Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 16, 2015 — 7A
Penn State mistakes fuel
Stribling even as a starter
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
Junior cornerback Channing
Stribling was speaking to the
media Tuesday night about his
past issues with consistency,
about his lack of focus, about
getting stronger and faster.
He
talked
about
proving
himself and keeping his head up.
It was clear he was avoiding a big
elephant in the room.
“I’m assuming you’re talking
about Penn State,” a reporter said.
“Yeah, of course,” Stribling said
with a wry smile. “Penn State.”
The
cornerback
recalls
immediately
the
game
in
question. It was the low point of
his career, a night game in State
College on Oct. 12, 2013. He still
watches the film at least once a
month.
“It’s still with me,” Stribling
said. “It’s just knowing what
mistakes I made, knowing that
if I get the same play, it won’t
happen again.”
That night, the No. 18 Michigan
football team rolled into Happy
Valley at 5-0. The Wolverines led,
34-27, with 45 seconds left. Penn
State had the ball on first down
at its own 34-yard line. Stribling,
then a true freshman, was in at
cornerback, matched up on the
strong side with Penn State’s
Brandon Felder.
Nittany
Lions
quarterback
Christian
Hackenberg
took
the snap, evaded the pressure,
stepped up and threw down
the right sideline to Felder.
Stribling mistimed his jump at
the Michigan 40-yard line and
tipped it to Felder, who fell down
with the ball at the 37.
Penn State rushed to the
line and spiked the ball with 35
seconds to play. On the next play,
Stribling lined up on the weak
side opposite the Nittany Lions’
top receiver, Allen Robinson.
Again
Hackenberg
threw
downfield to Robinson, and again
Stribling mistimed his jump.
Robinson, standing near the goal
line, jumped and pulled down the
pass over Stribling at the one-yard
line — Stribling’s mistake again.
Penn State punched in the
game-tying touchdown two plays
later, and four gut-wrenching
overtimes after that, the Nittany
Lions won, 43-40. The rest is
history: Brady Hoke’s Michigan
team lost five of its next seven
games to end the season.
Stribling knows what he did
wrong on each of his mistakes
that night. On the first, he lost
the ball in the lights and should
have reached up higher to bat
the ball down. On the second,
he misjudged Hackenberg’s arm
strength and let the ball sail over
his head.
“Everybody says (Robinson)
ripped the ball out, but it really
was on me the most,” Stribling
said. “That’s why it hurt the
most — because it was mostly me
misjudging the ball instead of
him just making a great catch. Of
course it was a great catch, but it
was mainly on me misjudging the
ball.”
Whenever Stribling watches
the film of that night, he recalls
his mistakes. Defensive backs
have to have a short memory, and
Stribling does.
But in this regard, he wants to
remember. He wants that night to
stick with him, so that he can be
better for it.
“It’s
just
to
watch
and
remember and make sure that
next time if it happens, I’m
focused,” Stribling said. “It’s
in the back of my head to make
sure you do this and that. It’s not
(thinking) I could have done this
or that.”
His problems since his true
freshman year have been with
consistency, or lack thereof. He
has had good days, then bad ones.
He knew he had to fix that to
become the cornerback he is this
year. He has earned the first two
starts of his career in Michigan’s
first two games this season,
emerging from a deep crop of
defensive backs in competition.
To avoid repeating the mistakes
he made two years ago, Stribling
would have to focus better. In
fact, he used the word “focus”
nine times in a seven-minute
interview Tuesday — a sign that it
has become his greatest emphasis.
“You don’t understand how
much effort and focus I put into
this season itself,” Stribling said.
“It’s so much effort.”
He used to come home from
practice, watch TV and relax.
Now it’s all football: He comes
home, watches film, eats and
watches more film.
All of it goes into making sure
2013 doesn’t happen again. He
was in spot duty that night, but he
isn’t anymore. Michigan counts
on him more now as a starter, so
he knows he has to be stronger.
“You make a mistake, you’re
good, just make sure it doesn’t
happen again,” Stribling said.
“Make sure you make the play.”
It was a long process for
Stribling to earn that trust
again, and he didn’t initially
know how long it would take. He
admitted sometimes he would
overestimate his progress.
“Yeah, sometimes, it’s always
like that,” Stribling said. “You
always think you’re right, and
the coaches are like, ‘No, you’re
not.’ It’s just a matter of just
growing up, staying focused and
understanding that the coaches
are on you the most because they
believe in you and they know that
you can do great things. It’s just
focusing on what they tell you
you need to focus on.”
From a confidence standpoint,
the progression was also slow.
After his first time on the big
stage was a struggle, it took time
for him to work his way back up.
He knew he had to come back and
keep making plays.
Then he had to do the same as
competition raged on with the
new coaching staff. That’s when
he made his move to the top of the
depth chart.
“I think with the coaches,
they’ve (given) great effort and
take the game more seriously,”
Stribling said. “Not that the last
coaches didn’t take it seriously,
but it’s more of an NFL style. Like,
if you make the play, you make
the money. As long as you do your
job and make sure you give great
effort, make sure everything
that you put into football is 100
percent, it’ll come out great.”
At a stronger 6-foot-2 and 178
pounds, the jump-balls Stribling
once lost to Penn State should
now be a strength. If he falls
behind, he has the length to make
it up. But he also can get caught
sliding his feet, and then he has to
move quickly to catch up.
Physically,
Stribling
has
established himself. Mentally, he
now believes in himself. To the
coaches, he has proven himself.
All
contributed
to
him
becoming a starter this year, even
if it took a nightmare in Happy
Valley to start the process.
‘M’ finishes 12th in Cougar Classic
By NATHANIEL CLARK
Daily Sports Writer
Legendary entertainer Bob
Hope once said, “If you watch a
game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s
recreation. If you work at it, it’s
golf.”
The Michigan women’s golf
team
opened
the
2015-2016
season by working its way to a
12th-place finish out of 20 teams
at the three-
day Powerade
Cougar Classic
in
Hanahan,
South
Carolina. The
Wolverines
missed the top-
10 by just three
strokes and the
top-seven
by
five.
“We had a
pretty tremendous opportunity
playing
some
of
the
top
teams in the country,” said
Michigan coach Jan Dowling.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t finish
the way we wanted to. But
(the tournament) gave us the
confidence that we’re on the
verge of being in the mix of the
top teams in the country and
that’s exciting.”
Junior
Grace
Choi
led
Michigan by finishing 15th with
a total score of 219. Her best
round came Monday with a score
of 72 — exactly par. She birdied
four times during the round,
including
three times on
the back nine
holes.
Choi
has
now finished
in the top-20
seven times in
her collegiate
career.
“It was a
solid
finish
for
(Grace),”
Dowling said. “She’s a grinder,
and that shows a lot of character.”
Sophomore Megan Kim was
the
Wolverines’
runner-up
scorer, placing 40th with 225
strokes. Her strongest round
came on Sunday, when she shot
73 and earned birdies on the
seventh, 10th, 13th and 18th
holes.
Michigan’s
lone
senior,
Catherine Peters, battled back
to finish 50th overall after a
78-stroke round on Sunday left
her in 78th place.
Freshman
Elodie
Van
Dievoet, one of two freshmen
on the Wolverines’ roster, made
her collegiate debut at the
Cougar Classic. She came out
of the gate by shooting 73 with
two birdies and found herself in
a tie for 24th with Choi and Kim
after Sunday.
“I think the course gave (Van
Dievoet) a great taste of what
American collegiate golf is all
about,” Dowling said. “She’s got
plenty of talent and had plenty of
birdie opportunities.”
Van Dievoet, however, was
unable to replicate Sunday’s
performance
and
ultimately
placed 77th with 232 strokes.
Rounding
out
Michigan’s
scoring was sophomore Emily
White, who finished 97th and
scored 239. White reduced her
stroke count in each successive
round and finished her final
round Tuesday with birdies on
the ninth and 11th holes, scoring
78.
The Wolverines will have
two more tournaments before
the fall is over. While Dowling
said that the Cougar Classic will
likely be the Michigan’s most
difficult tournament, she still
believes the experience will pay
off.
“Next week at Wisconsin
will be a wonderful opportunity
for our team to come together,”
Dowling said. “We’re playing a
really fun format.”
“She’s a grinder,
and that
shows a lot of
character.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Junior Grace Choi (right) led Michigan by finishing 15th with a total score of 219 at the Cougar Classic.
Hoop dreams
pushed aside
Taco Charlton and
Drake Harris still
love the game of
basketball
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Editor
With
at
least
three
scholarships available for next
season, the Michigan men’s
basketball coaches are scouring
the nation in search of top
basketball recruits.
If the chips fell into place,
however,
the
Wolverines’
next star might already be on
campus. Then again, they might
be busy.
Sophomore receiver Drake
Harris and junior defensive end
Taco Charlton — both standout
basketball players in high school
— discussed the possibility of
rekindling
the hardwood
flame
Tuesday
after football
practice.
“We’ve
joked around
about
it
(with
the
coaches), nothing too serious,”
Charlton said. “I love the game
of basketball. It’s something
I’ve played since I was a little
kid, but nothing too serious
anymore.”
Charlton, who has been close
with senior guard Caris Levert
since
before
kindergarten,
helped
recruit
Levert
to
Michigan and even teamed up
with the potential 2016 NBA
draft pick in beating a team
featuring
senior
defensive
end Chris Wormley to win the
Ohio state title in basketball.
Charlton’s ties with Michigan
basketball are still strong today.
“We’ll have some discussion
about it maybe down the road,”
Charlton said with a grin.
“We have friendly talks, but
it’s mostly just, ‘How are you
doing?’ talking about Caris
always.”
Harris, who averaged 24.2
points per game at Grand
Rapids Christian High School
and was a Michigan State
basketball
recruit
before
switching to Michigan football,
was less open to the concept
after missing all of last season
due to injury.
“There’s a lot of 6-foot-3
guards out there in the country,”
Harris said. “I just found a
passion for football after my
junior season, and from there I
just wanted to play football and
this is what I wanted to do.
“I didn’t get to play senior
year of basketball because I
enrolled early — it was a tough
decision.”
Both Harris and Charlton
continue
to
play
pickup
basketball in their spare time,
and have close relationships
with
the
basketball
team.
Beilein
even
joked
about
welcoming
Charlton
on
the
team
on
Michigan’s
radio broadcast
Saturday,
noting
that
he
saw
the
defensive end do a ‘360’ dunk
in flip-flops when he recruited
Levert.
“Coach Beilein, that’s my
guy right there,” Charlton said.
“I love those guys. Ever since
they recruited Caris, I’ve been
close with (the team). I helped
Caris move in, we knew each
other since preschool, so it’s a
relationship we’ve always had.
“Growing
up,
we
always
wanted that dream, it used to be
NBA dreams for both of us, now
we have our different sports …
I’m just happy he’s having the
success he’s having.”
Harris and Charlton are
happy with their decision to
stay on the gridiron, and don’t
plan on changing yet. But are
they retired?
“I believe so,” Harris said
with a smile.
FOOTBALL
“Coach Beilein,
that’s my guy
right there.”
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