The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Thursday, October 5, 2017 — 7A

Secondary to face new test against Spartans

Jim Harbaugh’s assessment 

was brief, yet accurate. 

“He throws very well, runs very 

well,” Harbaugh said of Michigan 
State quarterback Brian Lewerke 
on Monday. “He has a penchant 
for making the big play.”

Against Western Michigan, 

Lewerke flashed an example of his 
playmaking ability, taking a read 
option 61 yards to the house — a 
play on which he beat the safety 
and linebacker in a foot race.

Through four games, Lewerke 

has completed 84 of his 133 
attempts for 963 yards. He boasts 
eight passing touchdowns and has 
thrown just two interceptions.

As for Lewerke’s ability on the 

ground, Harbaugh might have 
been making an understatement. 
He leads the Spartans in rushing 
yards and touchdowns, with 248 
and two, respectively.

And therein lies the latest 

challenge 
for 
a 
Michigan 

secondary that ranks as the 
fourth-best passing defense in 

the nation. Lewerke and the 
Spartans present a threat that 
this young Wolverine defense has 
yet to face.

To this point, that unit may 

still be getting overlooked on 
the 
grand 
scale. 
Sophomore 

cornerback Lavert Hill admitted 
as much. That’s what happens 
when your team boasts a defensive 
line leading the country in sacks 
and a linebacker like Devin Bush 
Jr. who has made the case that he 
is the best player on the roster.

But it’s those same reasons 

that perhaps escalate the threat 
that Lewerke could pose to the 
Wolverines’ secondary. Michigan 
may have the ability to collapse 
the pocket, but Lewerke has 
a knack for escaping it. And 
while the secondary has been 
exceptional at times, it has also 
been susceptible to big plays — a 
busted-coverage play against Air 
Force that turned into a 64-yard 
touchdown reception being the 
most startling example.

On top of Lewerke’s individual 

ability, he has a useful crop of 
receivers as his weapons. Felton 

Davis leads that group, fresh off 
a performance against Iowa in 
which he caught nine passes for 
114 yards and two touchdowns.

“Just from watching the film, 

they keep their routes on when 
he’s on his feet and he’s constantly 
looking downfield,” said junior 
safety Tyree Kinnel. “So I feel 
like we’re gonna have a great 
chance to get back there and push 
him out the pocket a lot during 
this game, so the secondary has 
to stay on the receivers as much 
as we can.”

Added defensive backs coach 

Brian Smith: “(The secondary 
will) face a good challenge. 
They have good solid receivers. 
They’re young. Felton’s coming 
off a good game against Iowa 
and he’s a threat down the field. 
He’s a tall guy that they can go 
out and throw him the ball and 
then he can come down and get 
it. He poses a problem, and they’ll 
spread it around a good bit. We’ve 
got our hands full.”

Still, the trio of Kinnel, Hill 

and sophomore cornerback David 
Long have plenty going well for 

them.

The Wolverines are allowing 

just 134 yards per game in the air, 
rank second nationally in team 
passing efficiency defense and 
have shown an affinity for forcing 
turnovers — recording three 
interceptions for 52 yards and two 
touchdowns.

The unexpected production, 

in large part, is a product of 
improved 
communication 
— 

an aspect that Hill pointed out 
Monday afternoon.

And when asked about it 

Wednesday 
afternoon, 
Smith 

acknowledged the same thing. He 
said he couldn’t point to a specific 
play or series, but that the Purdue 
game stood out.

The Boilermakers, of course, 

implemented plenty of trickery 
and Michigan was capable of 
handling it. In the first half, 
Purdue posted 139 yards in the air. 
In the second half, the Wolverines 
conceded just 25.

But the one phase that stood 

out to Smith was Michigan’s 
ability to stop the jet sweep 
package, a collection of plays that 
he said have given the Wolverines 
some problems in the past.

“The 
communication 
has 

improved with the group as 
a whole,” Smith said. “Again, 
just seeing things over and over 
again — the first time, guys learn 
differently. Some guys learn in the 
classroom, and other guys learn 
by actually going out on the field 
and doing it, getting reps.

“You can see it, when teams 

give us different looks — maybe a 
look that we haven’t seen before — 
and we can adjust to it. That’s the 
result of guys communicating and 
getting on the same page.”

Michigan 
has 
faced 
an 

up-tempo offense. It has faced 
the triple-option. And it has 
faced a two-quarterback system 
brimming with deception.

Now, another look is coming to 

Ann Arbor. And if the Wolverines’ 
defensive backfield can adjust 
to this one, its place among 
nationally-ranked secondaries is 
going to look a lot more legitimate. 

ICE HOCKEY
Lockwood looks to be 
more complete player

As the Michigan hockey team 

wound down practice Wednesday, 
Will Lockwood, as usual, was one 
of the last players to leave the ice.

According to his coach, Mel 

Pearson, that’s no surprise. It’s 
why the Wolverines’ new coach 
has 
gained 
an 
even 
greater 

appreciation for Lockwood since 
watching him from the opposing 
sideline while coaching Michigan 
Tech last season.

“That’s how you define a true 

hockey player,” Pearson said. 
“When they enjoy practice and 
they can’t wait to get to the rink 
and get on the ice.”

Due to a nagging shoulder 

injury, though, Lockwood wasn’t 
on the ice quite as much as he 
would have liked last season. As 
a freshman, the forward quickly 
made a name for himself, finishing 
with 20 points on eight goals and 
12 assists — good for second on the 
team in all three categories. But 
the injury kept Lockwood out of 
five games, and restricted him at 
times when he did play.

During 
the 
offseason, 

Lockwood had surgery on his 
shoulder, undergoing a multi-stage 
rehabilitation process he described 
as “pretty tedious.”

“After you get the surgery, a lot 

of it is getting your motion back, so 
that’s the first month,” Lockwood 
said. “Then getting some strength 
into the muscle is the next couple 
of months, and then after that it’s 
strengthening it past what it was so 
you can prevent it from happening 
again.”

But Lockwood did see a silver 

lining in being limited, and at 
times, sidelined last year. The 
injury helped him understand the 
need to continue adding facets 
to his game and fine-tuning his 
technical skills alongside his raw 
athletic attributes.

“I like to play a very physical 

style,” Lockwood said. “(I) kind of 
have to shy away from that a little 
bit more this season. It’s not going to 
change the way I play in the corners 
or the way I have confidence going 
into the dirty areas, but I think the 
game’s changed a lot, where it’s 
a lot of speed and skill. So that’s 
something I want to focus on a little 
more this year.

“The game’s always changing, 

and that’s the side of the game 
that everyone’s adapting to right 
now, so I’m going to try to use my 
strength, my speed and skill to my 
advantage.”

And Lockwood has plenty 

to use to his advantage. He’s 
one of the Wolverines’ fastest 
skaters — Pearson describes him 
as “explosive” and “dynamic.” 
Pearson’s new offensive system 
also plays into Lockwood’s biggest 
strengths by emphasizing quick 
movement.

Michigan caught a glimpse of 

that Saturday against Western 
Ontario. Halfway through the 
second period, Lockwood tore 
after the puck on a breakaway 
and was brought down near the 
Mustangs’ goal. On the ensuing 
penalty shot, Lockwood smoothly 
sped towards goal, deked right and 
calmly deposited the puck into the 
net for a 4-0 Wolverine lead.

Considering 
his 
substantial 

physical gifts, a more refined — 
not to mention fully healthy — 
Lockwood has the potential to 
be a dominant offensive force for 
Michigan this season. But even if 
that were not the case, his passion 
and work ethic have already won 
Pearson’s endearment.

“A lot of guys think they’re 

players or want to be a player,” 
Pearson said. “But you have the 
guys that really, really, really 
want to be players, and there’s a 
difference.

“He’s full out. There’s no 

halfway or taking drills off, he’s 
full out all the time. He’s just a 
hockey player.”

Amid scathing NCAA scandal, 
Beilein remains unblemished

Michigan 
men’s 
basketball 

coach John Beilein can afford a lax 
answer when discussing the recent 
FBI investigations into violations 
at college basketball programs. 
He’s earned that luxury. 

“I take a couple showers a 

day,” Beilein said. “That keeps me 
clean.”

Some 
coaches 
around 
the 

country, it appears, need to shower 
more often.

Last week, the FBI released 

findings of mass corruption within 
college 
basketball, 
stemming 

from payment of recruits and 
the untidy relationships between 
shoe companies and recruiting. 
The FBI arrested four assistant 
coaches last Tuesday. Louisville, 
currently the most high-profile 
school implicated, has effectively 
fired its legendary coach Rick 
Pitino and has placed its athletic 
director, Tom Jurich, on a leave of 
absence.

Lousiville is the first major 

victim. It doesn’t seem likely to be 
the last.

While coaches around the 

country plan calculated responses 
with public relations staff to fend 
off reporters’ inquiries, Beilein 
doesn’t have to sweat. 

After all, he was recently voted 

the “cleanest coach in college 
basketball” in a poll of 100 of his 
coaching peers.

Wednesday, when speaking to 

reporters, a jovial Beilein didn’t 
tense up, nor recite some painfully-
rehearsed plea of innocence.

Instead 
he 
came 
to 
the 

defense of the integrity of college 
basketball.

“How isolated is it? I do not 

think it’s rampant among NCAA,” 
Beilein said. “I don’t think the sky 
is falling in college basketball. I 
think there’s certainly some rogue 
coaches. How many? Maybe I’ll be 
proven wrong, but I don’t think 
there’s too much of that going out 
there.

“There’s a lot of really, really 

clean coaches out there.”

While “the dark underbelly of 

college basketball,” as US Attorney 
Joon H. Kim described, slowly 
comes to the fore, Beilein remains 
perched above the fray. 

He admits to having lost 

recruits over his staff’s overt “tone 
of compliance,” but notes that 
those aren’t the types of players he 
would want at Michigan anyway.

“People 
— 
whether 
its 

parents or prospects — if they 
are looking for that, they’re not 
talking with me or we’re off 
their list immediately,” Beilein 
said. “Because they know it’s not 
happening here, so we don’t even 
have to deal with it. It might not 
get us some recruits. Well, we 
don’t want those recruits that 
come for any other reason than 
what Michigan is all about.”

In 2009, Beilein was named 

head 
of 
the 
NCAA 
Men’s 

Basketball Ethics Coalition. He 
takes compliance seriously and 
doesn’t think he’s alone in doing 
so.

“I’m not trying to put ourselves 

on some pedestal,” Beilein said. 
“Most programs are doing it this 
way. I believe that deep in my 
heart, most of us are doing it.”

Though 
he 
maintained 
a 

joking tone at times, Beilein was 
unmistakeably stern in regard to 
his coaching peers who do violate 
the rules. 

“If people are breaking the law, 

if people are committing felony 
crimes in our business,” Beilein 
said, “then get them the heck out 
of our business.” 

“College basketball is my life, 

and it should be clean.”

Beilein went on to commend 

his team’s defensive grit, lament 
the hefty travel schedule, detail 
the trials and tribulations of the 
incoming freshmen class, discuss 
fifth-year transfer guard Jaaron 
Simmons’ desire to make the 
NCAA tournament and more. 
He didn’t dwell on the black 
cloud looming above the college 
basketball world.

He didn’t have to.

Michigan falls to Iowa on the road

Despite the efforts of junior 

outside hitter Carly Skojdt — who 
posted a season-high 22 kills — 
the No. 22 Michigan volleyball 
team fell to Iowa on Wednesday 
night in a four-set battle.

Skojdt put the team on her back, 

as the next highest scorer for 
the Wolverines totaled just nine 
kills. Skojdt pulled together the 
22 kills on a total of 59 attempts, 
solidifying her role as Michigan’s 
offensive workhorse.

“We need more of it,” said 

coach 
Mark 
Rosen. 
“We’re 

obviously really excited about 
how she’s playing — she’s playing 
really hard. But we have other 
players who can step up and be in 
the mix with her.”

Coming off a strong weekend, 

in which it beat Ohio State and 
Maryland at home, Michigan 
went into the match looking to 
continue its hot streak.

The Wolverines started strong, 

decisively winning the first set 
of the match, 25-21. Everything 
was clicking early as Michigan 
maintained 
a 
.326 
hitting 

percentage, its highest of any set 

during the match. The Wolverines 
also racked up 19 kills during the 
set, setting the tone early.

“I think we started out really 

well,” Rosen said. “The first 
half we played really steady. 
Defensively, we did a good job, we 
executed the gameplan, and the 
first set we started well. But then 
we let our execution go down.”

The 
explosive 
Michigan 

offense of the first 
set 
seemingly 

vanished. 
After 

that, its hitting 
percentage 
dwindled to .256 
in the second set 
before dipping to 
a shocking .079 in 
the third set.

The 

Wolverines 
still 
managed 

to put together 
a respectable second set, only 
dropping it, 25-22. Michigan 
even started the set strong, 
establishing a 16-11 lead, but a 
composed and balanced Hawkeye 
team mounted a steady comeback 
to claim the set.

The Wolverines then seemingly 

hit the panic button as Iowa 

waltzed through the third set to 
a decisive 25-15 win. Michigan 
never led as the Hawkeye offense 
found its groove.

With the end of the match 

inching closer, Michigan made a 
last-minute rally in the fourth set 
to try and salvage the night but 
eventually fell short, dropping the 
last set, 25-21.

“(The team) played really, 

really well, but I 
think we didn’t 
do a good enough 
job defensively,” 
Rosen said.

The 

Wolverines will 
look to bolster 
their 
defensive 

unit 
before 

facing a talented 
Minnesota team 
on 
Saturday. 

Rosen will look 

to leaders such as Skojdt, senior 
middle blocker Claire Kieffer-
Wright, senior outside hitter 
Adeja Lambert to lead the team to 
a bounce-back performance.

“Those guys usually do a great 

job,” Rosen said. “Those are the 
players we look to, and we’ll look 
to them next weekend.”

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily

Junior safety Tyree Kinnel and his position partners will have to tackle dual-threat quarterback Brian Lewerke.

KEVIN SANTO

Managing Sports Editor

MAX MARCOVITCH

Daily Sports Editor

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

Michigan coach John Beilein vouches for the integrity of college basketball.

VOLLEYBALL

JACOB KOPNICK

For the Daily

“I think we 

didn’t do a good 

enough job 
defensively.”

