Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, November 1, 2016 — 7
T E A M S T A T S
MICH
OPP
Points/Game
46.6
11.6
First Downs/Game
23.9
12.1
Rush Yards/Game
249.0
111.1
Yards/Rush
5.4
3.3
Rushing TDs
31
3
Passing Yards/Game
228.1
120.1
Completion %
63.9%
41.7%
Yards/Pass
8.0
5.0
Passing TDs
14
8
Interceptions
3
8
Offensive Plays/Game
74.8
58.1
Total Offense
477.1
231.2
3rd-down Conversions
47.7%
15.5%
4th-down Conversions
66.7%
35.3%
Sacks/Game
3.4
1.4
Kick return average
17.2
20.7
Punt return average
17.9
8.8
Punting average
42.1
38.1
Field Goals-Attempts
9-14
3-7
Fumbles/Lost
8/3
12/5
Penalty Yards/Game
43.4
46.0
Time of Poss
33:48
26:13
I N D I V I D U A L S T A T S
PASSING
Player
Cmp
Att
Yds
TD
INT
Speight
130
207
1691
13
3
O’Korn
11
15
89
1
0
Morris
4
5
45
0
0
TOTALS
145
227
1825
14
3
RUSHING
Player
Att
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Smith, D.
90
450
5.0
42
5
Evans
53
424
8.0
57
3
Higdon
53
403
7.6
45
6
Isaac
66
348
5.3
34
4
McDoom
12
138
11.5
33
0
Peppers
15
131
8.7
63
3
Chesson
9
47
5.2
17
1
Hill
19
33
1.7
4
8
Henderson
4
29
7.2
13
1
Morris
3
19
6.3
14
0
Davis
2
17
8.5
10
0
Crawford
3
15
5.0
11
0
O’Korn
6
12
2.0
3
0
Hirsch
1
2
2.0
2
0
Wilson
1
1
1.0
1
0
Beneducci
1
1
1.0
1
0
Hewlett
2
-1
-0.5
0
0
Gedeon
1
-2
-2.0
0
0
Allen
1
-11
-11.0
0
0
TEAM
10
-15
-1.5
0
0
Speight
19
-49
-2.6
10
0
TOTALS
371
1992
5.4
63
31
RECEIVING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg
Lg
TD
Darboh
38
664
17.5
46
5
Butt
29
345
11.9
26
4
Chesson
20
304
15.2
35
1
Perry
6
114
19.0
54
1
Hill
10
75
7.5
15
1
McDoom
4
53
13.3
33
0
Poggi
5
33
6.6
15
0
Evans
4
28
7.0
14
0
Wheatley
2
27
13.5
21
1
Ways
2
24
12.0
22
0
Henderson
1
23
23.0
23
0
Smith, D.
10
21
2.1
9
0
Isaac
1
21
21.0
21
0
Asiasi
2
18
9.0
15
1
Crawford
1
18
18.0
18
0
Hirsch
1
15
15.0
15
0
Jocz
1
12
12.0
12
0
McKeon
2
10
5.0
5
0
Harris
1
7
7.0
7
0
Bunting
2
6
3.0
4
0
Johnson, N.
1
4
4.0
4
0
Peppers
2
3
1.5
5
0
TOTALS
145
1825
12.6
54
14
PUNT RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
15
257
17.1
54
1
Jocz
1
27
27.0
0
0
Evans
1
15
15.0
15
0
Perry
0
6
--
6
1
TOTALS
17
305
17.9
54
2
INTERCEPTION RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Stribling
3
60
20.0
51
1
Hill, D.
1
27
27.0
27
1
McCray
1
22
22.0
22
0
Thomas
1
4
4.0
4
0
Lewis
2
0
0.0
0
0
TOTALS
8
113
14.1
51
2
FUMBLE RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Hill, L.
1
9
9.0
9
0
TOTALS
1
9
9.0
9
0
KICKOFF RETURNS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg. Long
TD
Peppers
6
168
28.0
55
0
Lewis
3
34
11.3
18
0
Henderson
2
28
14.0
15
0
Hudson
1
6
6.0
6
0
Hill, K.
2
5
2.5
5
0
TOTALS
14
241
17.2
55
0
KICKOFFS
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
TB
Allen
53
3392
64.0
28
Foug
8
460
57.5
2
Tice
3
189
63.0
0
TOTALS
64
4041
63.1
30
PUNTING
Player
No.
Yds
Avg.
Lg
Allen
27
1138
42.1
56
TOTALS
27
1138
42.1
56
FIELD GOALS
Player
FG
Pct.
1-19 20-29 30-3940-49 50+ Lg
Allen
9-13 69.2% 0-0 5-5 3-5
1-3
0-0 45
Tice
0-1 0.0% 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0
LEADING TACKLERS
Player
Solo Ast
Tot
TFL
SK
PBU
Gedeon
22
39
61
8.5
3.0
2
Peppers
31
17
48
12.5
3.5
-
McCray
18
25
43
8.0
3.5
4
Thomas
18
16
34
-
-
4
Hill, D.
20
10
30
2.0
-
2
Winovich
6
20
26
5.5
2.0
-
Glasgow, R.
5
21
26
4.0
1.0
1
Wormley
9
13
22
5.5
4.0
-
Gary
7
15
22
5.0
1.0
-
Hurst
9
11
20
6.5
3.0
-
Godin
7
13
20
2.0
1.0
-
Charlton
7
12
19
4.5
4.0
-
Lewis
11
5
16
2.5
-
3
Stribling
7
8
15
1.0
-
7
Kinnel
6
4
10
-
-
-
Clark
6
4
10
-
-
3
Watson
6
4
10
-
-
-
Metellus
6
2
8
1.0
1.0
-
Glasgow, J.
5
3
8
-
-
-
Hudson
3
5
8
0.5
-
1
Bush
3
5
8
0.5
-
-
Pearson
2
4
6
-
-
-
TOTALS
232 280 512
71
27
28
2016 SCHEDULE
HAWAII (4-5)
W, 63-3 (1-0)
UCF (4-4)
COLORADO (6-2)
PENN ST. (6-2)
WISCONSIN (6-2) at RUTGERS (2-6)
ILLINOIS (2-6)
at MICH. ST. (2-6) MARYLAND (5-3)
3:30 p.m., Michigan Stadium
at IOWA (5-3)
8 p.m., Iowa City, Iowa
INDIANA (4-4)
Michigan Stadium
at OHIO ST. (7-1)
Noon, Columbus, Ohio
9/3
9/10
9/17
9/24
10/1
10/8
10/22
10/29
11/5
11/12
11/19
11/26
W, 51-14 (2-0) W, 45-28 (3-0) W, 49-10 (4-0) W, 14-7 (5-0) W, 78-0 (6-0) W, 41-8 (7-0) W, 32-23 (8-0)
For Poggi, Maryland game serves as a reunion
While most of the Michigan
football team will be anticipating
a
meeting
with
its
former
defensive coordinator, redshirt
junior fullback Henry Poggi
will be looking forward to the
Wolverines’
matchup
with
Maryland on Saturday for a
much more personal reason.
Poggi attended the Gilman
School
in
Baltimore,
Md.,
where his father, Biff, was the
head coach. Both Poggis are
now in Ann Arbor after Biff
took a job as the Wolverines’
“associate head coach/special
advisor” this offseason. And
this weekend, there will be a
third member of the household
in
town,
though
he’s
not
technically a blood relative.
Melvin Keihn is a redshirt
sophomore defensive end for the
Terrapins who left Liberia when
he was 8. His Maryland bio says
his hometown is Towson, Md.,
but it does not detail his actual
living situation there.
“I just call him my little
brother, because he lives at our
house,” Poggi said of Keihn.
“Whenever we get breaks from
college, he’ll be back there. He’s
a really good kid.”
Poggi says the arrangement
stemmed from simple utility.
Keihn’s father’s job would have
made it difficult for his son to
attend Gilman, so he moved in
with the Poggis. In that time, he
became like another sibling to
Henry, who said Keihn “goes on
all our family vacations.”
In a 2014 profile in The
Baltimore Sun, Katherine Dunn
explained
Keihn’s
story
in
even greater depth. The article
detailed how, at 8 years old,
Keihn’s mother put him on a
plane from Monrovia to “take
him away from a life of labor on
the rice farm where they both
worked amid the threat that he
could be forced at any time to
become a child soldier in the
West African nation emerging
from a second civil war.”
And he has indeed lived a
very different life in the United
States. Keihn originally signed
to play for Virginia Tech before
transferring to Maryland and
sitting out last season. Through
eight games this year, Keihn has
yet to start, but has played in
seven games and recorded two
tackles for loss.
Speaking to reporters Monday,
Poggi didn’t go into great depth
about
his
relationship
with
Keihn, or what it was like to have
him living with his family. But
on a weekend that will also pit
the fullback against his former
high school quarterback, Shane
Cockerille (now a linebacker at
Maryland), as well as Terrapins
head coach D.J. Durkin against
his former defense, it’s one of
the many reunions fans can
look forward to
Saturday.
Durkin
helped
turn
the Wolverines
into one of the
nation’s
top
defenses
last
season, a mantle
upon
which
they have only
improved under
new coordinator
Don Brown. Routinely, players
and coaches praised Durkin’s
intensity, and his future as a head
coach was apparent early on in
his tenure at Michigan.
That came to fruition early
last December, when he accepted
a job to become the head coach
of the Terrapins, and he has
made quick work
of
justifying
the hire. After
finishing 3-9 last
season, Maryland
is sitting at 5-3
this year under
Durkin, just one
win away from
bowl eligibility.
“He’s done a
fabulous
job,”
said
Michigan
coach Jim Harbaugh. “Just
always respected D.J. as a
tremendous competitor at the
highest level. Smile thinking
about
his
competitiveness.
And also always happy for a
friend’s success. I think he’s
doing a fabulous job (with) his
entire staff and team. You can
see the energy. You can see
the strength. You can see the
competitiveness and execution
on the field, etc. The flip side
of that is we know that this’ll
be a big game, this will be a
championship game. This will
be a real test for our club.”
But even while the sentiments
of reunion are in the air, Poggi
said he has no trouble getting
psyched up for the game. When
he sees Cockerille and Keihn on
the field, he’s excited to do more
than just say hello.
“It’ll be nice to smack those
guys,” Poggi said. “For sure.”
After stressful decision, Higdon finds place at Michigan
On Feb. 4, 2015 — National
Signing Day — Karan Higdon felt
sick to his stomach.
The
running
back
from
Sarasota, Fla., wasn’t even sure
he wanted to go to his signing
ceremony at Riverview High
School that day, and he had still
not made up his mind when he
sat down at a table with two
offer letters. One was from
Iowa, where he had already
verbally committed the previous
October, and the other was from
Michigan, a contender that had
just offered him the week before.
Neither Higdon nor his family
knew what would happen when
he sat down at the table, but he
said he ultimately went with
his instincts and chose to sign
with the Wolverines. And those
instincts,
surprisingly,
had
nothing to do with football.
“It was really me just looking
at life after football,” Higdon
said Monday. “Football is not
a promising game — you never
know when your last snap or
play is gonna be, so you’ve
gotta think about the things
that’s gonna build you as a
person versus building you as a
football player.”
Because of his lifelong desire
to help people, Higdon has
wanted to be in the medical
field since he was 7. He saw an
opportunity to get a quality
medical education at Michigan,
where he is currently studying
to become a Certified Registered
Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA).
On the football side of things,
though, the three-star recruit
coming to Ann Arbor surprised
many
fans.
When
Higdon
committed,
the
Wolverines
already had three experienced
backs on the roster and appeared
to be in the mix for four-star
Mike Weber, who ultimately
signed with Ohio State.
Almost two years later, though,
Higdon has found his place on the
field as well as in the classroom.
As a surprise member of a four-
man running back rotation, the
sophomore has racked up 403
yards on 53 carries for an eye-
popping 7.6 yards per touch. His
six rushing touchdowns are the
most of any running back on the
roster and more than anyone
else except the team’s goal-
line specialist, redshirt junior
fullback Khalid Hill.
Higdon became Michigan’s
go-to back in the fourth quarter
of Saturday’s win over Michigan
State, as the Wolverines tried to
pick up first downs and run out
the clock. He came up short on
his last few attempts — in part
due to what Higdon deemed
a questionable spot on third
down — but the coaching staff’s
willingness to use him proved
their trust in him.
“Karan does a good job,
maybe the best job of hitting the
hole,” said Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh. “He hits it downhill
very fast. We felt like we needed
that in that part of the ballgame.”
The
running-back-by-
committee
approach
wasn’t
necessarily what the Wolverines
had planned to start the season,
but the emergence of Higdon
and freshman Chris Evans has
almost forced running backs
coach Tyrone Wheatley’s hand.
Higdon played sparingly as a true
freshman, managing just 19 yards
on 11 carries, but he burst onto the
scene in fall camp this season.
Part of Higdon’s success has
come from his physical talents
— he aims to be a balanced back
like Adrian Peterson, who can
be “quick and explosive” but also
“lower (his) shoulder” on power
runs — but the rest has come
from increasing his patience.
“I can be very quick at times,
and sometimes I can outrun my
linemen,” Higdon said. “Knowing
that I have that ability, me as a
runner, I have to slow down and
let things open up versus trying
to make those things open up,
and I think I’ve definitely gotten
better at that.”
That newfound comfort has
Higdon feeling like he’s in a
good place, both athletically
and academically. And in just
two weeks, he will travel with
Michigan to Iowa City to face
the Hawkeyes, personifying the
battle that went on in his head 21
months ago.
Though
he
remembers
his visits to Iowa fondly and
thinks the trip will be “like a
homecoming,” Higdon’s recent
success has him feeling like that
dilemma is far behind him.
“I’m a firm believer that I live
with no regrets,” he said. “If I
make a decision, I’m gonna make
it and live with it. ... I’m extremely
happy to be here and to be a part
of the Go Blue Nation.”
JACOB GASE
Daily Sports Editor
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Sophomore running back Karan Higdon originally committed to Iowa, but he ended up at Michigan after a last-second decision on National Signing Day in 2015.
GRANT HARDY/Daily
Redshirt junior fullback Henry Poggi (19) will be back in touch with a number of familiar faces from his past on Saturday when Michigan hosts Maryland.
MAX BULTMAN
Managing Sports Editor
“It’ll be nice
to smack
those guys.
For sure.”