The Michigan Daily michigandaily.com I April 15,2013
SPRING GAME 2013
Behind Gardner, a cast of unknowns
Both Cleary and
Swieca see
playing time
By EVERETT COOK
Daily SportsEditor
On the first play of the Michi-
gan football team's Spring Game
on Saturday, redshirt junior
quarterback Devin Gardner let
one fly toward the rightsidelines,
showing off the arm strength
that wowed scouts before his
arrival in Ann Arbor three years
ago.
Freshman wide receiver
Amara Darboh made the over-
the-shoulder catch for a gain of
29 yards. After the scrimmage,
Gardner brought up the play and
smiled, saying that he liked to
throw the ball deep.
One play, insignificant in the
context of the season, but in
April, a big indicator of how this
team and this offense is going to
run.
Last year, Gardner's role on
this team was a little more mud-
dled. He played in the Spring
Game as a quarterback but
switched to wide receiver in the
summer, only to be thrust into
the starting quarterback role
after then-senior Denard Robin-
son suffered an elbow injury on
Oct. 27.
He did well, but it wasn't his
team. Robinson, the star quarter-
back and the face of the program,
was still in the picture even with
the injury.
Now, there's no more Robin-
son, and nobody else above Gard-
ner on the depth chart - it's his
squad, his offense and his posi-
tion.
Stats aren't kept for the spring
game, but unofficially, Gardner
finished 11fori16 for 145 years and
one touchdown.
"It's his throne now," said
fifth-year senior safety Thomas
Gordon. "That will definitely
make him feel better back there.
I could see it in his play in the
spring, he's a lot more comfort-
able back there and has taken
control of the offense. It's really
exciting."
Behind him isa cast of relative
unknowns. The presumed back-
up, redshirt sophomore Russell
Bellomy, tore his anterior cru-
ciate ligament last month, and
highly touted incoming fresh-
man Shane Morris hasn't arrived
in Ann Arbor yet.
So at the SpringGame, thatleft
redshirt freshman Brian Cleary
and redshirt junior Alex Swieca
as the two Wolverines behind
Gardner. Both have never seen
a minute of game action, and
See QUARTERBACKS, Page 3B
One freak and one sprite Michigan's pass
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Clark on defense
and Gallon
on offense
By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
One is a freak, the other a
runt. Junior Frank Clark is a
274-pound behemoth at defen-
sive end. Fifth-year senior
Jeremy Gallon is a 5-foot-8
speedster at receiver.
In stature, the two are
opposites. But with the loss
of Michigan's two playmakers
from 2012 - Denard Robin-
son to graduation and redshirt
junior linebacker Jake Ryan to
injury - each has become the
most exciting player on the
field. And in Saturday's Spring
Game, each was the player to
watch on his side of the ball.
Redshirt junior quarterback
Devin Gardner took Gallon to
his church a few weeks ago. A
young fan approached Gallon.
"A little kid walked up
and was like, 'Hey you play
high school. I'm going to
high school too!' " Gardner
recalled, laughing. "I was like,
'Ooh. Gonna have to get a little
bigger, a little taller or lift or
something, you know?"'
Then Gardner introduced
Gallon to the pastor. The pas-
tor didn't recognize Gallon. He
pegged the receiver at 6-foot-3.
"That just speaks a lot for
the way he plays and how
tough he is and how big he
actually plays."
Gallon is so short that
diminutive senior receiver
Drew Dileo likes to remind the
press that at 5-foot-I0, Dileo
is actually two inches taller
than his teammate. "Don't let
him tell you differently," Dileo
says.
But when Robinson went
out with an injury last year,
Gallon filled the big-play void.
In Michigan's last five games,
with Gardner as quarterback,
Gallon caught 31 passes for 511
yards and three touchdowns.
In the Outback Bowl against
South Carolina, Gallon hauled
in nine passes for 145 yards
and three touchdowns.
Again on Saturday, Gallon
was Gardner's favorite target.
See PLAYMAKERS, Page 2B
its physicality
Orange jerseys
ignored, at least on
Saturday
By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Editor
The orange was supposed to
have said it all.
After backup quarterback Rus-
sell Bellomy, a redshirt sophomore,
tore his anterior cruciate ligament
in practice on March 29, the Mich-
igan coaching staff wasn't going to
risk any more injuries before the
2013 season actually started.
Protection, then, became the
top priority. At practices and at
Saturday's Spring Game, all the
quarterbacks, from the starter
(redshirt junior Devin Gardner) to
the third stringer (redshirt sopho-
more Alex Swieca), wore orange
jerseys in hopes that the team
could stay healthy.
See RUSH, Page 3B
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Even after two years, Burke leaves eternal legacy
the eve of last week's basket- they just smacked us. They just came just before, instead of The futures of each teams' to a better team and that was
national title game, ball. We took it up to another level. They after, halftime, the similarities brightest star was a near cer- hard to swallow, but I felt like
ESPNU aired its net- stayed in played like champions play." between the games run paral- tainty following the losses. And we're goingto get a couple more
work's 30 for 30 documentary, the game, It was an eerie foreshadow of lel. Louisville, like Duke, was here the storylines, the parallels, cracks at it," Rose said. "Every-
"Fab Five." we were what was to come 24 hours later, the tournament favorite with its ultimately go astray. body says that, but I really
Shortly after 10:00 p.m., near executing, at 10:18 p.m., when, after trail- roster full of veterans and Final Headlined by Chris Webber, believed it."
the midway point of the film, the playing ing for 19 of the game's initial 20 Four experience, coached by one the stars of the former team But since he decided last April
storyline reaches the first of the hard," said minutes, top-seeded Louisville of the game's best. all returned, making a run to to return for his sophomore sea-
team's two championship-game Jalen Rose DANIEL entered the locker room with The Wolverines, in each case, the ensuing title game in a year son, Trey Burke's fate following
losses, a blown first-half lead to in the film. only a one-point deficit and all of were the young, inexperienced where a championship wasn't a the conclusion of Michigan's
top-seeded Duke. "In the sec- WASSERMAN the momentum. team who shocked the world goal, but the expectation. next season - whenever it came
"First half, we played good and half, While the Cardinals' run with championship runs. "I felt like we at least did lose See BURKE, Page 3B
The third annual Schefters honor top ' Softball has won 17 in a row, including a
athletes and teams. See what award weekend sweep of Michigan State. Michi-
Denard Robinson took home. gan took the first game by 19 runs. ,g 4