6A — Thursday, January 29, 2015 Sports The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com Harbaugh secures staff Five assistants come from NFL jobs By MAX COHEN Managing Sports Editor One month has passed since Jim Harbaugh was introduced as Michigan’s head football coach. In that time, he has been tasked with hiring a coaching staff and filling out a recruiting class that was decimated because of questions surrounding Brady Hoke’s job status. Now, the first of those tasks is complete. You already know offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Tim Drevno as well as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach D.J. Durkin, but here’s a rundown of the rest of Harbaugh’s staff. Jedd Fisch, passing game coordinator, quarterbacks coach, wide receivers coach Like Harbaugh, Fisch’s most recent job was in the NFL. He spent the past two seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he was charged with developing an offense stacked with young players. Throughout his coaching career, Fisch has bounced between the college ranks and the NFL. Before his job with the Jaguars, Fisch was the offensive coordinator at the University of Miami for two seasons, following a one-year stint as the quarterbacks coach for the Seattle Seahawks. Fisch isn’t new to the Big Ten — he spent the 2009 season as Minnesota’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Tyrone Wheatley, running backs coach Harbaugh isn’t the only member of Michigan’s coaching staff to return to Ann Arbor after starring for the Wolverines in college. Wheatley was a three- time All-Big Ten selection at running back from 1992 to 1994 and was also an All-American in track and field in 1995. Wheatley comes to Michigan after spending two years as the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills. Wheatley’s son, Tyrone Wheatley Jr., is a senior in high school and a top Michigan target. He was in Ann Arbor for an official visit this week. Jay Harbaugh, tight ends coach, assistant special teams coach Yes, Jay is Jim’s son. The 25-year-old is the youngest member of Michigan’s coaching staff, coming off of three seasons working for his uncle John as an offensive quality control coach for the Baltimore Ravens. Many expect Jay’s youth to be an asset on the recruiting trail, where relatability can be a key factor in a prospect’s decision. Harbaugh’s Twitter profile refers to Michigan as “The New Tight End U.” He has wasted little time setting the bar high. Greg Mattison, defensive line coach Mattison returns to Michigan under Harbaugh’s regime after spending four years as the Wolverines’ defensive coordinator under Hoke. Though Mattison regularly cited his close friendship with Hoke as the primary reason he was at Michigan, Mattison also has ties to the Harbaugh family. Under John Harbaugh in Baltimore, Mattison first served as the defensive line coach before moving up to defensive coordinator. Mattison also worked under Jim and John’s father, Jack, at Western Michigan from 1982 to 1986. Greg Jackson, secondary coach Jackson is another member of Michigan’s coaching staff with an NFL pedigree. He spent the last four years as a member of Harbaugh’s staff with the San Francisco 49ers, serving as the team’s assistant secondary coach for all four of Harbaugh’s years there. As a player, Jackson spent 12 years in the NFL, recording 32 career interceptions. Michael Zordich, secondary coach The specific roles for Zordich and Jackson in the secondary have not yet been defined. Zordich spent the past two seasons as the safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator at Youngstown State. Prior to that, he spent four seasons on the coaching staff of the Philadelphia Eagles. An All- American safety at Penn State in 1985, Zordich played 12 seasons in the NFL. John Baxter, special teams coordinator Baxter comes to Michigan after spending four years at Southern California from 2010 to 2013. He isn’t short on coaching experience, having taken his first job at Loras College in 1981. Baxter’s 2013 special teams unit at USC thrived, ranking second in the country with three blocked punts and fourth in blocked kicks with six. Kevin Tolbert, director of strength and conditioning Tolbert is the second member of Harbaugh’s staff in San Francisco to follow him to Ann Arbor. Tolbert worked with Harbaugh for all four of Harbaugh’s years with the 49ers as the team’s assistant strength and conditioning coach. Tolbert also worked with Harbaugh for two years at Stanford and was an assistant strength coach for Michigan from 2001 to 2007 under Lloyd Carr. Michigan slows down game to gut out win By JAKE LOURIM Managing Sports Editor Last season, the Michigan men’s basketball team welcomed Nebraska to Crisler Center as a heavy favorite. Early in the first half, the Wolverines took a lead and smelled blood. Using their talented lineup complete with two future NBA draft picks, they stepped on the gas and ran the Cornhuskers out of the gym. They ran the floor to the tune of 63 possessions and won, 79-50 — and it wasn’t even that close. They led by as many as 41 in the second half. Tuesday, Nebraska made its return to Ann Arbor, but this time, Nik Stauskas and Glenn Robinson III were gone, junior guard Caris LeVert was out with a foot injury and sophomore guard Derrick Walton Jr. tested his foot in warmups but sat out. Michigan didn’t have the luxury of running up the score on the Cornhuskers, so it slowed things down and slogged out a 57-possession, 58-44 win. It was just as impressive, but not as flashy — as Nebraska coach Tim Miles said, “At the end of the day, I just thought that they out-competed us, they out-executed us and we didn’t show much heart.” Facing an uphill but doable battle to get to the NCAA Tournament with nine games left, the Wolverines may have to use that strategy more and more. With LeVert out for the season and Walton on the shelf for an undetermined length of time, they sent a combination of unheralded recruits, walk-ons and freshmen at the Cornhuskers. And it worked. “We gotta bring that effort every night,” said sophomore forward Zak Irvin, who had the first double-double by any Michigan player this season with 11 points and 12 rebounds. “I think we had a big chip on our shoulder after that tough loss we took to Wisconsin. We just brought it out on Nebraska tonight.” The Wolverines clung to a five- point lead at halftime but kept their lights-out defense going in the second half. After a quick 13-0 run, they led by 18 and had the Cornhuskers on their heels just like last year. This time, they slowed the tempo enough to frustrate Nebraska. Instead of starting the fast break after rebounds, they settled into their offense, led by junior guard Spike Albrecht. They mixed up their defense and held Nebraska’s Terran Petteway to 1-for-11 shooting. “In the second half, we made a little run against their 2-3 zone,” Miles said, “and never saw it again.” Without its two best players, Michigan knew it couldn’t shoot 13-for-31 from 3-point range like it did last year. So the Wolverines took just 14 triples and connected on six, getting help from freshman guard Muhammad- Ali Abdur-Rahkman’s strong dribble penetration to make up the difference. “You don’t want to take too many crazy shots,” Abdur- Rahkman said. “Sometimes it’s a good shot, sometimes it’s not, so you just want to control the game.” Added Michigan coach John Beilein: “We were going to take what was open to us, but certainly when we got ahead by that, we weren’t going to keep shooting so quickly. We wanted to value the clock and make sure they had to work really hard against every defense we threw at them.” After Tuesday’s win, the Wolverines are no healthier than they were before it. And a brutal month of February still beckons: Michigan will play six of its seven games against teams in the top half of the Big Ten with trips to Michigan State, Indiana, Illinois and Maryland. Despite the depleted lineup, the Wolverines may just have found a way to steal a few wins without their injured players. “These are things we can control right now,” Beilein said. “We can control the type of rest we’re getting in between and when we’re going to bed, how we’re eating. We can control our effort. We can control our attitude. We can control how fast we run. … There’s nothing more important than getting your guys to understand that concept, and the rest of the stuff sort of comes together.” ‘M’ to host No. 5 Maryland By MINH DOAN Daily Sports Writer With Maryland coming to town just 72 hours later, it wouldn’t have been inexcusable for the Michigan women’s basketball team to look past an Illinois team ranked in the bottom half of the Big Ten. But it wasn’t until after 40 minutes against the Fighting Illini and a hard- fought 70-57 win that the Terrapins first crossed Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico’s mind. “I’m not really looking two games ahead,” Barnes Arico said. “I really wasn’t preparing for Maryland before Illinois because if you do that, especially our team, you lose focus of your opponent, and you’re going to lose.” Barnes Arico and the Wolverines (5-3 Big Ten, 13-6 overall) will have their hands full Thursday night when they take on No. 5 Maryland (8-0, 17-2). But one advantage Michigan will have is its home crowd. The Wolverines have lost only once at home and have already posted key victories over Michigan State and Ohio State at Crisler Center. “Our home crowd has just been tremendous,” Barnes Arico said Tuesday on WTKA radio. “And it’s getting better and better every game. I think there’s a buzz in the community and around campus about the way the team is playing.” If there’s one player who will need to play well against the Terrapins, it’s senior forward Cyesha Goree, who has averaged 20.5 points over her last five games. “Cyesha has just been incredible,” Barnes Arico said. “She’s kind of been unstoppable against every opponent we’ve played so far, and I think a lot of it is due to her effort. She keeps on working and continues to go, go and go. She chases after rebounds on the other side of the court that I think nine other people can’t get. She’ll come up with them.” Behind the arc, freshman guard Katelynn Flaherty has found her shot again of late, posting double-digit point totals the past two games. On the other side of the court, Maryland coach Brenda Frese’s squad has been on fire. After losing to No. 4 Notre Dame on Dec. 3, the Terrapins have won 11 straight games, including eight in the Big Ten, which puts them at the top of the conference standings. Boasting the No. 6 scoring offense in the country with 82.8 points per game, Maryland is led by guard Shatori Walker- Kimbrough, who leads the Terrapins with 13.9 points per game. Much like Michigan, the Terrapins have a dominant post presence. They boast two centers in 6-foot-3 Brionna Jones and 6-foot-4 Malina Howard and are shooting 48.5 percent from the floor, good for fourth in the nation. “I would say their biggest thing is they have such a great inside- outside presence, and they’re big, strong and physical,” Barnes Arico said. “They’re playing extremely well right now.” But as formidable of a task as it seems to take down the fifth- ranked team in the country, there won’t be a lack of motivation for the Wolverines. “It’s always nice to play one of the best teams in the country,” Goree said. “When we played Notre Dame, we had an experience to see where we were, how we were at our game. Now that we have a few more games under our belt, it’s always great to play a top-five team in the country.” ALLISON FARRAND/Daily Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman scored nine points in his second career start. Maryland at Michigan Matchup: Maryland 17-2; Michigan 13-6 When: Thurs- day 7 P.M. Where: Crisler Center TV/Radio: BTN Plus SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily Senior forward Cyesha Goree has averaged 20.5 points over her past five games heading into Thursday’s showdown. FOOTBALL