8A — Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Onwenu contributing on both sides

True freshman 
375-pounder 

making his mark in 
more ways than one

By JACOB GASE 

Daily Sports Editor

Weighing in at 375 pounds — 

and looking like every bit of it 
up close — freshman offensive 
lineman Michael Onwenu is the 
biggest player on the Michigan 
football team, and not by a 
small margin.

But what does a player like 

him eat to build that hulking, 
muscle-bound frame?

“I don’t know, I like grapes,” 

Onwenu said with a straight 
face. “I like fruit, so, I just eat 
a lot of fruit. I swear, I don’t 
even eat as much as people 
think I do. … I don’t eat a lot of 
junk food, just whatever I feel 
like eating.”

Whether you believe his 

dietary habits or not, Onwenu 
has already been given a chance 
to put his impressive size to 
good use early in his first season 
with the Wolverines. Saturday, 
he was one of a team-record 
17 true freshmen to make his 
collegiate debut for Michigan in 
a 63-3 win over Hawaii.

Onwenu may be part of a 

loaded recruiting class, but since 
enrolling in classes over the 
summer, the Detroit Cass Tech 
product stood out enough for 
coach Jim Harbaugh to grant 
him the opportunity to practice 
on both the offensive and 
defensive lines — and play both 
in his first game as well.

When he took the field at 

Michigan Stadium for the first 
time as an offensive lineman, 
Onwenu said “it didn’t feel 
real.” Little did he know that, 
due in part to the defensive line 
dealing with numerous injuries 
Saturday, he ended up playing 
both ways right off the bat.

Onwenu had been a two-way 

player all through high school 
— offense more than defense — 
but he says he has no preference 
for which way he lines up, as 

long as it gets him on the field.

“I’ve always played both, so 

I really don’t have a favorite,” 
Onwenu said. “Even going into 
the 
future, 

I feel like I 
could 
play 

both. … I’ve 
always played 
offense more 
than defense, 
but I feel like 
I can be better 
at defense. I 
just have to 
get consistent 
with my technique. When I 
get consistent, I feel like I’ll be 
dominant.”

It’s a unique position to be in 

for a young lineman — Onwenu 
said that ever since Harbaugh 

first started recruiting him, 
the prospect of playing both 
ways has always been on the 
table. When Onwenu went 

to 
camps 

with 
other 

top 
recruits 

from around 
the 
country, 

he said even 
players 
ranked 
higher 
than 

him 
didn’t 

have such an 
opportunity 

from their coaches.

Part of the reason for that is 

his natural speed, which seems 
counterintuitive 
given 
his 

stature.

“I’ve never been little, but I 

always had a little quickness,” 
Onwenu 
said. 
“Even 
when 

I played little league, I was 
always kind of the fastest big 
guy. Now I’ve gained more 
pounds, so — I mean, I still try 
to be as fast as I was, but I just 
try.”

Natural 
talents 
aside, 

Onwenu also has a high-quality 
training staff and nutritionist 
at his disposal to maintain his 
imposing form. Neither he nor 
the coaching staff has a set 
weight in mind, but Director of 
Performance Fergus Connolly 
has been a helpful guide.

“I’ve got Fergus — that’s my 

man,” Onwenu said. “Even in 
the summer, when I was trying 
to figure out how to lose pounds 
and gain more muscle, he was 

just telling me tricks and tips, 
what I can do. Not so much 
losing weight, just like trying to 
fix what I’m eating — eat more 
healthy stuff or make better 
choices.”

Whatever choices Onwenu 

is making seem to be the right 
ones. As a freshman once 
touted “my favorite guy right 
now” by Harbaugh earlier in 
camp, he figures to see more 
playing time in the coming 
weeks as the defensive line 
continues to heal and the 
Wolverines take on more low-
level competition.

His weight may jump out 

on paper, but the fruit-fueled 
lineman with deceptive speed 
has more to offer his new team 
on both sides of the ball.

Peppers happy in Brown’s defense

Michigan’s most 
versatile player 

happy with results 

after first game

By MAX BULTMAN 

Managing Sports Editor

Jabrill Peppers says he tries 

to lay low going to classes. He 
doesn’t wear football gear, hoping 
it will help him avoid attention.

On a football field, though, 

laying low is impossible.

No. 
5 
is 
everywhere 
on 

Michigan’s defense and special 
teams, and presumably, he’ll see 
time on offense at some point as 
well. He plays in the box, in the 
secondary, on the line and perhaps 
in the nightmares of various 
coaches around the Big Ten.

He opened 2016 with a tackle 

for loss on the first play from 
scrimmage, and logic suggests 
there will be more tone-setting 
plays to come. That’s because, 
under new defensive coordinator 
Don Brown, aggressive play 
calling is the new normal.

“He’s 
a 
very 
aggressive 

defensive caller, so we just make 
him look good, try to make him 
as right as possible with anything 
he calls, even if it puts us at a 
disadvantage,” Peppers said. “We 
just try to make them look good, 
man. Because he trusts us, he 
lets us go out there and play, and 
that’s the least we could do.”

When 
Brown 
came 
to 

Michigan from Boston College, 
he showed Peppers film of Matt 
Milano, the Eagles’ version of 
Peppers from last season. He 
wanted to show the versatile 
defensive back how he would 
be used in his defense. And one 
game into the season, Peppers 
seems 
sufficiently 
impressed 

with his new coach.

“Once we all really got the 

defense, and started adding 
our own swagger and our own 

attitude to it, man, it was just 
clicking,” Peppers said.

Peppers, of course, is the 

linchpin. If he was not already 
the most indispensable, he likely 
is now after his backup, Noah 
Furbush, went down with an 
undisclosed injury. There are 
players behind Peppers, but none 
can alter the game in nearly as 
many ways.

He said much of his job is 

similar — though he plays in the 
box much more — but Peppers 
now said he considers himself 
savvier than a year ago.

“Like down and distance 

situations, 
reading 
the 

quarterback’s 
drops, 
reading 

the receivers’ releases,” he said. 
“Now I’m in the box, reading the 
guard pull, reading the down 
block. Just things like that. And I 
just feel as though, like a lot of us 

do, we’ve just been here before. 
We know what we’ve gotta do, so 
let’s just go out there and do it.”

That manifested as a strong 

day against Hawaii. Peppers had 
eight tackles, two for loss and one 
sack as part of 
a unit that held 
the 
Rainbow 

Warriors 
to 

just 
three 

points. 
The 

Wolverines 
scored on two 
interceptions 
returned 
for 

touchdowns, 
and 
they 

forced another 
fumble. It was as strong a 
defensive day as Michigan fans 
could have hoped for.

But even though Hawaii put 

together only one long drive in the 

first half — with mostly starters 
in the game for the Wolverines — 
Peppers wasn’t entirely content. 
When the Rainbow Warriors 
made their field goal, it curtailed 
his hope of a season-opening 

shutout.

“We 

wanted to shut 
those 
guys 

out,” he said. 
“We 
wanted 

to just come 
out and make 
a 
statement. 

We’ve seen a 
lot of teams 
struggle 
in 

week 
one. 

We feel as though we had the 
hardest camp. We feel as though 
we’ve got the best head guy. So 
we just want to go out there and 
make a statement no matter who 

we play.”

On that drive, Peppers said 

Hawaii 
simply 
called 
good 

plays 
to 
match 
up 
against 

Michigan’s scheme. He said the 
Rainbow 
Warriors 
exploited 

Michigan’s gaps, leaving room 
for quarterback Ikaika Woolsey 
to scramble and complete passes.

He was willing to concede 

that some success was expected 
(“You know they’re gonna 
make plays, this is Division I 
football,” he said,) but he also 
wants them to keep contain 
better and “gap integrity.”

Still, 
what 
Michigan 
did 

against Hawaii worked. And 
Peppers knows it.

“If they don’t score, and you 

keep taking the ball over and 
putting points on the board,” 
Peppers said, “you should like 
your chances.”

GRANT HARDY/Daily

Redshirt sophomore Jabrill Peppers is the most versatile player in Don Brown’s new defense, and early results from him in his new position were positive.

AMANDA ALLEN/Daily

Freshman lineman Michael Onwenu earned the chance to play on the offensive and defensive lines, and Jim Harbaugh earlier called him one of his favorite players.

“I’ve never 

been little, but 
I always had a 
little quickness.”

“We wanted 
to just come 
out and make 
a statement.”

T E A M S T A T S

 

MICH
OPP

Points/Game
63.0
3.0

First Downs/Game
26.0
16.0

Rush Yards/Game
306
81

 Yards/Rush
7.8
2.2

 Rushing TDs
4
0

Passing Yards/Game
206
151

 Completion %
85.0
52.2

 Yards/Pass
10.3
6.6

 Passing TDs
3
0

 Interceptions
1
2

Offensive Plays/Game
59
60

Total Offense
512
232

3rd-down Conversions
100.0%
9.1%

4th-down Conversions
0-0
1-2

Sacks/Game
4.0
0.0

Kick return average
10.0
20.5

Punt return average
14.0
0.0

Punting average
0.0
42.7

Field Goals-Attempts
0-0
1-1

Fumbles/Lost
0/0
2/0

Penalty Yards/Game
33.0
60.0

Time of Poss
27:55
32:05

I N D I V I D U A L S

PASSING

Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT

Speight
10
13
145
3
1

Morris
4
4
45
0
0

O’Korn
3
3
16
0
0

TOTALS
17
20
206
3
1

RUSHING

Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

C. Evans
8
112
14.0
43
2

Isaac
9
52
5.8
12
0

Higdon
6
35
5.8
19
1

McDoom
2
34
17.0
19
0

Smith, D.
6
27
4.5
14
0

Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0

Morris
1
14
14.0
14
0

Chesson
2
11
5.5
15
0

Hill
1
4
4.0
4
1

Beneducci
1
1
1.0
1
0

Hewlett
1
-1
-1.0
0
0

TOTALS
39
306
7.8
43
4

RECEIVING

Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD

Chesson
3
43
14.3
21
0

Darboh
3
42
14.0
31
1

McDoom
2
15
7.5
8
0

McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0

Ways
1
22
22.0
22
0

Butt
1
19
19.0
19
1

Crawford
1
18
18.0
18
0

Hirsch
1
15
15.0
15
0

Perry
1
12
12.0
12
1

Hill
1
7
7.0
7
0

Poggi
1
3
3.0
3
0

TOTALS
17
206
12.1
31
3

 

PUNT RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Peppers
2
28
14.0
14
0

TOTALS
2
28
14.0
14
0

INTERCEPTIONS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Stribling
1
51
51.0
51
1

Hill, D.
1
27
27.0
27
1

TOTALS
2
78
39.0
51
2

KICKOFF RETURNS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD

Henderson
1
15
15.0
15
0

Hill, K.
1
5
5.0
5
0

TOTALS
2
20
10.0
15
0

KICKOFFS

Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB

Allen
6
388
64.7
3

Foug
4
250
62.5
1

TOTALS
10
638
63.8
4

DEFENSE

Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU

McCray
6
3
9
3.5
2.0
-

Peppers
7
1
8
2.0
1.0
-

Gedeon
3
4
7
2.5
1.0
-

Winovich
2
4
6
-
-
-

Thomas
3
2
5
-
-
-

Watson
2
2
4
-
-
-

Kinnel
2
1
3
-
-
-

Gary
1
2
3
-
-
-

Wroblewski
-
3
3
-
-
-

Dwumfour
2
-
2
1.0
-
-

Glasgow, J.
2
-
2
-
-
-

Marshall
1
1
2
-
-
-

Glasgow, R.
1
1
2
-
-
-

Bush
1
1
2
-
-
-

Stribling
2
-
2
-
-
-

Miller
1
-
1
-
-
-

Hill, D.
1
-
1
1.0
-
1

Godin
-
1
1
-
-
-

Smith, D.
1
-
1
-
-
-

Charlton
-
1
1
-
-
-

Clark
1
-
1
-
-
1

Allen
-
1
1
-
-
-

Hudson
1
-
1
-
-
-

Hill, L.
-
-
-
-
-
1

TOTALS
40
28
68
10.0 4.0
3

A P T O P 2 5 P O L L

1. Alabama (1-0)
14. Oklahoma (0-1)

2. Clemson (1-0)
15. TCU (1-0)

3. Florida State (1-0)
16. Iowa (1-0)

4. Ohio State (1-0)
17. Tennessee (1-0)

5. Michigan (1-0)
18. Notre Dame (0-1)

6. Houston (1-0)
19. Ole Miss (0-1)

7. Stanford (1-0)
20. Texas A&M (1-0)

8. Washington (1-0)
21. LSU (0-1)

9. Georgia (1-0)
22. Oklahoma St. (1-0)

10. Wisconsin (1-0)
23. Baylor (1-0)

11. Texas (1-0)
24. Oregon (1-0)

12. Michigan State (1-0) 25. Miami (1-0)

13. Louisville (1-0)

2016 SCHEDULE

HAWAII (0-2)

9/10

9/17

9/24

10/1

10/8

10/22

10/29

11/5

11/12

11/19

11/26

W, 63-3 (1-0)

UCF (1-0)

12 p.m., Michigan Stadium, ABC

COLORADO (1-0)

3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium, BTN

PENN ST. (1-0)

Michigan Stadium

WISCONSIN (1-0)

Michigan Stadium

at RUTGERS (0-1)

7 or 8 p.m., Piscataway, N.J.

ILLINOIS (1-0)

3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium

at MICH. ST. (1-0)

East Lansing, Mich.

MARYLAND (1-0)

Michigan Stadium

at IOWA (1-0)

8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa

INDIANA (1-0)

Michigan Stadium

at OHIO ST. (1-0)

Columbus, Ohio

9/3

