8 — Friday, February 5, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Walker’s bravado impresses
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Editor
As one of the nation’s top high
school running backs, no one
would be surprised at Kareem
Walker’s high self-confidence.
The Michigan early enrollee
has boasted about his ability to
recruit other prospects and didn’t
shy away from saying he has no
intentions of riding the bench for
the Wolverines on Wednesday.
But Michigan running backs
coach Tyrone Wheatley was still
taken aback on a visit with Walker,
when the discussion turned to
Walker wearing Wheatley’s old
number in the fall.
“He looked at me, and he said,
‘So, that was your number, No. 6
right?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, 6 was
my number,’ ” Wheatley said to
the Daily on Wednesday. “Then
he looked right at me and he said,
‘You were pretty good, huh?’ and
I said, ‘Yeah, I was alright.’
“Then he said, ‘But I’m gonna
show you how to rock No. 6, and
I’m gonna show you how to rock it
with swag. And, um, I’ll probably
be the leading rusher when I
leave here.’ ”
Though
surprised
at
the
audacity, Wheatley knew well
before that moment that Walker’s
confidence is more ambition than
arrogance.
The
6-foot-1,
210-pound
Walker finished his high school
career with 4,563 rushing yards
and 55 touchdowns, and enrolled
less than a week after committing
to the Wolverines in December.
“The thing about him is that he
wants to work to back his words
up,” Wheatley said. “That’s what
I like about him, and that’s what
you want as a coach. It’s not
words with him, it’s work. He’s
not afraid of it.”
If Walker wants to make
good on his pledge to play as a
freshman, he will need to surpass
several
experienced
backs.
Michigan returns its top three
rushers from last season (junior
De’Veon Smith, redshirt junior
Drake Johnson and redshirt
sophomore Ty Isaac) and bears
plenty of underclassmen who
Wheatley said should compete for
carries.
But Wheatley also noted that
the running back race is one
of equal opportunity, and that
Walker has a chance to run away
with the job.
“He’s in it to win it,” Wheatley
said. “He’s one of those guys that
wants to be the best, and he’s also
hungry to learn. He’s a sponge
right now. He wants to be around
the best, and that’s one of the top
things I like about him.
“If Kareem sticks, then hell,
we’re gonna go with Kareem.”
And though some might want
unproven
freshman
running
backs to hold back on the
confidence, Wheatley said as long
as the work is behind it, he doesn’t
mind.
“It’s just one of those things
that draws you closer to him,”
Wheatley said. “It’s a confidence,
not arrogance, just a confidence.
… The first time I met him, I knew
I liked this guy.”
Even
if
Walker
takes
Wheatley’s old number.
Johnson back on track: One of
Walker’s competitors, Johnson,
has temporarily taken his talents
elsewhere,
joining
Michigan’s
track team as a hurdler.
Though
it
detracts
from
Johnson’s
football
focus,
Wheatley
—
a
former
All-
American
track
athlete
at
Michigan — had no hesitation
signing off on the decision, and
thinks it might even benefit
Johnson.
“What it did for me was
it refreshed me. It gave me
a reset,” Wheatley said. “It
gave me a chance to get away
from
Schembechler
(Hall).
Different
group
of
people,
different environment, different
competition level. Then all of a
sudden, what it’s time to get back
into Schem, I can’t wait to get
back.”
Wheatley
also
noted
that
Johnson,
who
was
an
All-
American hurdler in high school,
could use the time to rebuild
confidence in his speed. Johnson
has already suffered two anterior
cruciate ligament tears and said
after Michigan’s Citrus Bowl win
that his recovery took longer than
he had hoped.
“I think he understands that
football is a priority, and I think
that’s part of why he’s running
track,”
Wheatley
said.
“To
help liven his legs back up, get
the speed back, get the agility
back. Even though you’re racing
against an opponent, you’re really
racing against the time, against
self-improvement.
“All those things that he’s
doing (are) really to make him
better at football.”
ALLISON FARRAND/Daily
Freshman running back Kareem Walker figures to compete for playing time in his first season at Michigan.
Partridge wins top recruiter award
By ZACH SHAW
Daily Sports Editor
It didn’t take long for Chris
Partridge to prove he was ready
to help out a college football
program, and now he has an
award to show for it.
Less than two years removed
from coaching Paramus Catholic
High School in New Jersey
and less than one month after
being promoted to linebacker
and co-special teams coach for
Michigan, Partridge took home
Scout.com’s National Recruiter
of the Year award.
Partridge earned the award
after playing a key role in
landing
the
nation’s
No.
1
overall
recruit
in
Rashan
Gary, helping implement the
innovative-yet-controversial
“satellite camps,” and hosting
dozens of recruits on campus as
a recruiting coordinator during
the Wolverines’ regular season.
But to Partridge, it wasn’t
until he became a position coach
in
December,
allowing
him
to recruit off campus, that he
truly got to make an impact at
Michigan.
“If
you
think
about
it,”
Partridge said, “I spent the
entire year talking to these kids
and their families, and then
finally in December, I was able
to get out there and get in their
home and really meet them.
“It was awesome. I got to
know who they really are. I was
really excited about it, and I
was trying to get to see as many
as I could in December and
January.”
After two months of joining
his fellow coaches on the road,
Partridge’s efforts as recruiting
coordinator
and
assistant
coach came to fruition. The
Wolverines landed Gary, five
other highly touted recruits
from Partridge’s home state of
New Jersey and ended National
Signing Day with the nation’s
No. 6 overall recruiting class.
When reflecting on the effort,
Partridge, 34, cited innovation
and quick learning as traits
that allowed him to adapt to the
college level.
“You’ve got to be open-minded
when you come into a job like
this,” Partridge said. “You’ve
really got to be a sponge.
“I feel like in the game of
football you can never learn
enough. You can never stop
moving.”
One of the most significant
ways Partridge kept moving,
even
when
NCAA
rules
mandated he could not travel
to visit recruits, was through
Michigan’s “Summer Swarm”
tour. The series of football
clinics were based in recruiting
hotbeds
such
as
Alabama,
California, Florida, Texas and
Pennsylvania.
A large portion of Michigan’s
recent
signees
attended
the
camps,
validating
their
effectiveness. They were so
effective, in fact, that both the
Southeastern Conference and
Atlantic Coast Conference have
begun an effort to make them
illegal.
When
asked
about
the
ethicality
of
the
camps
Wednesday, Partridge doubled
down.
“It has nothing to do with
poaching recruits,” Partridge
said. “We’re going out, and
we’re coaching football. If you
came to those camps, you would
see our coaches got off the bus,
got out of their cars and just
starting working and coaching.
We
weren’t
evaluating,
we
weren’t standing there with a
pen and paper or stopwatch, we
were just coaching football.
“Maybe
the
people
complaining about it don’t want
to get off their butt and go do
it. We’re willing to do it, and I
think they should continue to let
us do it more and more.”
With a slight post-signing
day lull in the recruiting cycle,
Partridge now turns his focus to
learning his latest jobs. Though
he was a successful head coach at
the high school level, Partridge
has rather large shoes to fill
in 2016. He will replace D.J.
Durkin — who became the head
coach at Maryland in December
— as linebackers coach and
succeed John Baxter at special
teams. The Wolverines finished
12th last season in special teams
efficiency under Baxter, who
left for Southern California.
Special teams assistant and
tight ends coach Jay Harbaugh
and Partridge plan to travel
the country and visit practices
and clinics to create a scheme
for special teams. Partridge
listed the Baltimore Ravens and
“whoever’s good” as current
targets.
“It’s like anything,” Partridge
said. “You can always learn. You
can always get better and learn.
Baxter’s a great coach, and, of
course, we’ve got heavy shoes
to fill, but we’re just going to do
as much research as we can and
figure out exactly what schemes
we want, work our kids hard and
work tirelessly at getting them
to fit into the scheme and do
the right thing on the field and
hopefully be pretty good.”
Partridge
applies
that
principle to Michigan as well.
Recognizing that he has less
experiences than most coaches
in Schembechler Hall, Partridge
quickly
began
taking
notes
every step of the way.
“It’s like a coaches’ clinic
every day,” Partridge said. “You
can carry a notebook around
and just write down what the
different coaches say. You can
sit in their office and always
learn stuff from them.”
If he keeps up the award-
winning pace, Partridge’s office
might become a clinic of its own
soon.
RUBY WALLAU/Daily
Chris Partridge was named linebackers and special teams coach after two Michigan assistants left the program.
MSU’s Costello
talks ‘M’ rivalry
By KELLY HALL
Daily Sports Editor
The No. 10 Michigan State
basketball team (6-4 Big Ten,
19-4 overall) is headed to Ann
Arbor
on
Saturday
hoping
to
extend
its
three-
game
winning
streak.
The Wolverines (7-3, 17-6), on the
other hand, seek redemption after
letting No. 22 Indiana stomp all
over them Tuesday.
In Michigan’s worst stretch of
the season, the Hoosiers scored
25 straight points in nine minutes
to give Indiana a 45-24 lead at
halftime, then they scored the
first three points of the second
half, too.
On top of the pressure that
comes with regrouping after a
poor
performance,
Michigan
might have to play its 10th
straight game without senior
Caris LeVert. The guard’s status
is still uncertain after being
sidelined with a lower leg injury
Jan. 2.
The Daily sat down with
Michigan State forward Matt
Costello at Big Ten Media Day
in October to chat about the
in-state rivalry, Crisler Center’s
environment and the picture
of Michigan football coach Jim
Harbaugh wearing an Izzone
T-shirt.
The Michigan Daily: How
does growing up in Michigan play
into your emotions for the rivalry?
And now that you’re a senior,
what it going to be like playing
(Michigan) for a last time?
Matt Costello: What’s a team
without a rival? It’s been a fun
ride. I love playing Michigan
every time just because everyone
gets so hype for it — fans, players,
coaches, everybody. I’ve really
enjoyed the rivalry. It kinda stinks
we only get to play Michigan once
this year. I wish we could play
(Michigan) twice.
TMD: What do you think of
the Crisler Center environment?
MC: I think it’s really good.
The thing I don’t like about it
is how spread out everything is
because it’s like, at the Breslin
Center, everyone’s on top of
you, and Crisler is a little more
spread out. It’s a little more of a
dimmed-out environment, but
when the fans are rocking, it’s
just like any other stadium. It
gets crazy.
TMD: You’ve been playing
against some of these guys
for a few years now, like Spike
(Albrecht) and Caris (LeVert).
What is it like, getting to play
these guys years after year?
MC: It’s a cool experience
because you don’t get to talk to
them that much when you’re
playing, but just seeing faces over
and over again, seeing film. Like,
I probably know their games
better than most other people
because we’ve watched so much
of it. It’s kind of a bond you’ll
have forever. Not that you were
that personal with them, but
you’ll follow them wherever you
go because you played them so
much.
TMD: The Magic Johnson
statue was vandalized not too
long ago (in October). What do
you think about that?
MC: I think it reflects the
opinions of some of the fans,
but that’s not all of the fans at
Michigan. We know that not
everyone is disrespectful like
that. It is what it is. It’s a college
campus. It’s going to happen.
I know we did some last year.
What it all really comes down to
is we have a (football) game on
Saturday, and that’s what we’re
playing for. Fans are going to do
what they’re going to do. It’s game
time Saturday.
TMD: Have you seen the
picture of Harbaugh wearing the
Izzone T-shirt?
MC: Yeah, it’s funny. It’s crazy
what people can dig up. It was
really funny seeing that.
BEHIND
ENEMY
LINES
Recruiting class
raises standards
By JAKE LOURIM
Managing Sports Editor
Just before noon Wednesday,
Brandon Peters heard his name
called. He stood and walked
onto the stage at Hill Auditorium
during the Michigan football
team’s “Signing of the Stars”
ceremony.
At that point, Peters — a four-
star quarterback recruit from
Avon, Ind. — took the microphone
from
New
England
Patriots
quarterback Tom Brady and sat
down next to Harbaugh on the
stage.
If that was setting the bar too
high for the 18-year-old Peters, he
didn’t show it.
“It’s not easy, but I’m kind of a
humble person, so I don’t really
look to do that stuff that much,”
Peters said. “I just do me.”
In his first season, Harbaugh
exceeded
all
realistic
expectations with a 10-3 season.
Now, he has plenty more talent
on the way — and for them, the
expectations will be much higher
from the get-go.
In all, the class currently
comprises 28 players. Dytarious
Johnson, a three-star linebacker
from Prattville, Ala., could be
the 29th if he signs. While the
Wolverines’ class is bigger than
average, the seven early enrollees’
scholarships can be back-dated to
the class of 2015 to balance it out.
Michigan’s
class
of
2015
featured
just
14
players,
decimated by the program’s
struggles during the 2014 season
and the firing of former coach
Brady Hoke.
But the Wolverines bounced
back in a big way this season,
garnering
the
nation’s
fifth-
ranked class.
“From top to bottom, this
recruiting class is youngsters that
have a real heart for competing, a
heart for football,” Harbaugh said.
“They’ve got football faces. They’re
competitive in the classroom.
They have worked so hard to put
themselves in a position to be here.
I love them all.”
No discussion of Michigan’s
recruiting
class
is
complete
without perhaps the jewel of the
class, five-star defensive tackle
Rashan Gary. Gary, the No. 1
overall recruit in the nation,
committed Wednesday toward
the end of the “Signing of the
Stars” ceremony.
Of the early enrollees, Peters
has received the most publicity. He
came to the stage first Wednesday,
and Harbaugh compared him
to his former quarterback at
Stanford, Andrew Luck.
“I saw a lot of similar things in
Brandon — a natural player, not
over-coached,
over-mechanic-
ed, naturally out there playing,”
Harbaugh said.
At
the
event,
four-star
linebacker Devin Bush shared
a Harbaugh recruiting story.
During his in-home visit, the
two
started
playing
spades,
and Harbaugh lost a couple of
games — so Bush and the ultra-
competitive Harbaugh ended up
playing for four hours, according
to Bush.
Another signing day highlight
was adding top-ranked kicker
Quinn Nordin out of Rockford,
Mich. Nordin’s name has been
in the headlines in recent weeks
for a different reason: When the
recruiting dead period ended
last month, Harbaugh slept over
at Nordin’s house during an
in-home visit.
Finally able to comment on the
sleepover, Harbaugh joked that
the bed he stayed in at Nordin’s
house was one of the most
comfortable he’d ever slept in.
“Just having fun,” Harbaugh
said. “If people criticize that, then
so be it, but we’re enjoying the
heck out of it.”
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