12
Thursday, August 10, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
a
hard-working
central
midfielder, and Marc Ybarra,
who Daley believes could become
a “top-class holding midfielder.”
Osman, however, is the biggest
name of the group, and with good
reason.
As a senior in high school,
Osman contributed to 28 of
his team’s 30 goals, scoring
63 goals and adding 45 assists
in
all.
Osman
joins
fellow
Ghanaians Francis Atuahene and
Mohammed Zakyi on Michigan’s
roster, and will once again team
up with Atuahene after they
played together at the Hotchkiss
School in Connecticut. Despite
his youth, his speed, skill and
versatility should allow him to
contribute anywhere and possibly
have the game-changing impact
Atuahene had as a freshman.
Forwards
The names to know here are
Atuahene and sophomore Jack
Hallahan, who were first and
second, respectively, in goals
for the Wolverines last season.
Hallahan, a member of Ireland’s
U18 and U19 national teams,
impacted games last season with
his pace and skill on the wing.
Atuahene, though, has been the
centerpiece of Michigan’s offense
throughout his career. He ranked
fourth in the Big Ten in goals per
match last season, tallying eight
for the season, and was named
First Team All-Big Ten for a
second straight year. His speed,
physicality and finishing ability
should keep him in Big Ten team’s
nightmares once again.
The biggest loss among the
Wolverines’ forwards is that of
Yamann Salool, who scored three
goals last season and was their
top goal-scoring threat off the
bench. Finding someone to give
Atuahene a breather on occasion
will be key. Zakyi, a product of
Manchester City’s Academy and
the Ghana U17 National Team
who scored 60 goals his last
two seasons for the Canterbury
School in Connecticut, and junior
Johann Bittner, who appeared
in six games last season, are two
candidates to do so.
SOCCER
From Page 11
SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily
Tyree Kinnel looks to take on a leadership role in Michigan’s secondary this season.
Kinnel looks to take on leadership
role in inexperienced secondary
The
adjectives
“young”,
“talented” and “inexperienced”
effectively
describe
every
position group on the Michigan
football team.
However, they are perhaps
most
applicable
to
the
Wolverines’ secondary. While
the defensive line returns four
players who saw significant
playing
time
last
season,
including two Bednarik Award
candidates in Maurice Hurst
and Rashan Gary, and fifth-
year senior Mike McCray — an
All-Big Ten Honorable mention
honoree — will anchor the
linebacking corps, not a single
one of Michigan’s defensive
backs have even started a game.
Gone
is
First-Team
All-
American
Jourdan
Lewis.
Gone are All-Big Ten honorees
Channing Stribling, Delano Hill
and Dymonte Thomas. Gone is
Jeremy Clark, who was denied
a sixth year of eligibility after
a knee injury ended his final
season.
“If people will say that it’s
because we did lose a lot, it’s
obvious,” said junior safety
Tyree Kinnel after practice
Tuesday. “But the talent’s still
there, the system’s still there.”
Kinnel received substantial
playing time last season on both
defense and special teams last
season, playing in all 13 games
and recording 17 tackles and
a forced fumble. He’s likely
to start at free safety this
season, and along with another
relative
veteran
—
redshirt
junior
cornerback
Brandon
Watson — he has been thrust
into a leadership role almost
by default. But according to
special teams coordinator Chris
Partridge, Kinnel is more than
capable of stepping into those
shoes, both on and off the field.
“Tyree is a leader. Natural
leader,” Partridge said. “He gets
those guys going, another guy
that loves the game and loves all
aspects of it.”
For
Kinnel,
the
most
important aspects of his new role
are trust and communication.
At safety, Kinnel will be tasked
with anchoring the back of
the defense and making sure
the defense is lined up in their
proper positions. But he feels
confident
and
comfortable
with
these
responsibilities,
especially
because
while
much of the leadership of the
secondary
may
fall
on
his
shoulders, Kinnel knows he
won’t have to do it alone. He has
already seen a wealth of other
players contribute.
“Being one of the older guys
there, I feel like I do need to
take
that
leadership
role,”
Kinnel said. “I feel like I’ve
done a good job this camp, as
well as Josh Metellus, he’s been
taking
leadership,
Brandon
Watson and Keith Washington
too.
I
don’t
think
it’s
just
one of us that’s
leading.
We’re
all
together,
we’re
all
communicating
together, you can
tell
everyone’s
talking,
even
the
freshman.
We
all
feel
good
together,
trusting
each
other
and
communicating.”
Watson, who appeared in all
13 games last year and recorded
13 tackles, and Washington, a
redshirt sophomore who had an
impressive showing in spring
camp, are both in the running
to start at cornerback. Metellus,
meanwhile, started the Orange
Bowl at the VIPER position
in place of Jabrill Peppers but
moved back to the secondary,
where he played alongside and
developed a strong connection
with Kinnel in last season and
this spring’s practices.
“He’s
doing
really
well,”
Kinnel said of Metellus. “We
trust each other and that’s the
key.
We
communicate
back
there and just trust each other.”
Kinnel
also
pointed
to
sophomore cornerbacks David
Long and Lavert Hill, both of
whom saw action as freshmen, as
players that have improved and
benefited from their experience
last season in maturing behind
an
experienced
and
skilled
stable of defensive backs.
“You can tell especially the
guys that came in in the spring,
some of the guys that came in
the games last year,” Kinnel
said. “You can tell that the game
started moving just a little bit
slow for us. We’re just trying to
take every rep as it can, mental
reps, physical reps and get
better every day.”
Kinnel’s comfort with his
enlarged role is also increased
due to having a second offseason
and camp with Don Brown as
defensive coordinator.
“I had two springs with
Coach Brown, this is my second
camp with him,” Kinnel said.
“It’s great and I feel really
comfortable. I’m good with my
plans, just trying to help the
other guys.”
Having
comfort
in
Brown’s
scheme
has also helped
freshmen such as
safeties J’Marick
Woods
and
Jaylen
Kelly-
Powell, who both
enrolled
early
at Michigan and
participated with
the team in the spring.
“They’re getting even better,
which is a really good thing,”
Kinnel said. “You can tell that
they came in the spring, it was
a good thing they came in the
spring because now they came
in knowing the plays, knowing
what they have to do, so now
they’re playing much faster in
Coach Brown’s system.”
While Kinnel recognizes how
much talent and experience
the
Wolverines
lost
from
last season, the schemes and
gameplans behind the nation’s
No. 1 pass defense are solidly
in place. Now it’s up to Kinnel,
Watson, Metellus and anyone
else who might step up to ensure
the networks of trust between
the
defensive
backs
remain
strong as well. And in Kinnel’s
view, it’s off to a solid start.
“We’re all hungry and you
can tell watching the film every
day
at
practice
everybody’s
going hard,” Kinnel said. “No
lows. High expectations, as
Coach
Brown
always
says.
Competition brings out the best
in all of us, we’re competing.”
JACOB SHAMES
Summer Managing Sports Editor
“We all feel good
together, trusting
each other and
communicating.”