. '. .. . The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September12, 2013 - 7A Miller and O-line still trying to jell Sophomore slot receiver Dennis Norfleet was called "spicy" by fifth-year senior safety Thomas Gordon. He keeps teammates awake with pranks and disupts defenses N et y ByZACH HELFAND Daily Sports Editor One hot afternoon in the last week of fall camp, Dennis Norfleet strolled into Al Glick Field House. A mop of dreadlocks splashed out- ward underneath the brim of his oversized bucket hat, bought from the MDen. He arrived alone, and for now, no one chased him. That would come soon enough. Norfleet, Michigan's speedy sophomore slot receiver, specializes in making people miss, and that's fortunate for him: people always seem to be running after him, on and off the field. He is Michigan's kick and punt returner, after all. But even team- mates have found reasons to give him chase. Thomas Gordon called him a "spicy, little guy." Taylor Lewan would like to teach Nor- fleet a lesson, if only he could be corralled. Teammates describe Norfleet as the team's jester, provoking bigger players in the locker room (and they're all bigger; Norfleet is the shortest player on the roster and misses being the lightest by just two pounds) and providing a needed diversion when the weekly routine becomes too boring. The week Norfleet showed up with his oversized hat, the grind of camp and two-a-day practices had some feeling sluggish, said Gordon, a fifth-year senior safety. Norfleet made sure they were awake. "My role is basically keeping everybody up," Norfleet said. "I'm aguy that always has energy, aguy that don't sleep." Norfleet's tactics vary. He can trash-talk about anything, said sophomore defensive end Mario Ojemudia. And he will goad play- ers and coaches alike. Lewan, though, has become Norfleet's favorite target. Nor- fleet and other younger players occasionally challenge the locker- room hierarchy by trying to dash all the way through the "senior pit," as redshirt freshman guard Kyle Kalis calls it. Most don't make it through. Norfleet takes it a step further. When Lewan isn't looking, Nor- fleet will sneak up and jump on his back or hit him on the side. Then he'll run away. Lewan is a 6-foot-8, 315-pound All-American left tackle. Norfleet weighs 169 pounds. He is just 5-foot-7. "He's so small and Taylor's so big, so people start laughing at that," said fifth-year senior line- backer Cam Gordon. "Taylor hardly catches him, he can't catch him." On the field, Norfleet disrupts defenses with similar delight. He was recruited to Michigan as a running back. The recruiting website 24/7 Sports reported his 40-yard dash at 4.34 seconds. He returned kicks as a freshman but was stuck behind a stable of backs, so he transitioned to defensive back at the end of 2012. His ath- leticism was too much to keep off the field. Now in 2013, he's back on offense, this time as a slot receiver who can also take a handoff. He has just four career rushes for a total of 52 yards and three recep- tions for 17. Still, he commands the defense's attention. Michigan likes to use jet motion to get the ball to Norfleet on a sweep. The defense has to honor it. "When you see Dennis in motion, he's heading to get the ball so you gotta pay attention to him," Ojemudia said. If not, he'll find the open field, and there, his size is an advantage. Ojemudia said Norfleet is the only player who can avoid a tackle by ducking underneath it. Meeting Norfleet in the open field, Gordon said, "that's like a nightmare." "He's like a freak of nature," Ojemudia said. Norfleet's 2012 season ranked second all-time on the Michigan returning yard list at 827 yards. He assumed punt return responsibili- ties this year, too, and though he's struggled at times to catch the ball cleanly, Michigan coach Brady Hoke called him a playmaker. The trick for Michigan is to get him in the open field. Norfleet always seems to be running from someone, and no one has caught him yet. The young interior line passed its first test against Nix By LIZ VUKELICH Daily SportsEditor What's the biggest difference between the Jack Miller of 2012 and the Jack Miller that you've seen so far in the first two games of the Michigan football team's 2013 campaign? Well, obviously the fact that the redshirt sophomore is now the starting center. But his transition from backup to the man in charge of the snaps - and the success he's seen there so far - is the result of two things on Miller's part. The first was all the prepa- ration Miller put in during the offseason as part of the battle for the starting center position that took place all spring and through most of summer. "I'd say lifting is probably the biggest thing," he said. "I don't care how good you are, you're an 18 year-old boy coming in to play with 23-year-old men. There's just a physical differ- ence, and you have to get to that point." That sort of preparation wasn't just limited to the weight room, though. Miller said he diligently studied the playbook all summer, as a way to stay "two steps ahead" of everything by the time fall camp rolled around. The second change in Miller isn't as obvious, but it's visible to Michigan coach Brady Hoke. "Jack, at least early in his career, I thought sometimes he was not confident in what he could do," Hoke said. "I've seen that grow, and it's part of maturity. I believe that he works awfully hard. He has really stepped up in his commu- nication, which he has to at that position." That couldn't have been more evident than in last week- end'sgame against Notre Dame. By now, enough has been said about the success of the Wol- verines' interior line against Louis Nix III. For Miller, what's most important is how he and the rest of the offensive line move forward from there. Holding off Nix was argu- ably their biggest challenge of the season, so overcoming that obstacle this early in the season provided Miller with a good vantage point of where the line currently stands and where it has to go. One thing Miller doesn't have to worry about, though, is chemistry with redshirt junior quarterback Devin Gardner. "It's easy because Devin is a great leader, it's been easy to get that going," Miller said. "Every- one up front will feel that way. He's doing a phenomenal job leading us right now and mak- ing that offense go. We're really clicking with him. That's the objective of any good team." Now that the offensive line has already clicked with Gard- ner, the next item on the check- list is opening up the ground game for the running backs. In order to do that, Miller says, the interior line still needs to work on its chemistry. That connec- tion is something that's made significant progress over the past few weeks, but still isn't anywhere near where Miller would like it to be. "Jelling more up front, (knowing) where each other is at, and what we're thinking," he said. "Just getting to the point, a good O-line is nothing but con- sistent play. You've justgotto be consistent, focus every play and execute every single play. Once we get that going, I think it will really open up the run game." WOMEN'S SOCCER ' Michigan playing for best start in program history By JAKE LOURIM Daily Sports Writer Women's soccer coach Greg Ryan has said this year's team is the best he's seen at Michi- atNM '1 gan. Mhgan One more win will back Matchup: that up with the Detroit 2-3-1; best start in pro- Michigan 5-0 gram history. When: Thurs- The 11th- day 7 p.m. ranked Wolver- Where: U-M ines (5-0) play Soccer Stadium Detroit at U-M Soccer Stadium on Thursday, where they look to build momen- tum heading into Big Ten play. Michigan started 5-0 in 1998 and 2002 but could set a new mark by beating the Titans (2-3-1) in the last non-conference home game. "We came into Michigan, and no one really talked about us,"said senior midfielder Tori McCombs. "It's really cool to see. But at the same time, we can't really acknowledge that accomplish- ment until we get there." For Thursday's game, Detroit's biggest weapon is senior forward Kaitlyn Quarrell, who Ryan said can cut inside from left midfield. The matchup with Detroit and Sunday's tilt at Butler are the lone tune-ups before the Big Ten schedule begins. Michigan beat Detroit, 1-0, last year and is 7-2 in the all-time series. The Titans have played all six of their games on the road this year, two of which were against ranked teams. Both teams have played Eastern Michigan: Detroit lost, 3-2, and Michigan won in overtime, 2-1. Michigan comes into the game off a 2-0win over then-No. 22 Pep- perdine. The Wolverines allowed Pepperdine only three shots on goal using a reshuffled back line. Without junior Olivia Brannon, who is still recovering from last season's knee surgery and is being tested for a foot injury, Michigan moved senior Shelina Zadorsky to center back and added senior Kayla Mannino on the back line. "We just look like we're a little bit more solid defensively with Kayla at the back and (junior defender) Chloe (Sosenko) at the back," Ryan said. "There will be times where I know we're going to get Kayla further up the park, because she is very creative at the attack." Mannino started 19 games last season and started the first four of this season at right midfield. She said the transition to the back line has been smooth. "I've told the coaches before, 'I'll play goalie if you want me there,' " Mannino said. "I'm open to anything." Mannino, Ryan said, was an attacker when she started her career, but the team converted her to midfield, as it has with several other players, such as Sosenko. "Defense, I just have to be more reserved," Mannino said. "There are times where I'm really tempt- ed to go forward because I want to score, which is the mentality for midfield, but I can't have that for defense." With senior defender Holly Hein in the middle, this is one of the most experienced defenses in Michigan history. Sosenko and Hein each ranked in the program's top four in single-season minutes played last season. As the Wolverines keep win- ning, their expectations continue to mount. However, McCombs said their focus is still elsewhere. "A lot of people around us think that we have pressure on us," McCombs said. "(Ryan) keeps reminding us that nothing's won yet. Rankings don't matter. We come into practice, and we forget about the weekend and we focus on the game ahead of us. You can't really look that much into the future." Michigan is now the highest- ranked team in the Big Ten, higher than 15-time reigning Big Ten champion, No. 13 Penn State. But the Wolverines would rather play their best soccer near the end of the season. "That's something we just addressed as a team because we've had such a great start, not to let go of that," Mannino said. "Make sure we don't get comfortable or complacent." WOMEN'S SOCCER For freshman Cole, a limitless potential By ERIN LENNON Daily Sports Writer When freshman middle block- er Abby Cole reached her adult height of 6-foot-5, it was time to raise the net. As a freshman at Grand Haven High School, Cole - already the No. 3 singles player on her varsity tennis team - was forced to ditch the racket for her first love, volley- ball, which fell in the fall season on the high school calendar. That same winter, Cole excelled on the basketball court, leading her team to a state title in her freshman season, the first of two in her high school career. Cole was named the Class A Player of the Year by the Associated Press, and was recruited heavily by Division- I coaches around the country. Though it was a love of basket- ball that kept Cole from playing club volleyball, a passion for her fall sport brought her to Michi- gan. In her senior year, Cole was named the No.3 senior amongthe top-250 volleyball player: nation, according to Pre ball.com, and was named Under Armor All-Americ ond team. In her home sta was a runner-up for Mi Miss Volleyball award in 2 was named to the All-Michi- gan first team. "Sh In her first year with the CIOC No. 7 Michigan volleyball team, as s Cole is the only freshman rep- resented in the Wolverines' starting lineup, replacing former starting blocker Claire McElhen Michigan native is curre: reigning Big Ten Freshma Week and sits among Mic top three hitters with 43k just six errors. "I'm excited," Cole said think the transition has1 easy just because of my s in the mates and the coaches." pVolley- But without competitive, win- I to the ter volleyball, Cole's athletic tal- an sec- ent remains just that: raw talent. te, Cole And for Michigan coach Mark chigan's Rosen, that means potential, and 012 and lots of it. "(Cole) is a great learner," te's nowhere Rosen said. "She's very se to as good humble and she just keeps he's going to progressing. The best thing be." about Abby is that she's nowhere close to as good as middle she's goingto be. As a coach, noth- ry. The ing is more exciting than that." ntly the Across the court from senior .n of the co-captain Jennifer Cross and chigan's alongside sophomore blocker kills and Krsytalyn Goode, Cole gives Michigan's front line an entirely . "I just different look. She is able to run been so the slide around the back of soph- y team- omore setter Lexi Dannemiller with ease - a hit that mimics the layup in basketball - much like McElheny in 2012. Cole boasts 13 blocks on the season and only one error, compared to Cross' 20 and four. She has also recorded three more kills than her counterpart. But through the first five matches of the regular season, Cole has lived and died with the long shot. Having committed just six attack errors in 71 attempts, so far the long ball is working. But when other teams figure Cole out, fewer and fewer shots will hit the floor. The challenge then will be to put the ball in front of the attack line. If and when Cole learns to hit down rather than into the corners, she will be a force to rival middle blockers like Stanford senior Stephanie Browne and formidable Big Ten defensive specialists. It's an easy fix, says Rosen. "It's a matter of being taught," Rosen said. "Lucky for us, she's been successful at nearly every- thing she's tried so far, so it's just amatter of time." Learn your potential p: 1.800.266.4441 :www.ceaStudyAbroad.com *Please mention this ad when you speak with your CEA rep.