Thursday, August 10, 2017 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com NEWS & SPORTS 10 Ward 1 Total Votes Voter turnout: 9.94% Percent Anne Bannister 944 829 3 53.15% 46.68% 0.17% Jason Frenzel Write-In Ward 3 Total Votes Voter turnout: 12.17% Percent Zachary Ackerman 1283 1098 7 53.73% 45.98% 0.29% Jamie Magiera Write-In Ward 4 Total Votes Voter turnout: 11.94% Percent John E. Eaton 1256 963 4 56.50% 43.32% 0.18% Jamie Magiera Write-In Ward 5 Total Votes Voter turnout: 17.00% Percent David A. Silkworth 1749 1948 12 47.16% 52.52% 0.32% Chip Smith Write-In DESIGN BY MICHELLE PHILLIPS Michigan announces hiring of Fetter as new pitching Democratic primary yields new balance on City Council Before last season, Mike McCray had recorded just two tackles in his college career and had never started a game for the Michigan football team. McCray, a former four-star recruit out of high school, had always shown promise — a blocked punt in a victory over Appalachian State in 2014 had displayed as much. But McCray couldn’t stay on the field — health problems, including a shoulder injury that sidelined him for the entire 2015 season, derailed his first three years in a Wolverine uniform. With the graduation of three senior linebackers — Joe Bolden, Desmond Morgan and James Ross — a healthy McCray finally got his chance last year and ran with it. He made an immediate impact in his first start, a season-opening victory over Hawaii where he made nine tackles, 3.5 for loss and two sacks, to kick-start an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention campaign in which he totalled 76 stops, including 12.5 for a loss as well as 4.5 sacks and two interceptions. One year later, the fifth- year senior linebacker is the only returning starter from the previous season’s dominant defense. But that’s not the only thing different about McCray, according to linebackers coach Chris Partridge. “There’s an aura about him that’s different than it was last year and that’s important because guys will look up to him,” Partridge said. “He’s a hard worker and he’s tough, he’s a Big Ten linebacker. Now with that aura about him and that sense of leadership he’s stepped his game up.” To Partridge, McCray has carried himself in a different manner so far in fall camp — a manner that is essential. The omnipresent theme for Michigan — young and talented, but inexperienced — applies to its linebacking corps as much as anywhere, and McCray has asserted himself as a necessary veteran voice for that group. “Last year he was kind of feeling it out early, started gaining confidence and became a tremendous football player for us,” Partridge said. “This year he’s coming in having that background and he’s able to impose himself on the other guys and on the young guys.” The impact of McCray’s new role as an elder statesmen was visible even in the spring. Sophomore Devin Bush Jr. was immediately slotted in as McCray’s backup at the WILL linebacker position last season, and made a big impact in the Wolverines’ spring game, tallying two sacks. So far during camp, Bush has mostly played at the MIKE position vacated by Ben Gedeon from last season, and after a year learning the ropes from veterans such as McCray, he appears primed for a breakout in the middle of Michigan’s defense with his increased maturity and physical development. “Athletically, he’s a guy who works just as hard off the field as on the field, really enjoys the game and all aspects of it,” Partridge said. “His ceiling’s high and he keeps getting better and better. Obviously a very savvy football player from his background from his father playing and everything like that, so we’re excited about what he’s going to be able to do.” Perhaps the biggest hole in the Wolverines’ linebacker unit, however, comes at the VIPER position once home to the do-everything Jabrill Peppers. While the competition to win the starting job is far from over, sophomore Khaleke Hudson appeared to have the upper hand after an impressive spring. “(He’s a) guy that just loves contact,” Partridge said. “People feed off of that too. He’s becoming very well-rounded as a player, so he’s going to be enjoyable to watch.” Hudson might be the most natural replacement for Peppers on Michigan’s roster — in fact, both were recruited as defensive backs before switching to the hybrid linebacker-safety position. Described as a “hammerhead” by Partridge, Hudson’s athleticism and explosiveness should provide a key dimension for the Wolverines and emulate to some extent what Peppers was able to bring last season, as he works to become a more skilled player instead of relying solely on aggression. “You’re never going to tell Coach Brown that you don’t want someone to run full speed into things,” Partridge said. “That’s a small part of it, but he’s gonna round out his game just like anyone always would. Coach Brown will never say take away that physicality, but you learn how to play with that physicality.” With the leadership of upperclassmen such as McCray and senior Michael Wroblewski, as well as the talent of younger players like Bush, Hudson and freshmen Drew Singleton and Jordan Anthony, Michigan’s linebacking corps has been touted by some as its best defensive unit. But Partridge stated that the pressure on the group to live up to those expectations will be key for them to fulfill that promise. “There’s pressure at all moments and that’s something you have to learn how to deal with. You gotta just put your head down and keep working,” Partridge said. “I tell these guys all the time, ‘You want to be tough, do tough things.’ Pressure is a part of being tough and camp is a part of being tough and fighting through things and working together. We’ll take on all comers, anything that will make us tougher and make us a better unit is something we embrace.” Ann Arbor residents voted Tuesday in the Democratic primary election for City Council. In Ward 1, challenger Anne Bannister defeated incumbent Jason Frenzel with 944 votes to Frenzel’s 829. Bannister was the only challenger to win on Tuesday — in Ward 3, Councilmember Zachary Ackerman won with 1,283 votes to opponent Stephen Kunselman’s 1,098. In Ward 4, Councilmember Jack Eaton won with 1,256 votes to opponent Jaime Magiera’s 963, and in Ward 5, Councilmember Chip Smith won with 1,948 votes to opponent David Silkworth’s 1,749. Though the city is divided into five electoral wards — each of which has two representatives on the council who alternate election years — there were only four contests in this primary, as Jared Hoffert (D–Ward 2) ran unopposed, but will face incumbent Councilmember Jane Lumm (I–Ward 2) in the general election in November. This will be the last City Council election held in an odd year. Residents voted last November to extend council member’s terms from two to four years, but the council members elected in this cycle will serve three year terms, making their next election year even. The election was in many ways a referendum on the city’s position on development. Many residents were upset in April when the council voted 8-3 to sell the publicly-owned Library Lot to Chicago-based developer Core Spaces, unhappy with what a new skyscraper would mean for Ann Arbor. The three council members that voted against the sale of the Library Lot — Lumm, Eaton and Kailasapathy — have also opposed the other eight members of the council, including Mayor Chris Taylor, on a number of issues regarding development and taxes. Those three will gain a fourth in Bannister, who ran her campaign against Frenzel’s Library Lot vote. “I think that with my personal finance and my financial planning background and fiscal responsibility and conservation of resources, I think that resonates with people because we pay a lot of property taxes here in town,” Bannister said. “It was also important that now we have the 7-4 ratio. Knocking on doors, that was really important to voters, even if they were ambivalent about development issues, the idea of more debate on council was important to them.” The shift from the de facto 8-3 to 7-4 balance is significant — though passage of any law or resolution requires a six- vote majority and mayoral approval, eight is the number of votes required to override a mayoral veto, create a new city office, take private property for a public use or transfer any unencumbered budget funds from one operating fund to another. Though she said she had not heard from Frenzel or the mayor’s office as of Wednesday night, Bannister said she hoped to do away with any ill will the campaign had dredged up and focus on working together and governing effectively with her colleagues. Ackerman, who spoke with his opponent Kunselman once the election results were out, said they exchanged their mutual respect and shared Bannister’s opinion on moving forward. “Two years ago I ran on an approach for representation that first takes guidance and solicits guidance from the community, but also strives to work together with colleagues and staff to find solutions to that community input,” Ackerman said. “I think, over the course of the last two years, we’ve worked very hard and very well together to get a lot of things done, and a lot of things done that have been approved unanimously. I think if we continue that and if we continue to work in an environment of mutual respect and dignity, I think we’re gonna be in good shape.” He stood by his endorsement of Bannister’s opponent, however, saying the community lost an incredible resource in Jason Frenzel’s electoral loss. JACOB SHAMES Summer Managing Sports Editor ANDREW HIYAMA Summer Daily News Editor Read more online at michigandaily.