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.