0s 8A Friday, October 17, 2014 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom The starter you don't notice on Saturday By MAX COHEN Daily Sports ditor The specialists are the first players out on the field prior to Michigan football gmes, about an hour before the team runs out and touches the banner. If you arrive early, you watch kicker Matt Wile and punter Will Hagerup intently, to see if they look ready to make the plays that could determine the game. But there's another specialist on the field, one you don'tee. He's just as responsible for the success of the Wolverines' special teams, but he might as well be invisible He stands 14 y rds in front of Hagerup, legs spread apart andthe football in between, laces up. He hunches over and throttles the ball through his legs, a tight spiral directli into Hagerup's right hip. He plays the most specialized position in football, the one were success is expected so often hat it goes unrecognized, but the slightest mistake - even if it'sjust a couple of inches - can draw the scrutiny of an entire fan base.5 He's touched the ball on 42 6f Michigan's 152 points this season, but he couldn't be happier that you don't notice him. He's Scott Sypniewski, Michigan's redshirt freshman long snapper, and he hopes you never say his name during games. "If I could run onto the field and run off and no one know I was even there, that's a job well done for me," Sypniewski said. Itwouldtake onlyone snap over Hagerup's head for Sypniewski's anonymity to disappear. That's why Sypniewski treats every snap the same, whether it's a game-winning field goal attempt at Rutgers or a second- quarter punt against Appalachian State when the Wolverines already have a sizeable lead. He has one goal on every play: a perfect snap. On punts, Sypniewski's subtle inaccuracies when other coaches might not. "He notices when I screw up because he also knows what it is to: screw up, too," Sypniewski said. But Hoke also notices when Sypniewski is doing well. After Michigan's win over Penn State in which Wile made three field goals, Hoke noted Sypniewski and the rest of the unit when asked about his kicker's success. "So we're really, really, really excited, and you forget" about Scott Sypniewski, the snapper," Hoke said. "You -forget about Kenny Allen, who holds, and how much they work together every day and how successful he was and a lot of it starts there, too." No matter how well Sypniewski. does, the attention will always go to the person he's snappingto. Wile earned Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week, but even he acknowledged that his kicking is the final product of the work of the unit. Sypniewski is satisfied to labor in the realm of the unknown, he's too focused on the task at hand. He doesn't partake in elaborate celebrations after touchdowns because he doesn't want to be too excited and make a mistake on the snap. He spends the majority of his time on the sidelines preparing for the next time he needs to go out -onto the field. He snaps to Allen, Hagerup or the portable net adjacent to Michigan's bench. When the likelihood of a kick increases, Sypniewski advances toward the field. When it's time for the kick, he runs onto the field, makes the snap and runs off. Hopefully you don't notice. Ready for Slippery Rock? Check MichiganDaily.com Saturday the day for coverage. PAULsstrMANnaiIy Redshirt freshman long snapper Scott Sypniewski isn't often recognized for his crucial role on special teams, which is jsot the way he prefers to go about it: that entails sending the ball to Hagerup's right hip. On field goals, perfection is hitting holder Kenny Allen in the palm of his right hand while he holds it out as a target before quickly turning the ball over. This repetition - ddives Sypniewski. "Youj He's been snapping since about seventh grade when his youth Sypniev team needed someone toplay snap the position. He figured it was - just another way to getcon the field. When he reached his junior year of high school, he began to see the position.as a route to earning a college scholarship even though he also played guard and outside linebacker. His father was a center at Western Michigan in the 1980s when Michigan coach Brady *Hoke, defensive coordinator forget Greg Mattison and special Scott teams coordinator vski, the Dan Ferrigno coached there. per Sypniewski saw the toll that battling in the trenches took on his father's body. Playing long snapper would incur less damage. Because of his father's knowledge of snapping the football, Sypniewski worked with him at a turf facility each day during his junior and senior years of high school, taking between 20 to 5t snaps. The monotony of the job might bore other players, but Sypniewski focused on taking perfect snaps, not just snapping the ball for the sake of doing it. The recruiting process for long snappers is the same as it is for every other position. Sypniewski attended - numerous camps to get his name out there. His high school in Illinois was small and few college coaches attended games. But the offer Sypniewski wanted came from the people who already knew his name: the trio who coached his father in college that now coached at Michigan. Many were . surprised the, Wolverines offered a coveted scholarship spotto alongsnapper. Long snappers operate. in the. shadows on many teams, away from the watchful eye of coaches who either lack the knowledge to coach the position or are too busy with other responsibilities. The opposite is the case at Michigan. In addition to playing linebacker during his playing career at Ball State, Hoke was a long snapper. He places a premium on the position, the reason he chooses to assign scholarships to longsnappers. Hoke pays close attention to Sypniewski during practice, and games, helping him along throughout his first year as a starter. Hoke recognizes oil WOMEN,5 BASKETBALL - Maryland, Rutgers . add depth to BIG Levert handling spotlight* ROS 14 Big coache Big Te the stt was th memb As D Four 1 won t both s compe conten season Ten pi But Barnes fiditin contes 10 spa John's a scho now-d feature conten and Ni J'hi Ten to as her "By 11 here o > Barnes said, had) r cha yea out gob tourna That's see th. right n In Arico' adding Knigh in the of the confer both under leader Ma By JACOB GASE has a national championship Daily Sports Writer under her belt. She's won Coach of the Year awards in every EMONT, Ill. - As all conference she has coached in. Ten women's basketball Rutgers coach C. Vivian s gathered for the annual Stringer is an even bigger legend, n Media Day near Chicago, with her 929 career wins trailing tryline on everyone's mind only Tennessee's Pat Summit on e conference's two newest the all-time list. Each coach also ers: Maryland and Rutgers. has previous Big Ten experience Maryland comes off a Final - Frese coached Minnesota for berth and Rutgers having one season in 2001-2002, while he WNIT Championship, Stringer spent 1983-1995 at Iowa. quads sp into an already- "They're both Hall of Fame 'titive conference as instant coaches in my opinion," Barnes iders. More than any other Arico said. "And top programs in recent memory, the Big in the country (with) returning cture is wide open. (players). Rutgers is returning Michi#n coach Kim everybody and they have a couple s Arico cnows all about of All-Americans on their team. ig to staX afloat in a tightly So I think those two teams will ted @ conference. In her definitely add strength to our sons as head coach at St. conference. No doubt aboutit." Barnes Arico racked up But Barnes Arico is quick to ol re rd 176 wins in the point out that the Big Ten's more efunc Big East, which tenured members can't be taken ed perennial national title lightly either. Nebraska, Michigan iders such as Connecticut State, Iowa, and Minnesota all otre Dame. finished above the Wolverines s year, she expects the Big in the Big Ten last season and be just as much of a battle are returning most their key days on the East Coast. starters, who might e able to the time I left (St. John's), surprise the newcomers. wer, eight teams going "Ithink Rutgers and Maryland, NCAA tournament," by the end of the season, will Arico say 'oh my "(We goodness,"' teams Barnes Arico the "I thmk those said. "Because ship two teams will I know I did iid year W after my first d teams definitely add season here. far in theThis league is ament. strength to our incredible." how I , In the face e Big Ten Conference. of the tough ow." competition, Barnes Barnes Arico is s opinion, optimistic that g the Terrapins and Scarlet Michigan will come out motivated ts to the mix is the first step rather than overwhelmed. Big Ten's ascent to one "When you play in such a tough best women's basketball league, your preparation is going ences in the country. And to be tough every day," she said. teams enter the Big Ten "But I think part of the reason some of the strongest that kids come to the University of ship a team could ask for. Michigan is to have an opportunity ryland coach Brenda Frese to play against the best." By MAXBULTMAN Daity Sports Wricer ROSEMONT, Ill. - A beefed- up Caris LeVert arrived at Thurs- day's Big Teri Basketball Media Day without braces, and. he NOTEBOOK got to show off his smile after being named to the Preseason All-Big Ten team by the media. Thejunior guard is joined on the team by Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell, Wisconsin forward Sam Dekker, Nebraska forward Ter- ran Petteway and Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky, who was voted the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year. During a breakout campaign in 2013-14, LeVert averaged 12.9 points and 4.3 rebounds while emerging as a secondary scor- ing threat behind Nik Stauskas. LeVert shot43.9 percentfromthe field and will see more attention this season as he tries to keep Michigan's young team steady in a deep Big Ten. "He was in (the spotlight) a bit last year," said Michigan coach John Beilein. "There were sev- eral games where we just went to him because people were doing things with Nik or Glenn (Rob- inson III). "I love his personality because he doesn't let things bother him very much, so I don't think he gets too excited or gets too wor- ried about either situation." The Wolverines didn't make the media's preseason top three, which. included unanimous favorite Wisconsin, followed by Ohio State and Michigan State. ROLLING OUT THE WEL- COME WAGON: Thursday marked the first Big Ten Media Day for Rutgers and Maryland, and the new league members both expressed their excitement to get started. "I've followed a lot of these coaches for a long time, fol- lowed the programs, so I know they're all excellent coaches," said Maryland coach Mark Tur- geon. "Arguably, it'sbeenthebest league in the country the last four or five years. So, with that 0 PAUL SHERMAN/Daily Junior guard Caris LeVert is expected to handle a bigger role on the Michigan offense, and he's handling that just fine. said, there's a lot of anticipation going into it, and we're looking forward to it." The Terrapins join the Big Ten from the Atlantic Coast Confer- ence, another basketball pow- erhouse, and project to be the. better of the two new members. Maryland finished 17-15 last sea- son and features former Wolver- ine forward Evan Smotrycz as a key contributor. As they proved with an upset win over then-No. 5 Virginia in 2014, the Terrapins are a talented group. They return 10 members of last year's team, and while they could have a tough time consistently competing with the conference's elite, they're capa- ble of turningheads. Rutgers, on the other hand, could face a much steeper battle in its Big Ten debut. The Scarlet Knights went 12-21 last year in coach Eddie Jordan's first season at the helm and are expected to finish near the bottom of the conference. Jordan, though, says it's all part of a greater development process. "We know where we're com- ing from," he said. "Even last year, we thought the process was successful - the first stage of it. We were picked last.in our con- ference. We were seventh. People thought we would win eight or nine games. We won 12. So we feel our kids competed with (class), and that was the first part of the process. "We understand we're going to a tougher league, and the sec- ond part of the process is to get better players, which we think . we did, to be competitive and to meet the opponent eye to eye and play with harmony and effort. That's the second part of the pro- cess, and we think we're doing ok with that." FORWARD THINKING: Beilein hinted Thursday at what many have expected for his front-court plans. While he has yet to give any indication as to who will start at center, he gave some insight on what to look for from freshman forward Kam- eron Chatman. "He's got a great chance to start at one of our forward posi- tions," Beilein said. "He's a very natural ball handler and really proven to be a very good shooter thus far. I'm very optimistic he can give us quality minutes from day to day." One thing Chatman could do for the Wolverines is provide much-needed rebounding help. LeVert led the team in defensive rebounds last season, pulling in 141 boards from the guard position. And while Chatmanis still fill- ing out his frame, Beilein thinks he will be a useful contributor. "His body is changing daily," Beilein said. "I don't think you'll see his true body until the next couple years. He's not afraid to go in (for a rebound) and he's got great hands and instincts for the ball." Beilein has not decided in which position - the '3' or the '4' - he will play Chatman, but said he will decide based on a variety of factors, including defensive ability and how he runs the ball screen.