Sports

FOOTBALL
MEN’S SOCCER

Patience paying off for Marshall
Mukuna proving value for Michigan

The 
last 
four 
years 
of 

Lawrence 
Marshall’s 
life 

have been all about trusting a 
process he never knew would 
take so long.

It’s a process that required 

nearly 50 pounds of weight 
gain, two position switches 
and three years of patiently 
waiting.

That 
process 
isn’t 
over 

yet. But, at least for one play, 
the redshirt junior caught a 
glimpse at what could lie in 
his future when he recovered 
a fumble in the third quarter 
of Michigan’s 33-17 victory 
over Florida on Saturday. 

“That’s what we preached 

all spring ball, all fall camp 
— just running to the ball,” 
Marshall said. “That’s the 
Michigan 
thing. 
Coaches 

always preach that; you never 
know what you’re going to 
find when you’re running to 
the ball.”

Marshall has yet to break 

into the starting lineup, or 
develop into the fearsome 
defensive lineman that many 
predicted he would. But given 
how long he’s waited to make 
an impact on the field, that 
fumble recovery meant all the 
more to both him and his mom, 
who Marshall said texted and 
called him “five or six times” 
after the game ended.

Marshall, now a defensive 

tackle, 
has 
certainly 
had 

a 
humbling 
experience 
at 

Michigan despite a recruiting 
pedigree that would suggest 
otherwise.

He arrived in Ann Arbor 

as a highly-touted four-star 
defensive end — one of the 
best in the nation — who had 
previously committed to Ohio 
State. Yet Marshall was not 
prepared for one of big-time 
college 
football’s 
harshest 

realities: chances are, the 
roster already has players who 

were just as highly-ranked as 
you were — and they have an 
advantage in experience. 

It 
didn’t 
matter 
that 

Marshall 
was 
a 
blue-chip 

recruit, or that Michigan had 
won a hard-fought recruiting 
battle for his services. Once he 
enrolled on campus, he was at 
the bottom.

“We 
just 
had 
some 

incredible players that were 
ahead of me, and I just had 
to wait my time,” Marshall 
said. “It was difficult, being a 
highly-recruited guy coming 
in and you’ve got to start 

from the bottom of the barrel 
and build your way up, but 
perseverance is everything 
and that’s what I stand by.”

It didn’t help that Marshall 

was quickly converted into a 
strongside end — a position 
that, 
compared 
to 
the 

weakside, typically requires 
more weight in an emphasis 
to hold up better against the 
run. Then, he was eventually 

moved again, this time to 
defensive tackle.

For Marshall, that meant 

retooling 
his 
entire 
pass-

rushing technique. And that 
didn’t come easy.

“A lot of work went into it,” 

Marshall said. “Rushing from 
the inside versus outside are 
two different games.” 

He gained an edge during 

the offseason, though, after 
working with fifth-year senior 
defensive tackle Mo Hurst. 
Hurst, commonly regarded 
as one of the nation’s premier 
interior pass-rushers, taught 
Marshall “everything.”

Those 
sessions, 
coupled 

with more time spent at the 
position, saw Marshall enjoy 
what he thinks is one of — if 
not the — best fall camps he’s 
ever had. 

“I’m more aggressive, I 

feel like — more knock ‘em 
back, playing low, my pad 
level has gotten way better, 
my technique has improved 
a lot,” Marshall said. “I was 
just watching film of myself 
my sophomore year where I 
was stepping inside some or 
stepping outside, and now it’s 
straight steps and punching 
somebody in the mouth first, 
so that’s what I felt like I 
improved the most on.”

Saturday, he saw regular 

snaps as part of the interior 
rotation. While that may not 
seem like much, Michigan 
spent much of the game in a 
three-man front, which meant 
there were fewer snaps for its 
interior linemen.

Perhaps 
that’s 
the 
best 

indicator of how far Marshall 
has come — while he was once 
the 
highly-touted 
recruit 

biding his time, he’s now the 
veteran seeing the field ahead 
of younger and even more 
highly-ranked freshmen.

“You have to be patient to a 

certain extent,” Marshall said. 
“I was patient all the way up to 
this point.”

Before Friday night, Daniel 

Mukuna doesn’t think he had 
ever scored two goals in a 
soccer match — no matter the 
playing level. 

The junior defender found 

the back of the net just three 
times last season at Campbell 
University, as offensive chances 
were simply scarce for the 
England native. 

But in just his third game 

as part of the Michigan men’s 
soccer team, Mukuna scored 
twice — including the eventual 
game-winner — to lead the 
Wolverines to a 3-1 victory over 
Cleveland State. 

“It means a lot to get those 

goals,” Mukuna said. “It’s a 
privilege for me to play here, 
and whenever there’s a chance 

to get a goal, I definitely want 
to be who comes up and gets 
one.

“I believed that these were 

the coaches that would take me 
to the next level – that’s why 
I transferred here. It’s great 
to see things come together 
tonight.”

Michigan 
coach 
Chaka 

Daley pushed Mukuna up the 
pitch, noting his ability in the 
air off set pieces. Despite a 
1-0 Michigan lead that forced 
the Vikings to increase their 
tempo in the attacking third, 

Daley returned fire with an 
aggressive approach that led to 
Mukuna’s first goal in the 55th 
minute — a buried header off 
a cross from senior midfielder 
Tristan Jacob. 

Just 
four 
minutes 
later, 

Mukuna completed his brace 
with a powerful finish from the 
right flank as the Wolverines 
continued to pressure on the 
offensive end. 

“Going in, we talked about 

getting goals from the back and 
how beneficial that would be,” 
Mukuna said. “There definitely 
was an emphasis on it, and it’s 
great to see it come to fruition.”

On 
the 
defensive 
half, 

Mukuna and his fellow starting 
backs – junior Marcello Borges 
and sophomore Abduo Samake 
— held the Vikings to just four 
shots. Though one of those 
found the back of the net, the 
trio 
consistently 
frustrated 

Cleveland State’s attackers with 
solid positioning and speed to 
cut off potential chances. 

“(Our defenders) have been 

a great partnership so far,” 
Mukuna 
said. 
“Everybody 

has been working thoroughly 
in practice on keeping our 
discipline 
and 
shape 
and 

making sure out tactics are 
right. 
I’m 
happy 
that 
it’s 

showing up on the field.”

Mukuna even found himself 

saving goals, too

When the Vikings opened 

the 
field 
in 
pursuit 
of 

equalizing goals in the 75th 
minute, Cleveland State forced 
sophomore goalkeeper Andrew 
Verdi out of position from an 
initial 
chance, 
creating 
an 

open net opportunity off the 
rebound. But Mukuna — almost 
100 meters from where he 
scored his two goals — blocked 
the Viking attempt to preserve 
Michigan’s two-goal lead.

Despite the return of junior 

Peter Brown, Mukuna has now 
started over the incumbent 
defender in all three matches. 

“Certainly, he’s a physical 

presence and has kept himself 
super fit,” Daley said. “He’s very 
much a team guy, is technically 
sound and very dangerous on 
dead ball situations. He’s been 
solid to this point.”

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor
MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Writer

“That’s what 

we preached all 
spring ball, all 
fall camp — just 
running to the 
ball. That’s the 
Michigan thing. 
Coaches always 
preach that; you 
never know what 

you’re going to 
find when you’re 

running the 

ball.”

“I believed that 
these were the 
coaches that 
would take me 
to the next level 
 
— that’s why I 

transferred here. ”

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Michigan coach Chaka Daley has been impressed with Daniel Mukuna. 

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Tuesday, September 5, 2017 — 11A