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Sports
Wednesday, September 20, 2017 — 7A
FLORIDA
W, 33-17 (1-0)
CINCINNATI
AIR FORCE
W, 36-14, (3-0)
at PURDUE
West Lafayette, Ind.
MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan Stadium
at INDIANA
Bloomington, Ind.
at PENN ST.
State College, Pa.
RUTGERS
Michigan Stadium
MINNESOTA
Michigan Stadium
at MARYLAND
College Park. Md.
at WISCONSIN
Madison, Wis.
OHIO ST.
Michigan Stadium
W, 36-14 (2-0)
2017 SCHEDULE
Long learns under Lewis, readies for new test
Comparisons
have
been
popular around Schembechler
Hall this year.
For
a
young
Michigan
football team, it’s easy to
understand
why.
Plenty
of
elite talent is gone. Shoes need
to be filled. And the frames
of
reference
are
made
to
emphasize that the young talent
are worthy replacements.
And on Tuesday night, the
latest of those comparisons
was
revealed
when
senior
receiver
Grant
Perry
was
asked, simply, what makes
sophomore cornerback David
Long good.
“I see a lot of things in him
that I saw in Jourdan Lewis and
(Channing) Stribling,” Perry
said. “He got a full year under
their belt. They got to walk
him through the ropes and he’s
strong, he’s fast, he’s physical —
you know, everything that you
saw in Jourdan and Stribling,
you see in David.”
That’s not bad company.
And, upon further inspection,
the comparison makes sense.
Long said he still talks to
Lewis every day of the week —
or at least three if he’s busy.
And Long could arguably
thank Lewis — who he dubbed
as a role model — for his
current starting role with the
Wolverines.
When it came to the technical
side of playing cornerback,
Lewis played mentor from day
one.
“When I first got here, I
was in here a lot with Jourdan
Lewis,” Long said. “… He
helped me a lot with technical
stuff. He was just helping me
with stuff on the field, getting
me comfortable with that.”
On Aug. 6, though, Long’s
fate as Michigan’s starting
cornerback wasn’t so certain,
as defensive coordinator Don
Brown was vocal in saying
that up to seven players could
compete for the two starting
spots in 2017.
Fifteen days later, not much
had
changed.
Cornerbacks
coach Mike Zordich admitted
that sophomore Lavert Hill
had seized one starting job,
but expressed his frustrations
with the rest of the group’s
consistency. As he put it then,
he wanted someone to “grab it
and run with it and take it.”
As it turns out, Long did. His
coaches’ words motivated him.
By the time Michigan opened
against then-No. 17 Florida, he
was the one who claimed the
second corner spot alongside
Hill. And given the way he has
flashed his knack for tackling —
recording five for a season high
against Air Force — he won’t be
letting go of it anytime soon.
“I just kept pounding away,”
Long said. “My progress wasn’t
where the coaches thought
I needed to be, but I just
kept working, didn’t let that
discourage me, take it like
a grain of salt. That’s what
you’re supposed to do. You’re
supposed to coach me, be hard
on me and I’ve progressed as
the weeks have gone on.”
But really, for Long, the
progression has been going on
for just over two years.
When he was a senior at
Loyola High School in Los
Angeles, Long doubled as a
receiver and cornerback before
arriving in Ann Arbor. Long
said playing receiver helped
him with the “book stuff” that
comes with football. He was
able to easily pick up schemes
and learn coverages.
But
Long
admitted
that
he
still
wasn’t
completely
comfortable with the position
until late in the summer. Now
that he is, though, the small
details of the position are
starting to matter even more.
“Coach
Brown
is
really
preaching to me,” Long said,
“ ‘See a little to see a lot’, so
(I’m) working on my technique
and it’s just slowing things
down for me.”
This
Saturday,
Michigan
could
benefit
from
things
slowing down for Long — and
the rest of the secondary too.
Purdue is led by quarterback
David
Blough,
who
has
completed 51 of his 67 passes for
597 yards, six touchdowns and
two interceptions. Blough isn’t
playing rollover teams either.
Three of those touchdowns
and 362 of those yards came
on the road against then-No.
16 Louisville and at Missouri.
And unlike Michigan, Purdue
has scored a touchdown on 10
of its 13 red zone trips.
Or put more simply, the
Wolverines’
secondary
is
finally about to be tested.
What better way for people
to really find out just how
much Long has learned from
Lewis?
Big Ten matchups twice as important for Michigan
As far as the No. 8 Michigan
football team is concerned, its
season starts now.
After
two
home
non-
conference games that didn’t
exactly go according to plan,
the Wolverines (3-0) are eager
to close the curtain. While
their mentality has always
been that the most important
game is the next one, the
pressure is cranked up a notch
now that the Big Ten season is
set to begin.
As
Michigan
coach
Jim
Harbaugh made clear Saturday
night, conference games count
for much more. With how close
the Big Ten races have been in
recent years — then-No. 2 Ohio
State was left out of the Big
Ten championship game after
it allowed 17 fourth-quarter
points in an eventual three-
point loss to then-No. 24 Penn
State last October — Harbaugh
said
that
Big
Ten
games
are worth twice as much as
nonconference contests.
His team has adopted that
mantra, too.
“We want to win the Big
Ten games. We want to win
all of them,” said sophomore
receiver Eddie McDoom on
Monday. “We know that if we
lose, it’s a big crush on the
season, so we’re trying to go
into the Big Ten season and
tear it up.”
The
Wolverines
will
be
tested right off the bat when
they head to Purdue for their
conference opener Saturday.
The Boilermakers are off to a
surprising 2-1 start after an
abysmal 3-9 season in 2016.
Though they opened the season
with a narrow neutral-field
loss to then-No. 16 Louisville,
they rebounded with blowout
wins over Ohio at home and
Missouri on the road.
Much
credit
for
Purdue’s early
resurgence
is due to new
head
coach
Jeff
Brohm,
who previously
spent
three
years
at
Western
Kentucky
—
compiling
a
30-10 overall record, a 19-5
Conference USA record and a
3-0 bowl game record. Not only
were the Hilltoppers back-to-
back league champions in 2015
and 2016, but they were ranked
in the top 10 in the nation in
scoring
offense,
passing
offense
and total offense
all three seasons.
Brohm
has
taken
that
successful model
and
adapted
it
to
fit
the
Boilermakers,
rejuvenating the
program in the
process.
While
the Big Ten is traditionally
known for stout defense and
power running, Brohm and
Purdue have taken the opposite
approach,
emphasizing
a
pass-heavy and high-scoring
offense more emblematic of
the Big 12.
The
Boilermakers
are
averaging
286.7 yards per
game and boast
10
passing
touchdowns
—
a
stark
contrast
from
their
average
of
173
yards
and four total
touchdowns on the ground.
The strategy has worked well
for them in non-conference
play, but how well it will fare
in the Big Ten remains to be
determined.
“They
have
a
lot
of
confidence right
now,” said senior
linebacker Mike
McCray.
“They
do a lot of things
well on offense.
They
use
two
quarterbacks,
they have athletic
backs (and) they
have an offensive
line
that
uses
great technique.
“...
They’ll
be
a
great
challenge for us.”
Michigan
knows
how
beneficial it can be to inject
a team with a new coach and
overall philosophy. Harbaugh’s
arrival just three years ago has
already turned the program
around
faster
than
many
expected after its dismal 2014
campaign, and the Wolverines
see that same process could be
happening now at Purdue.
“When you get a new coach
and you start winning, (there’s)
just
a
lot
of
confidence,”
said senior offensive tackle
Mason Cole. “... And having
confidence in this sport is a
good thing to have. So, a team
with a new coach that’s playing
really well, it can be scary.”
Adding on to the challenge
of facing the Boilermakers,
who Cole described as a team
“with a lot of new energy,”
Michigan will be playing its
first true road game of the
season in West Lafayette.
Though the fans at Michigan
Stadium
weren’t
entirely
forgiving of the Wolverines’
plethora
of
non-conference
mistakes — as boos rained
down in back-to-back games for
the first time in the Harbaugh
era — a hostile environment on
every down will be new terrain
for Michigan to traverse.
“Going
to
Purdue
and
playing there is obviously a
challenge,” Cole said. “... (It’s)
playing on the road, playing
against a team that’s been
playing well, that has some
momentum
and
has
good
players, too.”
The Boilermakers may not
have posed much of a threat
to the Wolverines in recent
years, but Michigan has been
humbled into the lesson that
it can no longer afford to look
past any team. With the Big
Ten season now upon them,
the
Wolverines
know
that
every game counts. Twice.
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Senior offensive tackle Mason Cole was quick to acknowledge that a matchup against the Boilermakers on the road will be a difficult test for Michigan.
BETELHEM ASHAME
Managing Sports Editor
‘M’ stumbles in debut
After a rough first round at the
East & West Match Play on Sunday
morning, the Michigan women’s
golf team was in last place with a
score of 301. However, senior Emily
White shot a 69 — three under par
— in the second round later that day
to lead the Wolverines, recovering
from her initial round of 75.
But unlike White, who finished
the stroke play competition tied
for seventh, the Wolverines failed
to rebound. At the end of Sunday’s
stroke play, despite a second round
score of 290, Michigan sat in fifth
place — only one position shy of the
four-team championship bracket,
won by Iowa State.
“Our second round was the
second lowest of the afternoon
rounds on Sunday, so that was a
good comeback,” said Michigan
coach Jan Dowling. “We didn’t
start very well on our first 18 on
Sunday for the 36 hole stroke play
portion. They came back really well
and made a run to get into the top
four for the match play part.”
The format for the event was
different than other tournaments.
It was a three-day event, comprised
of
stroke
play
Sunday
and
championship
and
consolation
match play brackets on Monday and
Tuesday.
Throughout the weekend, the
Wolverines came up just short of
victories as a team. Entering the
consolation bracket as the first
seed, Michigan faced Oregon State
on Monday. Freshman Ashley Kim
and junior Elodie Van Dievoet
both won their matches, up by six
with four holes left and two-up
respectively, and Michigan was tied
at two with the Beavers.
Senior Megan Kim, Ashley
Kim’s older sister, was all square
in her match through 18 holes and
had to play extra holes. She ended
up losing on the 21st hole when her
competitor birdied, giving Oregon
State a 3-2 victory.
“The other girl won it, and you
got to give her credit,” Dowling said.
“She made the birdie when she had
to, so we were certainly outplayed.”
On Tuesday, Michigan faced
Nebraska in a battle for seventh
place. Megan Kim and White both
won their matches, up by three
with two left and up by three with
one left respectively, thus securing
two points for the team, while the
Cornhuskers won two points of
their own.
In the deciding match’s 18th hole,
Van Dievoet’s opponent, senior
Audrey Judd, converted on a clutch
birdie attempt. The Wolverines lost
2-3, finishing the bracket in last
place.
“All of our matches were
really close,” Dowling said. “They
were competitive matches ... but
unfortunately we got outplayed in
those matches.”
Senior Kathy Lim represented
Michigan in the individual match
play portion of the tournament,
after topping the field in 2015. Lim
advanced to the finals, looking to
claim her second title, but fell just
shy.
There are still positive takeaways
from the tournament for Michigan.
Ashley Kim found success in her
college debut, carding rounds of
76 and 73 to tie for 21st during the
stroke play competition, winning a
point in match play.
Dowling also mentioned that
having sisters on the team certainly
helps with the overall team
chemistry. She mentioned that the
younger Kim sister was already
quite familiar with the program
when she arrived.
“For me as a coach, it has
probably
been
the
smoothest
freshman
transition
I’ve
ever
experienced,”
Dowling
said.
“Although she is a freshman on
our team, she is someone they have
known for a while already, so that
has been really nice.”
Michigan needs to make some
changes but must do so quickly.
Next Monday they travel to Vail,
Colo. for the Golfweek Conference
Challenge.
We’re trying to
go into the Big
Ten season and
tear it up.
Going to Purdue
and playing there
is obviously a
challenge.
EVAN AARON/Daily
Sophomore cornerback David Long looked to Jourdan Lewis as a mentor during his first year in Ann Arbor.
KEVIN SANTO
Managing Sports Editor
MEN’S GOLF
ROHAN KUMAR
For the Daily