Glasgow, Bolden
still not over
season-ending loss
to Ohio State
By MAX BULTMAN
Daily Sports Editor
It’s been over a week since the
Michigan football team ended
its regular season on the sourest
possible note. And while the
Wolverines have had time for
their bodies to recover, they still
haven’t fully healed from the
42-13 beating Ohio State handed
them.
There is a silver lining: No.
14 Michigan was invited to play
Florida in the Buffalo Wild
Wings Citrus Bowl on New
Year’s Day. But in advance of the
bowl game, senior linebacker
Joe Bolden opened up about
the emotions surrounding their
regular-season-ending loss.
“To be 100 percent honest,
I’m not over either one of the
losses (to Michigan State or
Ohio State),” Bolden said. “It’s
just crazy to think about. I guess
in a way, both us and Ohio State
were that close to finishing
Michigan State, and it’s not
something that we’re happy
about. Or, at least I can speak
for myself, it’s not something
I’m happy about.
“I think it’s a good opportunity
that we have with the Citrus
Bowl, and with a solid opponent
in Florida to end the season on a
good note and get these guys and
get everybody rolling into next
year.”
After
hearing
Bolden’s
comments,
fifth-year
senior
center Graham Glasgow leaned
forward
and
cosigned
his
statement.
“For the record, I am also not
happy about those two losses,”
he said.
The Buckeyes scored more
points on the Wolverines than
any other team this season — 42,
one more than Indiana’s 41 in a
double-overtime Michigan win
— and likely kept Michigan from
making a New Year’s Six bowl in
Jim Harbaugh’s first season as
coach.
And other than the 29-point
blowout, the Wolverines were
in both of their other losses this
season.
They
lost by seven at
Utah in Week
1, and were one
miraculous
fumbled
punt
away
from
beating
Michigan
State.
“I
think,
really,
the
common
factor when you look at all three
of our losses this year is not
tackling,” Bolden said.
That was certainly the case
against the Buckeyes, as J.T.
Barrett
and
Ezekiel
Elliott
perfectly executed the read-
option offense. The game turned
into a blowout in the second
half, making Michigan’s final
loss of the season the most
excruciating. It was the last
game the Wolverines’ seniors
played at Michigan Stadium.
“It was pretty emotional for
me, just like seeing my teammates
in (Michigan Stadium) for the
last time, and
being
with
Kyle
and
the
O-line,
we have our
own
little
nook
in
the
locker
room
where we all
sit
together,”
Glasgow said.
“It was pretty
emotional.
Never want to go out like that,
and that probably added to it,
and it is something that we’re
trying to get over, something
that I’m trying to get over by
winning the last game.”
Added Bolden: “It’s hard to
describe, especially the way it
happened. … We got our butts
kicked — there’s no ifs, ands or
buts about it. And it’s just hard
to fathom, you come in, and you
remember the exact time you
first put the uniform on, and
you button your chinstrap on
the helmet, and it’s just hard to
fathom that that was the last
game here in front of the home
fans that we love so dearly.”
But while it’s understandable
that Glasgow, Bolden and every
other Wolverine senior would
be torn up after losing to Ohio
State for the fourth consecutive
year, they were also able to keep
a sense of perspective about the
direction of the program under
coach Jim Harbaugh.
“I think that this program is
rising very quickly, and I think
that it could (compete for a Big
Ten title) as soon as next year,”
Glasgow said. “I think that
the guys that we’re losing are
going to be replaced by more
than capable and able guys, and
talented guys, and I think that
they’ll be a good team next year.”
8 — Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Junior tight end Jake Butt said Monday that he is split on his decision between leaving for the NFL Draft and returning for his senior season at Michigan.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Fifth-year senior Graham Glasgow recalled his disappointment from Michigan’s loss to Ohio State on Nov. 28.
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Jehu Chesson was named Michigan’s MVP by his team on Monday night.
Butt torn on draft plans
By MAX COHEN
Managing Sports Editor
Michigan junior tight end
Jake Butt said Monday that he’s
considering foregoing his senior
season and entering the NFL
Draft.
Butt, who was named the Big
Ten Tight of the Year last week,
said his decision will come in the
near future, likely “in the next
week or so.” As of now, Butt is
50-50 on his decision. He recently
made a pros and cons list with
his father, he said, and staying at
Michigan and going to the NFL
had arguments on each side.
Before
he
makes
up
his
mind, Butt plans to seek advice
from
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh. Butt plans to rely
heavily on Harbaugh and the
rest
of
Michigan’s
coaching
staff in regard to this upcoming
decision because of the extensive
NFL experience many of the
Wolverines’ coaches have.
“Really, it’s going to come down
to … a lot of it’s going to be based
on what Coach Harbaugh says,”
Butt said.
There are two main reasons
Butt is considering leaving early.
The first is that it’s possible that
his NFL stock will never be higher.
The second is risk of injury. Butt
has had knee operations in the
past, including one for an anterior
cruciate ligament tear that affected
him for much of the 2014 season.
Butt said if he didn’t believe
he would be selected in the first
three rounds of the draft, he
would definitely come back to
Michigan. So far, he has been
hearing that he would be selected
within that range after a junior
campaign in which he caught 48
passes for 620 yards.
Still, the decision isn’t an
easy one. Another year with
the Wolverines could further
establish Butt as one of the
greatest tight ends in program
history, and playing for Harbaugh
— with his NFL pedigree and
penchant for developing tight
ends — could help Butt improve
even more.
“Coming back, there’s so many
reasons why I want to come
back: To try and break some of
these tight end records, I love
my roommates, my teammates,
we haven’t accomplished what
I came here for as a team to do,”
Butt said. “That’s beat Michigan
State, beat Ohio State, win a Big
Ten championship.”
Butt has spoken to former
Michigan teammates Jake Ryan,
Devin
Funchess
and
Taylor
Lewan about their experiences
in the NFL. He knows that the
NFL is a different world, one in
which the entirety of your focus
is on football. He compared it
to Michigan’s intense fall camp
this season, but he noted with a
grin that the football this time
around would come with a “nice
paycheck.”
Butt had more receptions this
season than he previously had in
the rest of his Michigan career
combined. Coming off a 2014
season in which he caught 21
passes for 211 yards, Butt never
imagined that a breakout year
could lead to this dilemma.
“It’s still all crazy to me that I
even have to make this decision,”
Butt said. “At the beginning of the
year, it wasn’t even in my vision or
thoughts.”
Chesson earns
MVP accolade
at annual bust
Harbaugh excited
about team’s
progress in his
first season
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Editor
LIVONIA, Mich. — Jehu
Chesson said Monday afternoon
that he tends to shy away from
individual attention, but if the
95th annual Michigan Football
Bust is any indication, it isn’t
working.
In a celebration of the No.
14 Michigan football team’s
9-3 season, the redshirt junior
wide receiver was named the
Bo Schembechler team MVP for
the season.
“I’ve
been
humbled
and
blessed to be around great
people on a daily basis,” Chesson
said. “I’ve learned so much, and
it’s a huge part of why I’m here
today.”
In
addition
to
Chesson,
senior tight end Michael Jocz
was awarded the Dr. Arthur D.
Robinson Scholarship Award for
top student-athlete. Jocz boasts
a 3.97 grade-point average in
mechanical engineering — the
highest on the team.
Senior linebacker Desmond
Morgan won the Roger Zatkoff
Award as the
team’s
top
linebacker,
while fellow
senior
linebacker
Joe
Bolden
won
the
Robert
P.
Ufer Bequest
for
most
outstanding
love
and
enthusiasm
for Michigan.
Redshirt
juniors
Chris
Wormley and Ryan Glasgow
split the Dick Katcher Award
for most outstanding defensive
linemen, while fifth-year senior
offensive
lineman
Graham
Glasgow won the Hugh R. Rader
Memorial Award for the team’s
best lineman.
Chesson’s
player-selected
honor comes after a season in
which he led the team with 801
yards from scrimmage and 11
total touchdowns. His biggest
performance
came
against
Indiana on Nov. 14, when he
tied a school record with four
touchdowns and added 207
receiving yards.
Last week, he was named
first-team All-Big Ten in the
coaches’ vote.
Though it was a career season,
Chesson remains focused on his
main goal: team success.
“When you ask me about
individual goals, I don’t really
have a lot of individual goals,”
Chesson said Monday afternoon.
“The team is what really matters
more. … With that kind of
mentality, I think that really
freed up a lot of opportunities
for me to run down on kickoff,
to get there on punt return and
try to pin a guy in, get good
blocks for Jabrill so he can make
something happen.”
When asked earlier in the day
who he voted for, Chesson didn’t
hesitate to name the player who
fed him the ball all season —
fifth-year senior quarterback
Jake Rudock.
“It’s really important to really
acknowledge those who support
you, who are in your corner,”
Chesson
said.
“Without
a
quarterback — I mean, it sounds
so cliché, but literally — without
the
decisions
Jake
makes
throughout the game to throw
me the ball, the O-line holding
it up, or the defense giving them
a three-and-out, making them
punt, and allowing me and the
offense to come out on the field
and basically increase our stats,
if you will.
“It’s all made possible by your
teammates and your coaches, so
I’m really thankful for them.”
Prior to the awards, the
bust celebrated not only the
2015 team but also the 30th
anniversary of the 1985 team
that finished 10-1-1 and No. 2
in the final polls — the highest
in former Michigan coach Bo
Schembechler’s 21 seasons at
Michigan.
More
than
30 members of
that team were
in attendance,
including
current
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh,
who was the
1985
team’s
quarterback.
Though
many consider
that team to be one of the best
in modern Michigan history,
Harbaugh elected to nominate
this
year’s
team
into
the
conversation, factoring in the
year-to-year improvement over
total wins.
“The train was moving in the
wrong direction, and this team
moved it around on the tracks.
That’s not easy to do,” Harbaugh
said.
“(The team) gave it everything
they had. Not a single complaint.
I feel like we got our dignity
back.”
Among those in agreement
was Harbaugh’s current boss,
interim Athletic Director Jim
Hackett. Speaking just over 13
months after taking the position
and a week after announcing
he would be resigning, Hackett
noted that at the bust last
season, he wanted to be able to
answer one question: “Did we
get better?”
“I didn’t need a year to realize
I would feel better about this
team,” Hackett said. “I knew
we got better the day I hired
(Harbaugh).”
Wolverines reflect on tough
finale ahead of Citrus Bowl
“I’ve learned so
much, and it’s a
huge part of why
I’m here today.”
“It was pretty
emotional. Never
want to go out
like that.”