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.