to finish the game with 232.
Speight, meanwhile, rebounded
impressively by throwing for 145
yards and three touchdowns,
leading
the
seventh-ranked
Wolverines to a 63-3 victory in
their season opener.
The
first-time
starting
quarterback — who beat out
redshirt juniors John O’Korn and
Shane Morris to win the starting
job in his redshirt sophomore
season — showed poise after his
early mistake, finding sophomore
wide receiver Grant Perry for a
12-yard touchdown on his first
drive. Fifth-year senior Amara
Darboh and senior tight end Jake
Butt also found the end zone for
Michigan in the first quarter.
After players and coaches spoke
for weeks about how grueling fall
camp has been, the Wolverines
took full advantage of their first
chance to reap the rewards of
their hard work.
“Our coaches have worked
this group of players as hard as
you possibly can,” said Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh. “And our
players worked themselves as
hard as they possibly could. It just
hit me Thursday (or) Friday that
it’s time to just let them go show
what they can do. I thought it
would be good, and it was.”
Freshman running back Chris
Evans electrified the sold-out
crowd by putting on a display of
pure speed in his collegiate debut.
Evans dove into the end zone for
an 18-yard score in the first half
and later turned on the jets for a
43-yard touchdown up the middle
only a minute into the second. He
finished with eight carries for 112
yards and two touchdowns.
The contest also marked the
debut for 16 other true freshmen,
including defensive end Rashan
Gary and offensive linemen Ben
Bredeson and Michael Onwenu.
Other than Evans, it might have
been freshman wide receiver
Eddie McDoom who stole the
show,
with
two
impressive
end-around runs and a leaping
catch
that
had
fans
yelling
“McDOOOOOOM.”
“It’s been coming for weeks
now,” Harbaugh said. “Three
weeks ago, it was eight — seven to
eight (freshmen) that had really
earned it and knew that they
were gonna be tracking to be in
the two-deep (depth chart). Less
than a week later, maybe it was
gonna be 10. Another week, it was
up again and up again. ... They’ve
earned it.”
Michigan’s second- and third-
string offenses fared just as well
toward the end of the game, with
O’Korn and Morris each leading
touchdown drives and combining
to go 7-for-7 passing. According
to Harbaugh, it was an indicator
of just how close the quarterback
competition was.
“It’s one of those clichés you
hear about: if you have three
good quarterbacks, then you don’t
have any good quarterbacks,”
Harbaugh said. “That’s never
resonated with me. … They’re
pushing
each
other
higher,
they’ve all commented how good
that’s been, and I think that
showed today.”
On the other side of the ball,
the
Wolverines’
defense
ran
roughshod over the Rainbow
Warriors on nearly every drive,
picking up four sacks and 10
tackles for loss. Hawaii didn’t
gain a first down until the last
five minutes of the first half, and
both senior cornerback Channing
Stribling and senior safety Delano
Hill picked off quarterback Ikaika
Woolsey for touchdown returns.
The Rainbow Warriors did put
together one solid drive to close
the first half, but an intentional
grounding penalty resulted in a
10-second runoff that ended the
half before Hawaii could attempt
a field goal. It would eventually
avenge that failure with a 55-yard
boot
from
kicker
Rigoberto
Sanchez with 12:30 remaining in
the game, but it was far too little,
far too late.
After Speight’s interception —
really the only moment of tension
all afternoon — the Wolverines
enjoyed
a
near-perfect
first
performance,
dominating
in
every facet of the game.
“You never want to come out
and struggle in your first game,”
said junior center Mason Cole.
“To be able to go out and run
the ball well, pass the ball well,
protect the quarterback well, play
defense well — put it all together
and that’s what happens, you go
up 63 to 3.”
NOTE: All-American senior
cornerback Jourdan Lewis, fifth-
year senior offensive lineman
Ben Braden and redshirt junior
Maurice Hurst were among a
group of Wolverines that dressed
but missed the game due to injury,
with
Harbaugh
later
saying
that the three were held out as
a precaution and could be back
as soon as next week. Senior
defensive end Taco Charlton
(ankle),
senior
running
back
De’Veon Smith (ribs) and redshirt
sophomore
defensive
tackle
Bryan Mone (unspecified) all left
the game due to injury — Smith
told Harbaugh he was fine, while
Charlton and Mone will require
further evaluation.
for all students in the 1950s
under then-U o M President
Harlan.
On Thursday, the line to
shake hands with the President
grew quickly, and by 12:15 pm
the line filled the first floor of
the house and continued past
the entrance of the house onto
South University. Director of
Development
Events
Jenny
Freels said the event normally
draws about 800 to 1,000 visitors
each year, but could not confirm
whether there were more or less
this year.
E.
Royster
Harper,
vice
president of student life, also
welcomed
students
into
the
president’s backyard.
Schlissel
engaged
in
conversation with students about
his days in college, discussing
how when he was a freshman,
calling home was much more
expensive than the common
options like FaceTime or Skype
students use today.
Aside from freshmen, many
older students also attended
the event, including LSA junior
Jamie Huizinga. Huizinga said
she came because she hadn’t yet
met the president in person yet.
A group of foreign exchange
students explained that they were
here just to explore the campus
and all the events offered.
“We
want
to
explore
everything,” said LSA junior
Xin Gu, who transferred from a
college in China.
FOOTBALL
From Page 1A
SCHLISSEL
From Page 6A
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Rackham students Aman Goel and Sbarno Banerjee meet with University
President Schlissel and his wife at the President’s House on Thursday.
8A — Tuesday, September 6, 2016
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com