "Gray is a very dangerous quar-
ds with a Minnesota 1-3; terback," Mattison said. "I'm not
iwn and Michigan 4-0 going to say he's Denard, but the
ds on the When: Satur- guy has the same kind of mentality
in a 29-23 day 12 P.M. where he's going to run the foot-
co weeks Where: Michi- ball. He's a big strong kid as well
, it wasn't gan Stadium as having pretty good speed. If
Robin- TV/Radio: there's nothing open, and if there's
BTN a rushing lane, he's goingto take off
signal scrambling. That always puts pres-
strides sure on a defense."
nger. He galloped. And he For two seasons, Gray was stuck
n contact full steam. The behind former Minnesota quarter-
1, 240-pound former wide back Adam Weber, so the coaches
r proved he could run with decided to best utilize his talent at
of them. wide receiver. In 2010, Gray caught
now junior quarterback 42 passes for nearly 600 yards.
eis Gray may be the only Once Jerry Kill was hired as the
lucing member of a 1-3 Min- new coach, Weber had graduated
eam, which has already lost and Gray ascended to become the
me to a FCS opponent and centerpiece of the offense. Still,
Gray hasn't lit the world onfire with
his passingnumbers early on. In the
season opener against USC, Gray
couldn't exceed the 100-yard pass-
ing mark in three quarters before
he left the game due to cramps.
Freshman quarterback Max Short-
ell entered the game and nearly
orchestrated an upset over the Tro-
jans. A week ago in Minnesota's loss
to North Dakota State, both Short-
ell, the pocket. passer, and Gray
rotated and the Golden Gophers
threw for just 124 yards.
So what's Kill to do? Perhaps fol-
low Michigan's formula and rely on
the legs of your dynamic quarter-
back: Gray's 351 rushing yards are
40th bestlin the country and fourth-
best among quarterbacks. Already
this season, Mattison's defense has
had trouble maintaining running
lanes for quarterbacks and late-
developing running plays. On mul-
tiple occasions, Western Michigan's
Alex Carder found a hole in the
Wolverines' containment.
"We can't allow those kinds of
runs," Mattison said. "But at the
same time you can't sit back either.
We can't play a defense of what-ifs.
We want to be the attacker, and
then some of those things we can
tweak and we can help ourselves to
make sure that doesn't happen."
Mattison's playerss have experi-
enced most of their success this sea-
son when dialing up blitzes at the
right time, forcing key turnovers
- a whole 13 of them in four games
- because they are the aggressor,
and they don't sit back. At first, his
defensive line couldn't generate
enough pressure by itself. But in the
past two games, junior defensive
end Craig Roh - Mattison's rush
end - has recorded three tackles
for losses, including two sacks and
a forced fumble. Defensive tackles
Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen
have also worked well - Martin
disrupting the pocket, and Van Ber-
gen taking on double teams to free
up Roh and Martin. Those three, as
well as a handful of other linemen
rotating in, will have to maintain
their gaps while rushing Gray, Mat-
tison said. Because if Roh or Martin
or Van Bergen leave a void, Gray
can sprint right through it. In the
first four games, Mattison's defense
has been caught not playing every
gap tight and teams have burned
the defense on it, especially when
r against Western Michigan, fifth-year senior linebacker Marell Evans
cause of complications with his transfer status.
enroll at Hampton University - a small Division-I school
about an hour away from his hometown.
Leaving Ann Arbor was a difficult decision - and to Chil-
coat, it was a mistake.
"I don't think he got all the right people talking to him,
or he just didn't listen to them," Chilcoat said. "But he knew
when he got home that he had made a big mistake. I saw him
that Christmas I think. He was getting ready to go to Hamp-
ton, but you could tell he was just sick (that he was) not get-
ting readyto go back to Michigan."
And it truly may have been a mistake at the time. There's
no telling what could have happened if he stayed at Michi-
gan.
But the decision had been made. Marell was determined
to go to school somewhere, regardless of whether football
was in the equation.
"Academics was something I wanted to do because I am
the first person to graduate high school in my family," he
said."So coming to college is a bigger thing. It's a blessing,
a privilege."
When he enrolled at Hampton, he originally planned on
playing football there too, but a nagging injury sidelined
him well before the season started. Hampton coach Dono-
van Rose said he never really got a chance to know Marell,
but said he was "respectful" the few times he was able to
talk to him.
In a matter of a couple months, Marell Evans hadagone
from a Michigan linebacker to a Hampton student and a
warehouse employee.
His job used to be to play his favorite sport in front of
almost 110,000 people at Michigan Stadium. Now, his job
was to move boxes in and out of a lonely building in Rich-
mond
Marell attended Hampton for two semesters. He earned
enough credits so that he would onlyneed a couplemore
semesters to graduate.
And by the end of his tenure there, he had achieved one
of his many goals.
"(My mom) is doing great," he said in August of this year.
"She's working; financially everything is good. Grandma is
STAFF PICKS
The Daily football writers pick
against the spread to predict Michael
scores in the 2011 football season. Florek
No.19 Michigan (-19.5) vs. Minnesota Michiga
Mattison sends extra defenders on
"overload" blitzes from either side.
With Gray, Mattison won't stop
sending extra defenders to get after
him, he'll just make sure they know
to take the right angles, leaving lit-
tle space to improvise.
"That's where this kind of quar-
terback makes it harder on you,"
Mattison said. "If a guy's not
mobile, then you just say, 'Go get
him. We'll run him down.' This guy
here's like Denard in a way where,
all of a sudden, ifa guy rushes too
high up the field he's going to break
it up the inside."
But just how fast is Gray?
At Big Ten Media days in August,
Gray made a comparison:
"I can say I'm nowhere as fast as
Shoelace," he said. "But I've got a
good amount of speed to me."
But he may be a bit hobbled. A
foot injury kept Gray from practic-
ing early in the week, and his status
was still uncertain as of Thursday
evening. Michigan coach Brady
Hoke wouldn't tell his linemen to
play Gray any differently than any
other quarterback.
As Hoke said, they just have to,
"chase the rabbit."
Sam Sedlecky,
Maize Rage
President
Michigan
Louisiana State
Bll 5Sate
Alabama
Nevada
Stanford
South Carolina
Clemsen
TexasA&M
Saylor
South Florida
Texas
TCU
Goragia Tech
West Virginia
flinals
Arizona State
Penn Slate
Notre Dame
17-7-1
17-7-1
No.1 LSU (-27.5)vs Kentucky
No.2 Oklahoma (-39) vsBall State
No.3 Alabama (-6) at No.12 Florida
No.4 Boise State (-29) vs Nevada
No. 6Stanford (-22.5 NseCLA
No. 7 Wsconsin (-7) vs. No.8 Nebraska
No.10 South Carolina (-10.5) vs Auburn
No. 11Virginia Tech (-7)vs. No. 13Clemson
No.14 Texas A&M(-3)vsNo.18Arkansas
No. 15Bayor (-3) atKansas Sat
No.16 South Florida at Pittsburgh (-3)
No.17Texas(-9)at Iowa State
No. 20TCUJ (-9.5)uvs.SMU
Nao.2 iae cht(-6)atNC Sate
No. 22 WVU (-21) vs. Bowling Green
No.24 Ilinois(-7)vs. Northwestern
No. 25 ASU (17.S)vs.Oregon State
Michgaa StalthiouStalt-3)
Penn State (-16.5) at Indiana
Purdue vs. Notre Dame (-14.5)
Last Week
Overall
Lousiana State
Ball State
Alabama
Boise State
Stanford
Wisconsin
South Carolina
Virginia Tech
Arkansas
South lorida
aas
Texas
TCU
Georgia Tech
West Virginia
Illnois
Arizona Stats
AOhio State
Penn State
Purdue
14-10-1
63-44-3
Louisiana State
BallState
Alabama
Boise State
Stanford
Wisconsi
South Carolina
Clemson
Texas A&M
South Florida
TCU
Goragia Tech
West Virginia
Northwestern
Arizona State
Michigan State
Penn State
Notre Dame
15-9-1
65-42-3a
Louisiana State
Ball State
Florida
Boise State
UCLA
Nebrasha
South Carolina
Arkansas
Baylor
Pittsburgh
West Virgia
Northwestern
higan State
Penn State
Notre Dame
10-14-1
64-43-3
Louisiana State
Oklahoma
Alabama
Boise State
Stanford
Auburn
VirsianTe h
taylor
South Florida
Tiexas
TCU
Goargia Tech
Watt Virginia
Ariaona State
PesnState
Notre Dame
16-8-1
70-37-3
6 1 FootballSaturday - October 1, 2011
To apply to be a guest picker, e-mail trohan@umich.edu. If you're chosen and can beat at least two of us, you'll stay on for another week. The longest-tenured guest picker will get a prize at the end of the season.
TheMichiganDaily - www.michigandaily.com 3