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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Tuesday, October 8, 2013 - 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, October 8, 2013 - 5
Ryan cleared by doctors
Fixing 3rd down woes
By ZACH HELFAND
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
chose his words carefully. When
pressed, Hoke said that injured
redshirt junior linebacker Jake
Ryan could "potentially" return
against Penn State on Saturday.
Whether Ryan will actually play
is still uncertain.
For the first time, though,
Hoke acknowledged that Ryan
has received clearance to play
from doctors.
He has taken NOTEBOOK
part in contact
drills in practice. Now, the deci-
sion about when to play Ryan is
up to Hoke and Ryan.
"Believe me, he's wanting to
play," Hoke said. "Seems to feel
OK, but we still need to make sure
that he can do the things that he's
capable of doing."
Ryan tore his anterior cruci-
ate ligament nearly six-and-a-
half months ago at a practice on
March 19. He underwent surgery
a week later on March 26. The
team has said throughout the
process that the target for Ryan's
return is sometime in October.
When Ryan does return, he'll
take some playing time from
junior linebacker Brennen Beyer,
who has been one of the defense's
best players this season. That
will add depth to the strong-side
linebacker position, Hoke said.
He added that Beyer could move
back to defensive end, where
he played his first two seasons,
depending on the personnel and
situation.
When Ryan is healthy, he is
likely the best player on Michi-
gan's defense. Last year, he
recorded 4.5 sacks and 16 tackles
for loss.
Ryan is also a player that should
have a future in the National
Football League. Hoke has said
he wants to be sure Ryan is ready
to return, but Ryan's eagerness to
Redshirt junior linebacker Jake Ryan is getting closer to returning from a torn ACL, an injury he suffered in March.
return can complicate that.
"He wanted to play last week,"
Hoke said. "He wanted to play the
week before. What do you think
he's going to say? 'No, coach, I
don't wanna play."'
As Hoke got up to leave, a
reporter reminded Hoke that
South Carolina defensive end
Jadeveon Clowney asked not to
play in his last game with bruised
ribs.
Hoke continued walking. With
a smile, he said, "I'm not even
going there."
PIPKINS OUT FOR YEAR WITH
ACL TEAR: As speculation over
Ryan's return built, the team
announced Monday that sopho-
more defensive tackle Ondre
Pipkins will miss the rest of the
season with an ACL tear.
"I'm pretty close to him
because I coach him," Hoke
said. "Your heart just goes out to
Ondre."
Pipkins doesn't seem a likely
candidate for a medical redshirt.
The NCAA stipulates that to
receive a medical redshirt, the
player must not play in more than
30 percent of the season. Michi-
gan has passed the 30-percent
mark.
There is one remaining option,
though. NCAA bylaw 14.2.4.2.1
- yes, that's the actual number
- allows for review by a commit-
tee. The rule states, in part, that
a conference may appear to the
Committee on Student-Athlete
Reinstatement, which "shall have
the authority to review and deter-
mine whether to approve the
waiver based on circumstances
that may warrant relief from the
application of the legislated waiv-
er criteria." A spokesman for the
Big Ten onference said a decision
can be appealed, but declined to
comment on any specific cases.
"That's all something that
we'll have to appeal and do all
that stuff with," Hoke said. "It's
way too soon to say it is or isn't."
Hoke mentioned redshirt
junior Richard Ash and redshirt
freshmen Willie Henry and Ryan
Glasgow as players that could see
more time in Pipkins's absence.
LATE-NIGHT TEXTS: At 11:30
p.m. Saturday, Hoke's phone
buzzed with a text from fifth-year
senior left tackle Taylor Lewan.
After beating Minnesota,
Lewan's attention had turned to
the Wolverines' next opponent:
Penn State. Hoke said the mes-
sage read "Coach, it's going to be
loud at Penn State. We need more
crowd noise this week."
Hoke, who said he's relatively
new to texting, replied "OK."
Michigan has struggled on
the road since Hoke took over as
coach. At home, Hoke has never
lost. In away games, though,
Hoke's Michigan teams have
gone 5-6.
Penn State has one of the most
hostile stadium's in the confer-
ence. ("Oh shoot, what a great
place to play," Hoke said of Beaver
Stadium).
The Nittany Lions also have
one of the most talented fresh-
men quarterbacks in the nation
in Christian Hackenberg. Hoke
spoke highly of Hackenberg in his
press conference.
"I'll tell ya, he's very talented,"
Hoke said. "Very talented. He can
spin it. Shows a lot of maturity."
By LIZ VUKELICH
Daily Sports Editor
Redshirt junior quarterback
Devin Gardner calls it the "money
down," and sophomore linebacker
James Ross III reiterated that
point in Monday's press confer-
ence.
But for all the talk about how
important it is for the Michigan
football team to stop its opponents
on third downs, something still
got lost in translation Saturday
against Minnesota.
Early in the first quarter, the
Golden Gophers took possession
of the ball for their second drive of
the game.
The Wolverines had already
forced a turnover on Minnesota's
previous possession and, with the
Golden Gophers facing a 75-yard
drive, it gave the Michigan
defense confidence it could force
the stop.
Minnesota wasn't quite as will-
ing to give up the ball a second
time, though. On a drive that took
almost 10 minutes, the Golden
Gophers marched down the field.
They converted five consecutive
third downs - two of which came
from Minnesota quarterback
Mitch Leidner, avoiding pressure
by running the ball.
"There's some issue when you
don't tackle well, when you're
reaching instead of running
through," said Michigan coach
Brady Hoke after the game. "Some
guys do that just because they
don't want to make a mistake. I'd
rather them be aggressive, run
through and make a mistake."
The Golden Gophers eventually
extended their third-down streak
to seven before Leidner's incom-
plete pass at the beginning of the
second quarter snapped it. Even
though Minnesota converted only
one more third down during the
course of the game, it still raised
questions about why the Wolver-
ines' defense had so much diffi-
culty getting off the field.
After the game, sophomore
cornerback Blake Countess said
the Golden Gophers' continued
success on first and second downs
made it difficult for defensive
coordinator Greg Mattison to call
the right play on third-and-1 or
third-and-2 situations.
Hoke said it wasn't necessar-
ily Mattison's calls that allowed
Minnesota to convert so often, but
rather Leidner's athleticism,espe-
cially with his scrambling ability.
"He'd get out of the pocket and
then we'd miss at tackle," Hoke
said. "I thought there were a cou-
ple interior runs, the four- or five-
yarders that they bled you with a
little bit. We've got to make sure
we're doing a better job in there."
The first quarter time of pos-
session was lopsided in Minne-
sota's favor, 11:14 to 3:46. It evened
out as the game progressed, and
the Wolverines agreed that had
everything to do with stopping
the third downs.
"Well, I think we got bodies to
the ball when (Leidner) did want
to scramble or he did want to run
it," Hoke said. "I don't think there
was anything magical when you
look at game-plan wise changing
things a whole lot."
Hoke said that he would have
preferred to give younger offen-
sive players, especially the run-
ning backs, some more reps. And
as the game slipped further and
further out of Minnesota's fingers,
Saturday could have been the per-
fect opportunity to balance out
the Wolverines' veterans with
youth.
But due to the minimal amount
of time that Michigan held onto
the ball, Hoke's hope for a more
well-rounded offense never quite
panned out.
"We've got to get better time of
possession," Ross said. "That's on
(the defense). We have to get off
the field and set up our offense to
score points."
5 Things We Learned: Waterloo
ByALEJANDRO ZUNIGA
Daily Sports Editor
1. Adjustments need to be
made before Boston College.
The week before the No. 11
Michigan hockey team played
Waterloo (Ont.), Michigan coach
Red Berenson admitted that he
was already looking ahead to the
season-opening clash against No.
4 Boston College. After the Wol-
verines fell to the Warriors, 2-1,
the excitement turned into trepi-
dation.
"Well, it's a little scary," Beren-
son said. "Boston College will
certainly be a whole new chal-
lenge."
Berenson stressed that the
home exhibition helped younger
players grow accustomed to play-
ing a full-speed game against
experienced competition, but the
atmosphere at Yost Ice Arena on
Thursday might not compare.
Thebuilding wili likelybe packed
and roaring when Michigan
welcomes an Eagle squad that
dispatched St. Francis 8-2 in an
exhibition.
Both goals that Michigan
surrendered Sunday came on
team lapses. Senior defenseman
Mac Bennett admitted to los-
ing his man on the first, and no
one cleared the rebound after
sophomore goalkeeper Steve
Racine made an impressive save.
A dynamic 4-on-2 rush led to
the second tally. There's only so
much coaching that can be done
in a week, and the Wolverines
will have to minimize mistakes
that are common this early in the
season to upset Boston College.
2. Freshmen will be key all
year.
Much of Michigan's success
this season will be dependent on
* its freshman class, and it showed
signs of promise on Sunday.
Defenseman Nolan de Jong
and forward J.T. Compher led the
Wolverineswithfive shots apiece,
and goaltender Zach Nagelvoort
looked solid in goal. Defensemen
Kevin Lohan and Michael Down-
ing both saw time on the penalty
kill and helped hold Waterloo to
zero shots despite the Warriors'
six minutes with a man advan-
tage.
Berenson toyed with the lines
to pair freshmen with upper-
classmen and will continue to
experiment early in the season.
But he was impressed with the
new talent, nonetheless.
"They got the feeling they can
play at this level, and they just
need to get ready and get a little
more experience," Berenson said.
"Overall, I thought they were a
positive."
3. It was just an exhibition.
Because of customary NCAA
restrictions, Berenson could
spend little time on the ice with
his team during practices leading
up to the exhibition. The Wolver-
ines also spent Sunday afternoon
experimenting with line combi-
nations and were shorthanded as
junior forward Alex Guptill sat
out due to an off-ice issue.
Michigan may go through
some growing pains against Bos-
ton College, but it's still early in
the season. And the Wolverines
showcased their speed and offen-
sive potential in a game that eas-
ily could have gone either way.
"We're going to come into the
Boston College game with a lot of
confidence," Copp said.
4. Michigan's goaltending is
stable.
Last season, the Wolverines
struggled mightily between the
pipes. Three different players
started in net, and it took most
of the year for sophomore Steve
Racine to emerge from a medio-
cre pack.
Now a sophomore, Racine
holds the No. 1 spot, where he
was reliable in the loss to Water-
loo. Racine surrendered a pair of
goals, both of which came after
he made a great pad save on a
short-range shot and was unable
to corra
After
Racine
protecti
Behir
keeper
the last
the War
nine sa
Janecyk
ice. It's]
Mich
feels li
sophom
i the rebound. 0-for-5. But Michigan created
the game, Berenson said plenty of scoring chances that
could benefit from more will eventually go in.
ion in the future. "If we bury our chances, we'll
nd him, freshman goal- be in good shape," Copp said. "A
Zach Nagelvoort played little bit was luck today, but we
half of the game and held just need to bear down and be
rriors scoreless, recording stronger in front of the net."
ves, while senior Adam The Wolverines finished
didn't see any time on with 35 shots to Waterloo's 22
Racine's job to lose. and dominated the first period
despite surrendering a goal. They
5. Goals will come. also played without Guptill, last
season's leading scorer.
igan's loss to Waterloo Certainly, failing to hit twine
ke a disappointment, but regularly could become an issue,
ore forward Andrew but Berenson isn't worried quite
Copp had reasons to remain opti- yet.
mistic. "We onlyhad ahandful ofgood
Yes, the Wolverines' lone goal chances, and their goalie made
was a gift, a stickhandling error the saves," he said. "Outside of
by Warrior goaltender Justin that, it was a close game. When
Leclerc that Copp managed to you play from behind, sometimes
slide into the net. Yes, the power it's harder to score, and we just
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PAUL SHERMAN/Daily
Sophomore forward Andrew Copp scored Michigan's only goal on Sunday.
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