Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2016 — 7A

Michigan wrestling trio has gridiron history

By NATHANIEL CLARK 

Daily Sports Writer

The gridiron is not the only 

place where Michigan has brought 
in highly touted prospects lately.

In 
2013, 
the 
Michigan 

wrestling team hauled in the No. 
1 recruiting class in the country. 
Now juniors, that class has buoyed 
the Wolverines (5-1 Big Ten, 10-2 
overall) to their current No. 8 
ranking. Domenic Abounader and 
Adam Coon are undefeated in dual 
meets, and fellow junior Brian 
Murphy, 157 pounds, is ranked 
ninth in the country.

But before the group dominated 

on the mat, they all shined 
in another sport, too. Coon, 
Abounader and Murphy all were 
stars on the gridiron in high school.

***

Coon — a 6-foot-5, 250-pound 

heavyweight— was sought after by 
fairly high-profile schools in both 
sports at the collegiate level.

His football offers included 

Michigan State, Wisconsin and 
Northwestern. All three squads 
finished in the Associated Press 
Top 25 in 2015 and posted a 
combined record of 32-7.

The schools were enamored 

by the fact that Coon was a two-
way starter for the Fowlerville 
(Michigan) High School football 
team — linebacker and offensive 
lineman. He earned All-State 
honors in 2012 for his linebacker 
play and was voted All-Livingston 
County Defensive Player of the 
Year in 2012.

“I went up to the varsity coach 

as an eighth grader and told him ‘I 
want to play varsity,’ ” Coon said. 
“He kind of laughed it off a bit, but 
when he saw that I was serious, he 
started thinking about it a little 
bit. I went to a couple of training 
camps and showed that I was 
deserving of a varsity spot and a 
starting job (the next season).”

Coon, for his part, was always a 

fan of the Big Ten’s “smashmouth” 
style of play, predicated on strong 
offensive and defensive lines.

“It 
doesn’t 
matter 
what 

people say, football is won in the 
trenches,” Coon said.

But 
all 
of 
that 
paled 

in 
comparison 
to 
his 

accomplishments in wrestling.

He posted a 212-3 dual-meet 

record in high school, including 
three straight years without a 
loss. He was an individual state 
champion all four years and was 
named both the 2013 Detroit 
Athletic Club High School Athlete 
of the Year and Michigan’s “Mr. 
Wrestler.” 
These 
accolades 

made him the No. 1 heavyweight 
wrestling prospect and the No. 2 
overall wrestling prospect in 2013.

As if all of that weren’t enough, 

Coon finished second in the 
MSHAA discus and shot put 
events for track and field.

“Track was my more laid-back 

sport,” Coon said. “It wasn’t as 
grueling as football and wrestling. 
But a lot of football players will 
take ballet to work on their foot 
movements. 
Discus 
was 
my 

ballet.”

Ultimately, 
academics, 
a 

dedicated coaching staff and the 
desire to remain close to his mother 
and his father, who was his high 
school wrestling coach, convinced 
Coon to join the Wolverines.

“I came down (to Ann Arbor) 

for a workout with the Cliff Keen 
Wrestling Club one day, and the 
coaches laid down a plan for me,” 
Coon said. “They said, ‘We have 
a great lifting program, we have 
a great engineering program.’ It 
wasn’t just about the next four 
or five years, it was long term. 
Showing that level of commitment 
showed me that this place really 
wants me.”

Yet, Coon still holds on to his 

dream of playing in the NFL. 
That is, after he wrestles in the 
Olympics and before he attempts 

to become an astronaut, as he is 
enrolled in Michigan’s aerospace 
engineering program.

“(Being an astronaut) is one of 

those dreams every little kid has,” 
Coon said. “I never really grew out 
of it. That’s kind of the reason I’m 
in the aerospace program, to get 
my foot in the door.”

***

While Abounader did not get 

the football recruiting offers Coon 
got, he still managed a strong 
career as a safety for St. Edwards 
(Ohio) High School.

As team captain his senior year, 

he led the Eagles to an undefeated 
regular-season 
record 
before 

being upset, 63-56, by Mentor 
in the second round of the Ohio 
Division I playoffs. Abounader 
was 
selected 
All-State 
First 

Team that season. His former 
coach, Rick Fenotti, is now the 
director of football operations at 
Michigan.

But 
it 
was 
Abounader’s 

wrestling that put him on the map 
of collegiate scouts. He compiled 
a 135-8 career record in high 
school, won all 36 of his matches 
his senior year and was a three-
time state champion. He was the 
No. 1 184-pound recruit and No. 
11 overall in 2013. A desire to stay 
relatively close to home compelled 
him to choose Michigan over 
Virginia and Virginia Tech.

“(Being a multi-sport athlete) 

worked because football season 
bled right into wrestling season,” 
Abounader said. “It kept me from 
getting burned out in any one sport. 
You work on a lot of the same skills, 
especially as a defensive back.”

Despite having to undergo 

knee surgery in 2014, Abounader 
emerged as a force for the 
Wolverines 
shortly 
thereafter. 

He took home the 2015 Big Ten 
individual title at 184 pounds; 
Michigan’s 
first 
individual 

championship in three years.

“(The 
surgery) 
was 

disappointing because I had a 
really good summer,” Abounader 
said. “I have two years left (at 
Michigan), and I want to make the 
most of them.”

***

In 
contrast 
to 
Abounader 

and Coon, Murphy excelled at 
quarterback in his high school 
days.

While he averaged more than 

100 yards passing per game as 
Glenbard North (Illinois) High 
School’s starting signal-caller, he 
was also a threat with his legs, 
making him a smaller version 
of Ohio State’s J.T. Barrett or 
Clemson’s 
Deshaun 
Watson. 

Murphy used these skills to help 
the Black Panthers to playoff runs 
in 2011 and 2012.

Murphy 
did 
not 
want 
to 

compare 
himself 
to 
those 

superstars, however.

“I didn’t have the cannon that 

(Barrett 
and 
Watson) 
have,” 

Murphy said.

Yet he did give a large amount 

credit his teammate, running 
back Justin Jackson, for Glenbard 
North’s success. If Murphy was 
analogous to J.T. Barrett, then 
Jackson played the part of Ezekiel 
Elliott in the Black Panthers’ 
offense. Jackson, who now plays 
for Northwestern, rushed for 6,531 
yards and 85 touchdowns in high 
school.

Due to his size, Murphy knew 

he would have to choose wrestling 
if he was going to extend his 
athletic career into his college 
years.

Not that it would prove an 

issue for him, though. Murphy 
accumulated a 166-14 dual-meet 
record in high school and was 
a four-time Fargo freestyle All-
American. In 2013, he was the 
No. 6 wrestling prospect in the 
country at 157 pounds and was No. 
27 overall. 

It was not an issue for Murphy 

to be a dual-sport athlete. Aside 
from some good-natured ribbing, 
Murphy’s football coach did not 
give him grief if he had to miss 
football practice for something 
such as wrestling nationals, as was 
the case in 2012.

“(Wrestling) 
teaches 
you 

balance and strength and how to 
use different types of strength,” 
Murphy said. “It made me more 
explosive.”

But for all of his success, 

Murphy has one chip on his 
shoulder.

During his time at Glenbard 

North, he came within striking 
distance of either an individual 
wrestling title or a football team 
title in Class 8A six times. He 
never once took home the gold and 
finished runner-up in four of them 
— three times in wrestling (2010-
11, 2011-12 and 2012-13) and once 
in football (2012).

“It stung, especially in my 

wrestling career,” Murphy said. 
“But I think those things help 
you later on in life. Coming out 
of high school, I feel like I didn’t 
accomplish anything and it makes 
me work harder here. I want to 

win something.”

With the Wolverines’ loaded 

roster, both Murphy and the 
Wolverines will be reaching for 
a 
long-coveted 
championship. 

Michigan last won a team Big Ten 
title in 1973 and has never won 
an NCAA title — the Wolverines 
finished runner-up in the 2005 
NCAA Championships.

“It’s a big motivating factor 

for the team and my individual 
goals,” Murphy said. “I think we 
have potential to win a national 
championship, and I think I 
have potential to win a national 
championship. That’s what we are 
striving for.”

***

Michigan wrestling may be 

making headlines as the No. 8 
team in America, for boasting two 
wrestlers who are undefeated in 
dual play and topping defending 
national champion Ohio State in 
Columbus.

But in the Wolverines’ spare 

time, they could also make a fairly 
formidable football team. Just 
don’t challenge them to a pick-up 
game.

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Adam Coon (right) held offers to play college football from Big Ten programs.

Merchant talks 
recruiting, goals

By CHRIS CROWDER 

Daily Sports Writer

The 
Michigan 
women’s 

basketball team is coming off a 
home win against Minnesota and 
will look to 
develop 
a 

win streak 
with 
a 

victory 
against 
No. 
17 

Michigan 
State. The Wolverines beat the 
Spartans twice in the regular 
season last year, but fell to them 
in the Big Ten Tournament. 
With Michigan State’s roster 
revitalized 
and 
healthy, 

Michigan will face an uphill 
battle when it heads to East 
Lansing on Wednesday.

The Daily sat down with 

Spartan coach Suzy Merchant 
at Big Ten Media Day in October 
to talk about her ties to the 
in-state rivalry, new challenges 
in recruiting and what makes the 
2015-16 season unique.

The Michigan Daily: The 

Michigan and Michigan State 
rivalry has been heating up, 
especially in women’s basketball 
as of late. What do you think the 
state of the rivalry is right now?

Suzy Merchant: It’s definitely 

a healthy rivalry. There’s a 
tremendous amount of respect 
between each program. But come 
Michigan game day, and I’m sure 
they feel the same way, there’s 
a different level of intensity and 
competitiveness that comes out.

TMD: 
You 
grew 
up 
in 

Michigan and played basketball 
at Central Michigan. Where 
did you and your family lie on 
the 
Michigan-Michigan 
State 

rivalry?

SM: We’re Spartans. Both of 

my brothers went to Michigan 
State, my younger brother played 
baseball there. I wanted to play 
at Michigan State, but wasn’t 
quite good enough, I guess, to 
play at a major school. Where I 
grew up, where I’m from, there’s 

a lot more Spartans.

TMD: You have a freshman 

from the Czech Republic this 
year. How has the recruiting 
process changed over the years?

SM: The addition of the Big 

Ten Network has really changed 
our recruiting base. The additions 
of 
Rutgers, 
Maryland 
(and) 

Nebraska have opened the door 
to really expand your recruiting 
base, when a lot earlier on, before 
the expansion and before the 
network, I think we were a little 
more regional based with families 
and friends who watch us play. 
But now the door has really been 
opened. We have kids from New 
Jersey, California, the Czech 
Republic, a kid from Martinique 
that’s on our roster that will sit 
this year as an academic redshirt. 
And we have kids from Detroit, so 
it’s a unique blend of kids.

TMD: What have you learned 

from the recruiting process that 
you carry into every year?

SM: I think the recruiting 

process has changed a lot with 
social media. That’s probably 
been 
the 
most 
impactful 

situation, not only as a program 
where people can follow you as 
a fan base, but equally to have 
your recruits follow you, and it 
works vice versa. You have an 
opportunity to see what’s going 
on in their world and connect to 
them in ways we’ve never been 
able to do. That singlehandedly 
has changed everything. There’s 
no private spaces anymore. We 
know every visit they went on, 
who went with them, what time 
they got there, what time they 
left. It’s a lot.

TMD: 
What 
goals 
and 

expectations do you have for your 
team this season?

SM: Ours are always the 

same. We want to win the Big 
Ten first, that’s where you start 
things out, and for us we want to 
push and get an opportunity to 
reach a Final Four and a National 
Championship game. Every year, 
that’s where we start and where 
we want to finish.

BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
The education of Zach Werenski 

By JUSTIN MEYER

Daily Sports Writer

It’s 
not 
easy 
being 
Zach 

Werenski.

Sure, 
the 
star 
Michigan 

defender has everything going for 
him. He’s got a lethal combination 
of size and speed, hands of gold 
and a penchant for sniffing out the 
back of the net.

But no player on the roster 

shoulders 
more 
responsibility 

night in and night out.

Werenski is the highest-profile 

player on a defensive unit that 
has taken the brunt of criticism 
for the Wolverines’ shortcomings 
in the last two years. As such, 
the 18-year-old sophomore is the 
cross bearer of a defensive group 
ripe with inexperience — the 
messiah who could lead the way 
to a Frozen Four.

Maybe it’s too much to ask, but 

maybe it’s not.

After 
all, 
the 
National 

Talent Development Program 
product did captain the USA 
team at the IIHF World Junior 
Championships in Finland — the 
most 
prestigious 
tournament 

of its kind. Either way, this is 
the 
position 
Werenski 
finds 

himself in as Michigan rises in 
the rankings, fifth in the USHCO 
poll, despite a 3.13 goals against 
average.

Those expectations are why 

quiet weekends like the most 
recent series against Penn State 
can be alarming. The Wolverines 
scored 13 goals, recording 31 
points, but only one went to 
Werenski.

That’s not to say he played 

poorly. Werenski recorded five 
shots and finished +4 plus/minus 
for the weekend, despite a nagging 
foot injury alluded to by Michigan 
assistant coach Billy Powers.

“I want to play well for my team 

every night, but more importantly 
I want to win,” Werenski said. 
“There’s going to be nights where 
not everyone plays their best.

“I can’t say I’m frustrated if 

we’re winning games.”

The spotlight has followed 

Werenski ever since he took the 
ice for Michigan as a 17-year-
old freshman, completing high 
school in three years. On top of 

the obvious talent, he has earned 
the reputation of a high-IQ player 
among the coaching staff.

“He seeks me out to watch 

video, I don’t have to say, ‘Maybe 
we should watch your shift,’ ” 
Powers said. “It’s Zach coming 
to me. He’s hungry to learn, 
hungry to grow and very, very 
competitive.”

The eager attitude paid off, as 

Werenski recorded 13 goals and 16 
assists in his freshman campaign. 
The success has largely continued 
this year, as the sophomore has 17 
points in 21 games while leading 
a revitalization on the defensive 
end.

“I’ve just been so impressed, 

starting from last year, that a 
young kid could handle everything 
that went on in his world,” Powers 
said. “Last year and then this year 
being the captain of the World 
Junior team.”

But Werenski has been working 

tirelessly on his game his whole 
life, and he isn’t stopping now.

“I wanted to come back here 

to learn as a player, just grow 
my game in all three zones,” 

Werenski said. “The main thing 
is learning and becoming a better 
player. I think I did a good job 
of that in the first half (of the 
season). I think that really showed 
at World Juniors — how good of a 
job Michigan has done developing 
their players.”

Added 
junior 
defenseman 

Michael 
Downing: 
“I 
think 

he’s just gotten a lot smarter 
defensively. Even last year he 
wasn’t bad, but he’s defense-first 
now, that’s what is on his mind. 
The way he approaches the 
game is a lot different now, too. 
I think last year he had a lot of 
stress on him with the draft and 
everything.”

The Grosse Pointe, Mich., 

native 
is 
now 
focused 
on 

improving his physical play in the 
corners, part of a team-wide effort 
to reduce the goals-against before 
the postseason.

“I came in with that as one of 

my goals — to play harder, play 
more physical,” Werenski said. 
“I think I shied away from that 
a little bit after World Juniors. I 
don’t really know the reason for 

that.”

Stretches of sheer brilliance 

like what Werenski accomplished 
at the World Juniors, in which 
he recorded nine points in seven 
games, add to his enigma as a 
player. At times, he dominates 
play in Michigan’s defensive end, 
but in other games he assumes a 
diminished roll.

Turnovers at the blue line and 

giveaways on the offensive rush 
have been largely eliminated as 
the defense grew together this 
season, but it’s still anyone’s guess 
as to whether Werenski can carry 
this unit against a powerhouse 
team like Quinnipiac or Boston 
College.

That 
question 
won’t 
get 

answered until March at the 
earliest, so Werenski will keep 
learning and growing his game. 
Through all the hoopla, the draft, 
the rumors, the allure of the 
NHL, he’s surprised everyone by 
keeping his even keel.

And who knows, maybe that 

is exactly the type of leader 
Michigan needs for a deep run 
this postseason.

JAMES COLLER/Daily

Sophomore defenseman Zach Werenski has 17 points in 21 games this season, building off a strong freshman season.

