The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, October 11, 2017 — 9A
Extra practice time a plus for Wolverines
There’s a common phrase
often heard around the Michigan
hockey team’s practices.
“When the time to perform
has arrived,” says coach Mel
Pearson, “the time to prepare is
long gone.”
Following a split in their first
regular season contests — a 3-1
win Friday against St. Lawrence
and 3-0 loss Saturday at Clarkson
— the Wolverines are looking to
take full advantage of fall break
and a bye week to prepare for
their first home series next
weekend against Vermont.
“I’m really looking forward
to this week and next week,”
Pearson said. “We get nine
quality practice opportunities
and it’s a ‘get-better week.’ We
have to approach each and every
opportunity to get better, and
we will.”
During
the
preseason,
coaches were allowed just two
hours weekly to lead practice,
leaving players to finish drills
on their own — which Pearson
believes may have contributed
to a “drop-off” in speed and
concentration near the tail end
of practices. Before its trip to
upstate New York, Michigan
had
merely
four
standard
practices.
But with the regular season
now underway, coaches have
begun
running
practices
for up to 20 hours weekly, a
valuable teaching and learning
opportunity for the new staff.
“You can do a lot more
coaching,
which
is
nice,”
Pearson said. “You can take
your time in doing drills. You
don’t have to just rush, rush,
rush. Now you have a little bit
more time. If you need to slow
it down, you can. We want
high-tempo practices, but at the
same time, we can stop drills
and correct them. I felt that in
two hours it was hard to do that
because you have to go right
to the next drill because of the
limited time.
“I think the players really feel
good about that too. They want
to be coached. They want to play
at a high level and a high pace all
the time. As much as you think
they can do that on their own,
they still need that leadership
or that direction, so now we’ve
been able to provide that, which
is good.”
A blended team of newcomers
and veterans, the Wolverines
are still grasping new systems
under Pearson. In his first three
games — including the 10-1
exhibition victory Sep. 30 over
Western Ontario — Michigan
experimented
with
new
formations in game speed.
The next nine practices will
focus on further developing and
executing those schemes.
“A lot of it is new and a lot
of it will be a little bit to adjust
to,” said sophomore forward
Will Lockwood. “But I think it’s
going to help us in the long run
for sure.
“(The coaches) give us all the
tools to succeed on the ice and in
the games. And now it’s up to us
to prepare and to be ready going
into the weekend.”
Pearson is confident his team,
specifically the freshmen, will
start to grow into a routine
of efficiently preparing each
week for upcoming series. After
focusing mainly on defense one
week to puck protection and
penalty killing the next, the
Wolverines will have ample
time to assess and enhance
many aspects of their game —
especially the power play, after
a disappointing 0-for-8 showing
against
Clarkson
—
before
hosting the Catamounts.
“Well, we’re going to have
to continue working on our
special
teams,
especially
five-on-threes,”
Pearson
said. “We haven’t had a lot
of opportunities to work on
those … but those are huge
momentum swings in the game,
and if we can score one on that,
then we’re right back in.”
So, when it’s time to perform
and win games and the time to
prepare is indeed long gone,
Pearson hopes his motivational
maxim will resonate with his
team.
MEN’S GOLF
Mueller sets record
as Michigan falters
For
most
University
of
Michigan
students,
Monday
afternoons are typically filled
with monotonous lectures, shots
of espresso and mountains of
homework.
But for senior Kyle Mueller,
Mondays are for rewriting the
record books. This past Monday,
he did just that, shooting an
incredible 63 (-7) on day one
of the Jerry Pate National
Intercollegiate.
The feat was accomplished in
the second round of the event,
as Mueller made a total of eight
birdies to finish the round seven
below par. Mueller finished
the first day of the event as
the second-best golfer, sitting
only one shot behind Arkansas’
Mason Overstreet.
Mueller’s final round was
not his best, as he shot a 72
and fell to fifth overall for the
event. However, it was Mueller’s
second round that was the
highlight, as he tied UNLV’s
Shintaro Ban for the best round
in the entire event at 63 strokes.
Mueller is no stranger to
the course as he played in last
year’s Jerry Pate Intercollegiate
and shot a 211 — good for a
13th-place finish. Playing at the
Old Overton Club (Par 70, 7,204
yards), Mueller shot a 203 this
year, beating his previous score
by eight strokes.
“(Mueller) is the best player in
the history of our program,” said
Michigan coach Chris Whitten.
“The guys get to see that and
see the way that he goes about
practicing and handling himself
in the tournaments — and even
without the golf he’s a fantastic
team leader. He’s everything a
coach could ask for.”
Despite
Mueller’s
valiant
effort and demeanor, the rest
of the Wolverines struggled on
the course. Michigan finished
11th out of 12 teams in the event,
and it was truly a mixed bag
of results as season bests and
season worsts were had across
the team.
“It was a mix of two different
sides of the team,” Whitten
said. “On the one hand, we had
Kyle Mueller who played so
well — and then we had some
good rounds from the other
guys, but to count scores in the
mid-to-high seventies on that
course was tough and just put us
behind.”
Michigan’s
second
man,
junior Nick Carlson, finished
the day ranked 35th after rounds
of 74 and 73, and hit a 68 in the
third round.
“For some of the guys, I think
that they overall hit the ball
really nicely,” Whitten said.
“And around the greens is what
needs to get cleaned up this
week — and for some other guys
I think we have some decision-
making things to talk about.”
Speaking to the difficulty
of playing on a new course,
Michigan’s top three golfers —
Mueller, Carlson, and sophomore
Brent Ito — had all played at the
same event last year. The two
newcomers, freshman Henry
Spring and senior Ian Kim
fought to find their bearings
on the new terrain. Spring and
Kim could have faced even
less exposure to the course, as
the Sunday afternoon practice
round was almost derailed by
Tropical Storm Nate.
“The comfort level of having
played the course before, it helps
for sure,” Whitten said. “You
know, that’s what happens with
new players and we just gotta
learn from it and get better.”
Michigan will use its two
weeks off from competition
seeking to rebound on another
familiar course in Dallas. The
Wolverines will play at the Royal
Oaks Intercollegiate on Oct.-23
“We’re going to a course that
we’ve played before and know,”
Whitten said. “So I think we’ll
get in really good preparation
before the tournament.”
‘M’ focused on improving run game
The atmosphere inside Al
Glick Field House on Tuesday
was noticeably different.
Just ask sophomore running
back Chris Evans.
“Even the trainers were
holding the Gatorade (bottles)
tighter,” he said. “(Harbaugh)
was yelling, too. It was tough,
it was intense.”
Still smarting from a 14-10
loss to Michigan State on
Saturday night, Michigan set
out to correct issues in its run
game. Against the Spartans,
the Wolverines ran the ball 39
times for 102 yards, averaging
just 2.6 yards per carry.
And just as they have all
season
long,
Michigan’s
offensive
issues
were
compounded by a turnover —
the first of five on the night.
With just under six minutes
left in the first quarter, fifth-
year
senior
running
back
Ty Isaac fumbled the ball as
his team was driving near
midfield.
It’s not often that one can
point to a single play as directly
changing
the
momentum.
But
Isaac’s
lost
fumble
certainly gave
a
previously
listless
Michigan
State team life.
Before
the
fumble,
the
Wolverines
had
rushed
13
times
for
58
yards,
including
crucial
fourth-and
third-down
conversions that allowed them
to control the pace of the game.
After the turnover?
The
numbers
aren’t
so
pretty there — Michigan ran
26 times for just 44 yards.
So on Tuesday, practice
for the skill position players
included a twist — a longer
and more intense version of
their fumble circuit.
As Evans explained, the
drill involves three stations
and the running
backs,
tight
ends,
fullbacks
and
receivers.
Each
group
practices picking
up
fumbles
and
holding
the ball tightly
while somebody
punches
at
it.
Players
run
a
lap if anybody
fumbles,
and
there was even
a new rule instituted — if a
player was loosely carrying
the ball during a “practice
period,” he would miss the
rest of the period, which lasts
around 10 minutes.
“We
always
did
fumble
circuit, but today there was a
lot of heat in the air for some
reason,”
Evans
said.
“The
coaches were yelling more,
trying to strip the ball more.”
For Evans — who fumbled
in Michigan’s 29-13 win over
Air Force several weeks ago
— protecting the ball is of the
utmost importance.
“Ever since I fumbled, I
haven’t really had it in my left
hand,” he said. “I just keep
it in my right … until I feel
comfortable.”
Of
course,
the
running
backs are only one component
of the run game. They can only
find space if the offensive line
opens up holes for them. And
while the line hasn’t been
doing any new drills, according
to sophomore left guard Ben
Bredeson, there has been an
emphasis on re-establishing
the rushing attack up front.
“I think (running the ball
is) definitely an identity of
Jim Harbaugh’s offense, and
I think it has been for many
years,” Bredeson said. “Just
getting back to our roots. Just
a lot of physicality this week
against Indiana.”
Bredeson
admitted
that
sloppiness from the offense has
“definitely been a theme” so far
this season. It hadn’t hurt the
Wolverines in the loss column
before. But things finally came
to a boil against Michigan State
— and now Michigan, whether
it’s through holding the ball
tighter or blocking better up
front, hopes to shore things up.
“We’re
just
eliminating
small mistakes — each one —
one at a time,” Bredeson said.
“I feel like everybody’s got
issues that we have to clean
up — both individually and
collectively as an offensive
unit.
So
that’s
what
this
week is for, is we’re cleaning
everything up and focusing on
Indiana.”
FOOTBALL
Wolverines preparing
for up-tempo Hoosiers
The
Michigan
football
defense has to play a “perfect
game.”
That is the message defensive
coordinator Don Brown gave to
his unit this week.
“As a defense, we’ve been
doing alright,” said sophomore
defensive end Rashan Gary.
“But we got to step it up. As
you’ve seen, mistakes were
made.”
Tuesday,
Gary
said
that
Brown
emphasized
how
important it was for the defense
to stick to its fundamentals —
running to the ball, playing
physical, making tackles.
But
statistically,
the
Wolverines’ defense is playing
far better than “alright,” as
Gary said.
The 17th-ranked Wolverines
(1-1 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) boast
the nation’s best defense in
yards allowed and have given
up an average of just 2.8 second-
half points this season.
It’s clearly a better defense
than its own players are giving
it credit for, but that is just the
mindset the Wolverines will
take to Indiana this weekend.
The defense is not frustrated
with the offense’s struggles,
focusing only on what they can
contribute to the team.
When Gary was asked about
what he expected to see from
the Hoosiers, he focused on
their fast-paced offense.
“A lot of tempo,” Gary said.
“We’re getting ready for that
throughout the course of the
week.”
Added sophomore linebacker
Khaleke Hudson: “They’ve got
good, nice, big receivers, so they
can throw the fade. Ultimately,
they’re a good team. We’re
going to treat them as a good
team.”
The Hoosiers (0-2 Big Ten,
3-2 overall) have a lot of depth
at the receiver position —
an offensive dimension the
Wolverines have yet to see from
an opponent.
Having faced Florida’s multi-
quarterback system, Air Force’s
triple
option
and
Purdue’s
trick plays, the Wolverines are
accustomed to preparing for
new offenses week after week.
Add to that list a spread-style
system that regularly lines up
with four or five wide receivers.
“We’re ready for any offense
that anybody throws at us,”
Hudson said. “So that’s not
going to be a challenge, going
from a two-tight end or three-
tight end set that Michigan State
was running to a spread offense
which Indiana runs. That’s not
going to be a challenge for us.”
Leading the Hoosiers’ offense
is wide receiver Simmie Cobb
Jr., who has three touchdown
catches
and
370
receiving
yards. Meanwhile, tight end
Ian Thomas also has three
touchdowns and has tallied 254
receiving yards.
Indiana
has
split
time
between its two quarterbacks,
Richard Lagow and Peyton
Ramsey, but it was the latter
that took all the snaps last
weekend in the Hoosiers’ win
over
Charleston
Southern.
Ramsey excelled in his first
start, completing 78 percent of
his passes for two touchdowns
and 321 yards.
Ramsey and Lagow have
utilized
all
their
receiving
options, as five different players
have made touchdown catches.
It’s a given that Michigan’s
defense will see more passes,
and if Brown wants them to play
a “perfect game,” a lot will rely
on the defensive line pressuring
Lagow and Ramsey, and even more
will rely on Michigan’s secondary
staying disciplined in coverage.
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Sophomore running back Chris Evans fumbled against Air Force, and has worked to secure the ball better ever since.
ORION SANG
Daily Sports Editor
Even the
trainers were
holding the
Gatorade
tighter.
JACOB KOPNICK
For the Daily
TED JANES
Daily Sports Writer
RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily
Sophomore forward Will Lockwood believes Mel Pearson’s new concepts will take some time to adjust to but can help the Wolverines in the long run.
BENJAMIN KATZ
Daily Sports Writer