umichsmtd

By Bertolt Brecht, translated by Ralph Manheim
Directed by Malcolm Tulip

Department of Theatre & Drama
Oct. 5 & 12 at 7:30 PM Oct. 6, 7, 13, & 14 at 8 PM 
Oct. 8 & 15 at 2 PM Arthur Miller Theatre
League Ticket Office 734-764-2538 tickets.smtd.umich.edu

Book by Jeremy Desmon 
Additional songs by Jeff 
Thomson & Jeremy Desmon
Arrangements and Orchestrations by Jesse Vargas

Oct. 12 & 19 at 7:30PM • Oct. 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 8 PM
 Oct. 15 & 22 at 2 PM • Lydia Mendelssohn 
Theatre
Reserved seating $30 & $24 • Students $12 w/ID
League 
Ticket Office • tickets.smtd.umich.edu

Department of Musical Theatre 2017-2018 Season

A new jukebox musical about love, rock ‘n’ roll, 
and second chances featuring pop hits 
from the 80s to today 

8 — Friday, October 13, 2017
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Behind Enemy Lines: Indiana quarterback Richard Lagow

Coming 
off 
a 
career-best 

season in 2016, it’s safe to say that 
Richard Lagow has had a rocky 
senior year. 

The 
Indiana 
quarterback 

has completed just 56 percent 
of his passes for 661 yards with 
four 
touchdowns 
and 
three 

interceptions. Meanwhile, the 
Hoosiers rank just 69th in the 
nation in total offense after a 3-2 
start.

To top it all off, Lagow — who 

was named honorable mention 
All-Big Ten last year — lost his 
starting job to redshirt freshman 
Peyton Ramsey after a 45-14 loss 
to then-No. 4 Penn State.

But Lagow is well-versed when 

it comes to difficult situations.

After graduating from Plano 

High School in Texas, Lagow 
signed with Connecticut. He 
didn’t last long there — nor did 
he spend much time at Oklahoma 
State, his next stop.

The Daily spoke with Lagow 

at Big Ten Media Days in July 
about playing in former Michigan 
offensive 
coordinator 
Mike 

DeBord’s scheme this year, his 
long-winding journey to Indiana 
and facing Michigan’s top-ranked 
defense.

Q: 
The 
coaching 
change 

was made and (former Indiana 
head coach) Kevin Wilson was 
dismissed. How surprised were 
you? Were you prepared at all for 
that?

RL: No, it was very surprising. 

I actually found out about it — I 
was in class, and we got a text 
saying we had a team meeting 
later in the day. I’m sitting in class 
and the information got leaked 
to the media, and there’s a kid 
sitting next to me in class, and he 
taps me, he’s like, ‘What’s going 
on?’ ‘What are you talking about?’ 
He turns his phone and shows me 
the screen (saying), ‘Indiana head 
coach Kevin Wilson fired,’ and 
I’m like, ‘Whoa. You know more 
than I do, apparently!’ It was 
extremely surprising.

Q: What did you think of the 

reasons that were given for his 
dismissal?

RL: I’m not sure. I had 

never had anything but great 
experiences with Coach Wilson. 
He’s the coach that recruited 
me. I have a good relationship 
with him. A lot of the stuff 
that they talked about, I wasn’t 
even at the University for, I 
was (at) Cisco Junior College or 
something else.

TMD: What’s been the biggest 

adjustment, scheme-wise, going 
from the old style of offense to 
Coach DeBord this year?

RL: I think just the terminology 

is the biggest difference. You have 
to learn a whole new language, 
really, when it comes down to 
it. Everything is called different 
stuff. That’s the stuff you have to 
put the most work into.

TMD: What was your reaction 

to being named to the Johnny 
Unitas watch list this offseason?

RL: It’s a big honor. Anytime 

you can be associated with 
that name, and be on the same 
list as some of the other top 
quarterbacks in the country, it’s 
an honor, something that you 
don’t really take lightly, so it was 
cool.

TMD: You had a long road 

through 
this 
process. 
You 

started at Connecticut and then 
Oklahoma State. I guess, through 
all those stops, did you ever 
consider letting football go?

RL: I went to Cisco Junior 

College. That was my platform 
to get here. It’s a small town, 
with about 3,000 people — at 
most. That’s what they say on 
the internet. But there was times 
where I questioned why I was 
doing this. I was there for two 
seasons. After the first season I 
had some small offers, nowhere 
near what I wanted, so I decided 
to come back for my second 
year. And just throughout that 
time, there were a couple times 
where I would question it. But my 
teammates at Cisco — I wouldn’t 
have made it here without those 
guys, no doubt about that, so they 

kept my head straight.

TMD: What led you to Cisco in 

particular?

RL: No one else really wanted 

me. I was at UConn for like three 
weeks, I was barely there, and 
then I was at Oklahoma State 
because I just need somewhere 
to go, I had nowhere else to go. 
And by the time I was at Cisco, 
I had already transferred twice. 
Leaving Oklahoma State, a lot 
of the jucos were like, ‘You’ve 
already transferred twice, we 
haven’t seen you play since your 
senior year.’ Cisco gave me a 
chance. It worked out. Paid off 
for them. Paid off for me, as well. 
Crazy journey.

TMD: Now heading into your 

last year, looking back, is there 
anything you would change in 
retrospect?

RL: No, not a thing. I had a bad 

attitude when I was at UConn 
and Oklahoma State, really, so 

I guess that’s the only thing I 
would change. But I had to go 
through that time and mature to 
grow to get where I am now and 
be how I am now, so if I got to go 
through it again, I would do it 
the same way.

Q: How would you describe 

that attitude that you had?

RL: I wanted to play right 

away. I think every freshman 
needs to have that attitude — ‘Get 
me on the field right now.’ But 
you’ve got to have that attitude 
while also understanding that 
the people that are there before 
you, they know stuff that you 
don’t know. They might’ve played 
already, 
they 
might’ve 
been 

through a season, they know the 
system. So you’ve got to have 
the attitude of, ‘Put me in the 
game right now, I’m better than 
everyone else on this team,’ while 
also understanding that everyone 
else around you is there to help 

you and is there to help you grow 
as a player and a person and to 
teach you. That’s the thing that I 
needed to understand sooner, is 
that the people that were above 
me, I needed to look at them as an 
opportunity to learn, rather than 
the person that was keeping me 
from being on the field.

TMD: Looking back at last 

season, what was the most 
difficult 
part 
about 
playing 

Michigan’s defense?

RL: I think Michigan had a 

good pass rush last year. They had 
a really good defensive line. Their 
defensive line made it hard for us 
not only to run the ball, but made 
it hard for me to throw the ball 
at times. When you have some of 
those guys coming down on you, 
you don’t have a lot of time to 
throw the ball.

TMD: Statistically, they blitz 

on a high percentage of plays. 
How do you prepare for a team 

that likes to throw pressure at 
you?

RL: You’ve just got to be aware 

of that fact that they do like to 
bring 
pressure. 
When 
we’re 

getting ready for a game, we know 
when they like to bring pressure, 
on what down, on what distance, 
against what formation. So they’ll 
surprise you, but a lot of the times 
you’re expecting it, so you’ve got 
to be aware on the field and ready 
to react.

TMD: 
Do 
you 
have 
any 

impressions 
of 
this 
year’s 

Michigan team at all?

RL: I don’t, I don’t. It’s a whole 

new year.

Q: 
What 
do 
you 
think, 

though, when you hear the name 
Michigan when you see them on 
the schedule? What’s the first 
thing you think about Michigan 
football?

RL: 
Tradition. 
A 
lot 
of 

tradition.

ORION SANG

Daily Sports Editor

FILE PHOTO/Daily

Fifth-year senior quarterback Richard Lagow had a rocky start to the 2017 season, throwing three interceptions before losing his job to Peyton Ramsey last week.

Roos’ winding path leads to perfect fit with Wolverines

If everything had gone as 

originally planned, Alex Roos 
would have already finished 
his senior season of college 
hockey. Instead, he’s spending 
his last year of eligibility over 
1,000 miles away from where he 
started.

As a freshman forward at 

Colorado College, Roos was a 
key contributor, ranking second 
on the team with 10 goals. 
But before Roos’ sophomore 
season, the Tigers hired a new 
head coach, Mike Haviland. As 
Haviland remade the program 
with his own recruits, Roos’ 
playing time dwindled, and he 
scored just five goals combined 
during his sophomore and junior 
seasons.

“By the time my senior season 

came along, the coaches had 
decided to go in a different 
direction with the team and 

didn’t see me fitting into their 
plans,” Roos said. “I figured it 
would be best for me and the 
team that I pursue another 
opportunity.”

So Roos spent last spring 

in the classroom instead of on 
the ice, focusing on earning 
his economics degree. But by 
no means was he done with 
hockey.

“I took maybe a couple days 

off to kind of figure everything 
out,” Roos said. “(Then I) got 
right back into the gym and 
made sure I was staying in shape, 
skating, working on my skills. 
Really made sure that I used that 
time to not only stay in shape, but 
to get even better.”

Having 
graduated 
from 

Colorado College, Roos was 
free to play his final season 
as a graduate transfer for any 
program 
he 
chose 
without 

having to sit out a year. He 
settled on Michigan, where he 
had visited while in high school 

and was familiar with several 
members of the coaching staff 
— including current head coach 
Mel Pearson, who was then an 
assistant under Red Berenson.

It wasn’t only the prestige 

of Michigan’s hockey program 
that brought Roos to Ann Arbor, 
though — part of the appeal 
was his desire to earn a masters 
degree.

“Obviously knowing some of 

the staff here helped just with 
familiarity — them knowing 
me, me knowing them,” Roos 
said. “Also the school itself — I 
wanted to pursue my masters 
degree at the business school, so 
getting into that program was a 
large part of it as well. And then 
just being a part of this tradition 
of being a Michigan Wolverine 
was something that I was really 
interested in, really excited me.”

The youth of the Wolverines’ 

roster also attracted Roos, as he 
saw an opportunity to contribute 
veteran leadership to the group. 

Pearson himself describes Roos 
as a “really good person” who 
“communicates well.” However, 
Roos has tried to balance his role 
of elder statesman with that of 
being a newcomer to the team.

“Being a new guy but also 

having experience, I haven’t 
really 
tried 
to 
force 
my 

knowledge on any guys,” Roos 
said. “Just kind of letting them 
know that if they ever need 
help or have any questions, I’m 
here. Hopefully show them by 
example by leading the way on 
the ice and showing the proper 
way to play. Just anything I can 
do to help.”

Despite 
this 
expertise 
on 

and off the ice, Roos has had to 
deal with his own share of new 
experiences. This includes the 
drastic change in environment 
from Colorado College — a liberal 
arts school with an enrollment of 
just over 2,000 — to Michigan, 
a university nearly 20 times as 
large, and having to fit in as a 

graduate student without an 
incoming class.

According 
to 
Roos, 
his 

teammates 
have 
made 
this 

transition as smooth as possible.

“The guys have been more 

than inviting and welcomed 
me with open arms, so that 
was really nice,” Roos said. 
“Just the overall feel of being 
in a bigger town, bigger school 
was definitely a little bit of a 
culture shock, but I feel like 
I’m adjusting well and really 
enjoying myself.”

Roos certainly does appear 

to be enjoying himself on the 
ice. He got started on the right 
foot in his first game with the 
Wolverines, scoring a goal and 
adding an assist in an exhibition 
victory over Western Ontario, 
and also found the net in 
Michigan’s official season opener 
at St. Lawrence last weekend.

“It had been a while since I’d 

scored a goal,” Roos said. “But it 
was definitely exciting and nice 

to get one in the first game and 
get that feeling and adrenaline 
rush of scoring.”

The Wolverines’ youth and 

difficulties scoring were both 
well-documented last season. 
And while Roos might not be able 
to fix these problems by himself, 
he’s given Michigan just what it 
needs in both of those areas.

“You 
have 
to 
earn 
your 

experience,” Pearson said. “You 
can’t win it in a lottery. Someone 
just can’t bang their magic wand 
and give you experience — you 
have to acquire it. I think that 
really helps when you’re dealing 
with younger people and being 
able to help them go through 
some of the things he did.

“He just adds to that senior 

class because he’s been through 
it. He’s spent four years in college 
already so he understands the 
ups and downs, the grind of 
college and the academic balance 
with the athletic balance. He’s a 
great addition.”

JACOB SHAMES
Daily Sports Writer

RYAN MCLOUGHLIN/Daily

Graduate student Alex Roos netted a goal in Michigan’s regular-season opener.

