FootballSaturday, October 1, 2016
6

about his duties as kicker. The only
time he said he was only worried
about kicking a field goal was his
very first attempt as a starter at
Utah. Last season, his level-headed
approach showed on the field when
he made 18 of his 22 field goal
attempts and completed 100 percent
of his extra point attempts.

According to Sailer, kickers need

to enjoy being in the spotlight while
learning to take credit for the success
as well as the defeat. That’s a tall
order for most burgeoning players,
and it takes a unique personality to
want to be in those situations.

Though
he’ll
admit
that

football takes up most of his time,
he nonchalantly plays off how
much time he actually spends at
Schembechler Hall. He says that
he’ll watch movies, and take naps,
especially with his border-collie
lab, Charlie. Sometimes, he has
enough time to take Charlie on two
walks a day.

He talks about how his parents

met while they were his age, 22,
and how that doesn’t give him much
hope for the future (“That’s why
I have a dog,” he joked.) He’s not
afraid to poke fun at himself.

“You don’t become a starting

kicker for Michigan and earn a
scholarship and have interviews
like this one if you don’t have that
demeanor,” Sailer said. “You can’t
be too high on yourself and be
over-boastful and too confident.

It’s more about staying humble,
understanding
it’s
continued

hard work, but also keeping that
confidence up. That personality is
very common (in kickers). I think
if you talk to the majority of the
top college kickers, you talk to NFL
players, they’re going to have a very
nonchalant yet confident attitude
and always expect to be successful.”

He plays off his life like he is

ordinary, and that’s what sets him
apart.
His
easygoing
approach,

coupled
with
his
work
ethic,

breeds his success. In order to stay
unflappable in the face of adversity,
Kenny has to be Kenny.

***

Sometimes, Allen will send his

parents pictures of
himself with former
Wolverines
greats

such as Tom Brady
or Charles Woodson.
He didn’t quite get
his own photo with
basketball
legend

Michael Jordan, but
snuck into the back
of one and tweeted
it out, calling it the
“best photo bomb
ever.”

It’s no surprise when they get

these kinds of pictures anymore.

“Oh, nice day to be Kenny,” Stacey

will laugh.

These opportunities all come

with being a Wolverine, and Kenny
has wanted to be one since he was
a child. Not for the pictures with

celebrities or the perks of being a
student-athlete, but because his
family instilled a love for Michigan
at a young age.

“I
just
admired
everything

about this place and watching
the Michigan-Ohio State games,
Michigan-Michigan State games,
like that was the craziest thing I had
ever seen,” Kenny said. “I wanted to
be a part of it, but as a little kid, you
have these dreams and aspirations
of doing that and then you get to
high school and reality kind of hits
you in the face. Like, ‘Yeah right, I’m
never going to do that.’

“And then, the more I kept

working, the closer that became
reality and it was almost there. I
just kept working, my family kept
encouraging me and like telling me

these steps to take
and going to these
coaches,
spending

my time going to the
fields when everyone
else was doing God
knows what. I just
think working hard
and
never
giving

up and having the
support of my family,
that’s why I chose
football.”

Back at the tailgate, all of the

reasons for his success gathered
under the tent. Kenny’s parents
gave him the unconditional support,
his brother gave him the fire to
compete and Michigan gave him a
chance. Now, Kenny Allen has put
it all together, and the picture looks
pretty good.

Behind Enemy Lines:
CB Sojourn Shelton

When the No. 4 Michigan football

team hosts No. 8 Wisconsin on
Saturday, it knows it will be in for a
physical battle.

The Badgers have allowed just

3.2 yards per carry and one rushing
touchdown through four games, but
that’s not the only way they have
been beating opponents.

Cornerbacks Sojourn Shelton and

Derrick Tindal each have five pass
breakups on the season, making
them one of the most statistically
productive secondaries in the nation.
Both picked off Spartan quarterback
Tyler O’Connor last week in a 30-6
victory in East Lansing, the Badgers’
most impressive victory to date.

The Wolverines’ wide receivers,

especially fifth-year seniors Jehu
Chesson and Amara Darboh, should
be targeted often, given Wisconsin’s
success at stopping
the run, but Shelton
and
Tindal
have

made throwing the
ball
against
the

Badgers difficult so
far this season.

The
Daily
sat

down with Shelton
at Big Ten Media
Days in Chicago in
July to talk about
the top cornerbacks
in the conference,
playing in Ann Arbor and facing
tough early competition.

The Michigan Daily: Because of

a weird scheduling quirk, Wisconsin
hasn’t played Michigan since 2010.
Are you looking forward to heading
to Ann Arbor?

Sojourn Shelton: Of course. It’s

just one of those teams that you just
can’t shy away from, especially the
atmosphere. I’m hearing from people
that I know that played at Michigan,
I hear it’s a crazy atmosphere. And
they’re a good, solid team. They have
a lot of good, solid players. Of course,
everybody will pick them to be this
and that, but at the same time, when
game time comes around, all the
teams have got to put it together. I
expect Michigan to be a solid team,
as usual.

TMD: The classic Big Ten was

known as a kind of “ground and
pound” kind of league, but now the
conference has plenty of talented

receivers and cornerbacks like
yourself, Iowa’s Desmond King,
Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis. How
do you feel about the changing
landscape of the Big Ten, and do
you compare yourself to those
other guys?

SS: Of course, those guys are

truly elite. You look at Desmond
King, you look at Jourdan Lewis —
those guys are playing extremely
well at football. Whenever I can get
a chance to look at their game and
kind of take something from their
game, I’ll be the first to tell you that
I do it. Everybody as corners, we’re
all different. We all do something
well, and you can’t be afraid to
just watch film on them to see how
things are turning out and how their
defense is ran.

Saying that the Big Ten is a

“ground and pound” conference —
I mean, traditionally it is, but when
you watch the games nowadays

and
the
football

being
played
in

the Big Ten, you
can see it’s a lot of
teams throwing the
ball around. Look
at Indiana — they
throw it around a
lot. Ohio State, they
throw it around a
lot.
These
teams

still run the ball
a lot, but they’ve
added the passing

game to their games and their
game plans.

TMD: For the third straight

year, you’re starting off facing an
SEC team (Louisiana in 2016 and
2014, Alabama in 2015). Do you
like starting off facing the top
competition right away?

SS: I do. It’s really fun. Those are

some games that I’ll take with me
and remember for the rest of my life.
I remember going to Houston the
first time and being excited, playing
against LSU. To me, those are the
teams that were dominant growing
up. Talking about LSU being, in my
era, growing up, being one of the
best teams in the nation. And then
last year, playing Alabama, which
we all know how Alabama is every
year, in and out. What other way to
start off the season to see if you’re
ready? We know, just control what
we can and start as fast and strong
as possible, and just play hard.

Senior looking forward to first trip to Ann
Arbor for eighth-ranked, unbeaten Badgers

JACOB GASE

Daily Sports Editor

“When game

times comes

around, all the

teams have got to

put it together.”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Allen had the chance to kick in the Citrus Bowl as a redshirt junior last year, his first season as the starter for Michigan.

ALLEN
From Page 5B

“I just admired

everything
about this

place.”