Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 29, 2015 — 7B

Kalis realizing potential, 
appreciating every minute

By JAKE LOURIM

Managing Sports Editor

This past summer, during the 

conditioning 
program 
before 

his 
redshirt 
junior 
season, 

Michigan offensive guard Kyle 
Kalis thought to himself. He had 
shown potential as a five-star 
recruit out of Lakewood, Ohio. 
But in the two seasons he had 
spent on Michigan’s inconsistent 
offensive line, the Wolverines 
had finished 12-13.

And then he told himself, “I’m 

going to make this year the year I 
need to have to go where I want 
to go.”

Everything has come together 

for Kalis since then.

Another moment this summer 

fed into his resurgence. Kalis was 
working out in Michigan’s weight 
room early in the morning when 
Rick Finotti, his football coach at 
St. Edward (Ohio) High School, 
walked in to say hello. Finotti 
was 
tremendously 
successful 

at St. Edward, going 62-15 over 
six seasons with two state 
championships, one in Kalis’ 
junior season.

The day Kalis saw Rick Finotti 

in Ann Arbor, Finotti interviewed 
for the director of football 
operations job under Michigan 
coach Jim Harbaugh. Later that 
day, Kalis learned Finotti got the 
job, and suddenly he had one of 
his mentors with him.

Kalis also became very close 

with Finotti’s family. He was best 
friends with Finotti’s son and 
estimated that he spent the night 
at their house three to four times 
per week.

On the field, Kalis made big 

strides under the new coaching 
staff in the offseason. He came 
out of St. Edward as a U.S. Army 
All-American, and he arrived at 

Michigan after decommitting 
from Ohio State amid NCAA 
sanctions.

He started nine games in his 

redshirt freshman season, but 
just seven last year. As part of an 
offensive line that took criticism 
as one of the worst in the Big Ten, 
Kalis struggled with consistency.

“It’s one of those things where 

the past couple years as I’ve been 
playing, we’ve been doing good 
things as an O-line, we’ve played 
well the past couple years, we just 
weren’t playing 11-man football,” 
Kalis said. “It was hard to single 
out somebody. It was hard to give 
a group credit when everyone 
wasn’t on the same page. But on 
the flip side, it does feel nice to 
start getting some recognition for 
what I’ve been doing.”

He has started all four games 

this season at right guard on a 
rejuvenated offensive line for 
the 
22nd-ranked 
Wolverines. 

Michigan has rushed for more 
than 200 yards per game so far.

And after facing his share of 

struggles, 
Kalis 
is 

enjoying 
every minute.

“I’ve 

always 
had 

fun — I would 
have quit if I 
wasn’t having 
fun 
— 
but 

having 
the 

success like we are, that’s the fun 
you’re supposed to be having,” he 
said. “The feelings and emotions 
that we’ve been having these past 
couple weeks, that’s the kind of 
fun you’re supposed to be having.

“It’s always been fun, no 

matter what anybody says. It’s 
just more fun.”

Part of Kalis’ improvement 

comes 
from 
new 
coaches, 

namely Harbaugh and offensive 
coordinator Tim Drevno, who 
have brought the best work ethic 
and talent out of him. Part of it 
comes from playing on a better 
overall 
offensive 
line, 
with 

three other fourth- or fifth-year 
players.

But a big part of it, too, comes 

from a personal 
change: 
With 

two 
years 

left, Kalis has 
simplified 
things 
and 

begun to take 
ownership of his 
success.

“Lately, 

for 
whatever 

reason, I’ve been playing football 
for the reason that I started 
playing football,” Kalis said. 
“And that’s because I like to be 
physical, I like to hit people, 
that’s fun for me. But at the same 
time, you want to do it in a way 
where you’re successful, and in 
a way where people are going to 
say, ‘Wow. We want to do it like 
that guy.’ ”

Kalis admitted that he had 

to grow up, a process that came 
with 
experience. 
He 
always 

had the physical talent and the 
intensity. His growth has been 
about harnessing it and using it 
to help the offensive line. As a 
veteran, part of the growing-up 
process was becoming a reliable 
leader in the offseason.

Kalis also admitted that he 

was a “wild dude” when he 
arrived at Michigan, and that 
showed up on the field. He still 
is, to some extent — it’s almost a 
prerequisite when you sign up to 
play football.

But this year, he’s using that 

wildness to his advantage. He’s 
using it to spring a block for junior 
running back De’Veon Smith on 
his 60-yard touchdown run, and 
then to run toward the end zone 
to celebrate with Smith.

“I’ve 
never 
dialed 
(the 

intensity) back,” Kalis said. “I’ve 
been playing more relaxed, and 
I don’t think so much. That’s the 
key — you just gotta learn how to 
control it and filter it and then use 
it when you need it.”

ALLISON FARRAND/Daily

Kyle Kalis has made a big improvement as Michigan’s starting right guard.

‘M’ enjoys strong 
outing in Illinois

By MIKE GRIFFIN

Daily Sports Writer

One week after a third-

place finish at the Inverness 
Intercollegiate, 
the 
Michigan 

men’s golf team continued its 
fall schedule with a trip to 
Glencoe, Illinois, for the Windon 
Memorial Classic.

Monday, 
the 
Wolverines 

placed second out of 14 teams, 
improving on their third-place 
finish last season. Michigan was 
carried by three outstanding 
performances: sophomore Kyle 
Mueller and freshman Nick 
Carlson tied for third and senior 
Chris O’Neill came in ninth.

Mueller sealed his third-place 

finish with an excellent second 
round in which he shot a five-
under 67. After a record-breaking 
freshman campaign that ended 
in a trip to the NCAA Regionals, 
followed 
by 
his 
exceptional 

performance 
Sunday 
and 

Monday, he has proven himself to 
be a team leader.

Only one month into his 

sophomore 
year, 
Mueller 

continued 
his 
steady 

improvement over the course 
of the fall season. After starting 
the year with an underwhelming 
round at the Gopher Invitational 
in Minnesota, he finished second 
at the Inverness Intercollegiate 
last weekend — the Wolverines’ 
best-ever finish at the event. 

“I played really well this 

week,” Mueller said. “I hit the 
ball great all week, (but) just 
struggled with putting today. 
I know what I need to work on 
for (The MacKenzie tournament 
next weekend). My ball striking 
has been great the past two 
weeks. I just need to be able to 
convert the birdie putts.”

After coming off a one-

over par performance at last 
weekend, Carlson also played a 
part in Michigan’s second-place 
finish. He finished the first day 
of competition tied for 12th, but 
rebounded 
exceptionally 
on 

the final day of the tournament. 
Monday, he posted a 69, the 
third-best final round out of 
the top 12 golfers, and tied with 
Mueller for third place overall. 
Despite his success, the true 
freshman was hesitant to praise 
his performance.

“I managed to limit my 

mistakes and miss in the right 
place when I did miss,” Carlson 
said. “My game was so-so, but I 
put the ball in the hole, and that’s 
what’s important. The team 
played solid. It could have been 
a better week for all of us, but 
we have a lot to take from this, 
confidence and things to build on 
for the rest of the season.”

Meanwhile, 
Purdue 
posed 

the greatest challenge for the 
Wolverines. 
After 
a 
fourth-

place finish at the Inverness 
Intercollegiate, the Boilermakers 
redeemed themselves with a team 
win. Despite being overpowered 
to some extent, Michigan coach 
Chris Whitten was proud of his 
team’s performance and lauded 
his three top producers.

“O’Neill and Mueller had 

good weeks again, and they are 
leading with their scoring for 
sure,” Whitten said. “It’s great 
having two anchors in the back 
of the lineup who will compete 
hard every time out. Nick Carlson 
has given us a spark too. I just 
hoped he would adjust to the 
college game and manage his 
responsibilities well for the first 
month, so for him to have a high 
finish like this is great. He should 
take a lot of confidence from this 
week.”

Training journalists in the 
newsroom, not classroom

By LEV FACHER

Managing Editor

On a recent Monday, The 

Michigan Daily, in its weekly 
sports insert, ran a cover photo 
taken by a dual-degree student 
working on one degree through 
the School of Art & Design 
and another in biopsychology, 
cognition and neuroscience. The 
game story below it was written 
by a Business student, and the 
byline below the SportsMonday 
column belonged to an editor who 
happens to also study economics.

Glance around the rest of any 

given edition of the Daily and 
you’ll see the same trend: The 
University’s aspiring journalists 
are spending their classroom time 
studying anything but journalism.

That’s the way things have 

been 
since 
the 
University 

stopped offering a journalism 
B.A. decades ago. The decision 
didn’t slow down the Daily, 
however. At a school that offers 
no formal journalism education, 
the newspaper has taken it upon 
itself to provide that education, 
informally and experientially.

Perhaps fittingly, one man who 

understands the paper’s knack for 
training successful professionals 
better than most is neither a 
University nor a Daily alumnus. 
Nonetheless, John Lowe, who 
recently retired as the Detroit 
Tigers beat writer for the Detroit 
Free Press after 29 years covering 
the team, has spent as much time 
at 420 Maynard as many current 
and former Daily staffers.

Sunday 
afternoons 
and 

evenings during the baseball 
offseason, Lowe would join the 
paper’s Sports section for its 
weekly meeting, patiently sit 
through a lengthy and often inane 
round of “icebreakers,” then 
briefly address the assembled 
staff, frequently offering pearls of 
wisdom that remain with alumni 
throughout 
their 
careers, 
in 

journalism or otherwise.

“John 
always 
asked,” 

remembered Tim Rohan, the 2011 

managing sports editor, “ ‘What’s 
the first thing you’d tell your 
college roommate when you come 
back from the game?’ ”

That concept stuck around, 

Rohan said.

Lowe’s 
presence 
and 

mentorship, however, sum up 
the Daily’s spirit better than just 
a brief advice tidbit after a staff 
meeting. Lowe would often stick 
around late into the evening, 
available for edits and advice, 
but never solicitous. If a writer 
wanted edits from Lowe, he’d be 
sitting on a couch in the back of 
the newsroom. If not, there were 
no hard feelings.

Lowe still remembers the first 

time he showed up at the Daily, at 
the invitation of former managing 
sports editor and then-Free Press 
intern Nick Cotsonika, a current 
editor at that paper and a former 
Yahoo! hockey writer.

“I was going to turn 40 in 

1999,” Lowe said. “The only 
reason I mention that is that’s 
the age when you’re qualified to 
be a mentor. As I was in my late 
30s, I was greatly enjoying my 
career, but I was also starting to 
get this urge to work with young 
writers.”

Cotsonika could never have 

envisioned 
the 
phenomenon 

Lowe’s presence would become. 
He reached a full generation of 
Daily 
up-and-comers, 
joining 

the paper on a regular basis 
beginning at the Sunday Sports 
meeting on January 24, 1999, and 
extending through October 2014.

Lowe was immediately struck 

by the newsroom atmosphere, 
the dedication and, above all else, 
the fact that the students were 
doing everything.

“I would just say that of the 

many schools I have been to, 
what I feel definitely sets the 
Daily apart is, among other 
things, the thoroughness of the 
editing process,” Lowe said. 

Cotsonika’s 
innocent 

suggestion 
worked 
out 
well 

for the man at the end of that 
editing process in 1999, Rick 

Freeman, who spent more than 
a decade at the New York offices 
of the Associated Press before 
transitioning into a gig as a copy 
editor at Al Jazeera America.

“My memory of (Lowe’s first 

visit) evades me, because it just 
seemed at the time that this guy 
I knew who was a very good beat 
writer for the ‘Freep’ was like, 
‘Hey, can I come by and talk to 
your staff?’ ” Freeman recalled. 
“It wasn’t very formal at all.”

The flexible structure, both 

in Lowe’s visits and in the 
paper’s organization, often paid 
dividends.

“Knowing that the Daily was 

our only outlet to getting into the 
field, you had to pour your entire 
self into it,” Rohan said, calling 
his experience at the Daily a 
“real education.”

The time Lowe spent at the 

Daily, immensely valuable in 
and of itself, also encapsulates 
the spirit of the paper and its 
self-reliance. 
Alumni 
teach 

older students. Older students 
teach younger students. Younger 
students teach one another.

When there are no extra 

resources to lean on, leaning on 
friends never hurts.

“I realized I can figure it out 

on my own, and that’s the most 
fun part,” Rohan said. “It became 
like a competition. You’re there 
with friends, and you’re like, ‘Oh, 
man, Mike wrote a great game 
story last week.’ You feel like you 
have to try to beat him.”

The camaraderie fosters a 

sense of territorialism, Freeman 
said — the sense that the Daily 
is the students’ responsibility, 
their domicile. That sense is alive 
and well in 2015, and isn’t going 
anywhere.

“People are always surprised 

to learn that Michigan doesn’t 
have 
a 
journalism 
school, 

because there are a ton of us who 
majored in Daily,” Freeman said. 
“It always feels good to say, ‘No, 
I was a history major.’ It’s always 
fun to see how surprised people 
are.”

125TH ANNIVERSARY

MEN’S GOLF

“I’ve never 
dialed (the 

intensity) back.”

