4B — Monday, September 17, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

The arrival of Donovan Peoples-Jones

Fairly or not, much as has been 
expected of Donovan Peoples-
Jones in his short time with the 
Michigan football team. The 
sophomore wide receiver came to 
Ann Arbor nearly two years ago 
as a five-star prospect and the 
highest-ranked member of the 
Wolverines’ 2017 recruiting class.
Despite 
ample 
playing 
opportunity, however, Peoples-
Jones hadn’t played like it. He 
was Michigan’s fourth-leading 
receiver last season and averaged 
just 6.9 yards-per-catch to start 
2018. Though it’s nothing to balk 
at, those numbers don’t exactly 
jump off the page.
But 
Peoples-Jones’ 
performance Saturday did: He 
made four catches for 90 yards 
and found the endzone on all 
three of the Wolverines’ passing 
touchdowns.
“He’s always been a super 
athletic guy, a freak athlete,” 
said redshirt junior tight end 
Zach Gentry. “Credit to him 
taking the next step to learning 
the playbook inside and out and 
perfecting his craft coming out 
of breaks and running his routes. 
He looks comfortable, and he’s 
doing a good job.”
Peoples-Jones 
joined 
Jehu 
Chesson, 
Braylon 
Edwards, 
Devin Funchess, Jeremy Gallon, 
Mario Manningham and David 
Terrell as the only Michigan 
players with three or more 
touchdown receptions in a game 
since 2000.
His first touchdown was a 
gift of the perfect play call. The 
Wolverines 
went 
double-play 
action — first faking to sophomore 
Ambry Thomas on a jet sweep, 
then to junior running back Tru 
Wilson — before Patterson saw 
that SMU had blown its coverage. 
Running a post route, Peoples-
Jones was wide open and made 
no mistake finishing the play, 
racing to find the pylon for a 
35-yard score.
“The post that Donovan ran 

from the slot (was) a terrific 
route,” Harbaugh said. “About 
as much separation you can get, 
really good (throw) by Shea right 
on the money, good protection on 
that one. Just like you drew it up.”
Though he was a decoy, 
Thomas was instrumental in 
the play’s development. After 
receiving his first career carry in 
the opening quarter, Michigan 
ran the same jet sweep action 
to get the Mustangs’ defense 
moving opposite People-Jones.
“(We ran) at least two maybe 
three runs earlier in the game to 
set that play up,” Harbaugh said. 
“It was a well-designed play and 
well executed.”
Peoples-Jones’ 
second 
touchdown, meanwhile, required 
much more skill. From the 
Mustangs’ 
seven 
yard-line, 
Patterson lofted an arching fade 
to Peoples-Jones, who adjusted 
in textbook fashion to corral the 
back-shoulder pass.
“That was a beautiful route, 
great catch and terrific throw,” 
Harbaugh said.
It’s the type of play that shows 
just how talented Patterson is. 

Though he wasn’t as sharp as last 
week — he threw a pick at the 
goal line and should have been 
intercepted earlier in the first 
half — he again made high-level 
throws 
consistently, 
finishing 
14-of-18 for 237 yards.
The longest of those attempts 
naturally went to Peoples-Jones. 
From the Mustangs’ 43-yard line, 
Peoples-Jones ran a go-route and 
simply burned SMU’s safety over 
the top to catch a perfect deep 
ball from Patterson. 
“(Donovan’s) a freak athlete,” 
Patterson said. “He’s very smart, 
very fast, great football size to 
him. I know if I throw it up, 
there’s a lot of trust in him (to 
make the catch).”
Developing chemistry in the 
passing game is the epitome of a 
welcome sign for the Wolverines. 
Their receivers combined for just 
three touchdowns all last season 
— the mark Peoples-Jones met 
Saturday.
Last week, sophomore Nico 
Collins broke Michigan’s 364-day 
stretch without a wide receiver 
touchdown before Peoples-Jones 
caught his first-career score. And 

with Gentry — who made four 
catches for 95 yards Saturday 
— as well as sophomore Oliver 
Martin and fifth-year senior 
Grant Perry also contributing, 
the Wolverines’ passing attack is 
continuing to take shape.
“(Our rapport with Patterson) 
has grown a lot,” Gentry said. “It 
feels good to just spread the ball 
around, make plays in the passing 
game and have some statistics 
there. It’s improved every week 
since camp started.”
Peoples-Jones was nonetheless 
the 
clear 
redzone 
priority 
Saturday. He hasn’t lived up to 
his high school hype just yet, 
but Saturday was a reminder of 
Peoples-Jones’ talent and the 
time he still has to realize his 
potential.
“People forget he’s young,” 
Gentry said. “I remember coming 
in as a freshman, and there’s just 
no way (you can be really good). 
It’s just a whirlwind. I think him 
being so young, you see a big leap 
from the first year to the second 
year and so on.
“Three touchdowns in a day 
isn’t too bad.” 

Metellus finds redemption in pick six 

Josh Metellus has had more 
than a fair share of ups and down 
already in the 2018 season.
Less than six minutes into 
the season opener against Notre 
Dame, the junior safety was 
ejected for a targeting call. His 
replacement, 
Brad 
Hawkins, 
allowed a touchdown on the same 
drive.
But against Western Michigan 
the following week, Metellus 
quietly led the defense with seven 
tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
If history had a say, Metellus 
was poised for a dip in Saturday’s 
game 
against 
Southern 
Methodist.
And for a moment, with the 
Wolverines leading just 14-7, it 
looked to be the case. On the 
Mustangs’ final drive of the 
second quarter, wide receiver 
James Proche — who finished 
with 11 catches for 166 yard 
and two scores — ran past the 
Michigan 
defense, 
Metellus 
included, for 32 yards to the 
Wolverines’ 24-yard line. Two 
plays later, with his back turned 
away 
from 
the 
quarterback, 
Metellus was called for an ill-

advised pass interference. SMU’s 
drive had the makings of a 
potential game-tying score with 
17 seconds left on the clock.
“I don’t think I held them or 
pass interference or whatever 
they called,” Metellus said. “... 
I was mad for like two seconds 
because I feel like I didn’t do pass 
interference. I just knew I had to 
brush that play off and play the 
next play.”
And in the blink of an eye, 
Metellus’ penalty — one of 13 
on the day for Michigan — was 
forgotten the next play. Metellus 
said he recognized the formation 
from a play run earlier on the 
drive, so he anticipated his 
coverage. Metellus blanketed his 
man along the left sideline, and 
telegraphed 
quarterback 
Ben 
Hicks’ throw, catching it right on 
the numbers.
Memories of Metellus’ Florida 
high school football days — times 
he shared with then-teammates 
Devin Bush and Devin Gil — 
emerged.
“Me, Bush and Gil — we all had 
picks and we all blocked for each 
other,” Metellus said. “Seeing 
(Gil) right in front of me when 
I caught the ball brought back a 
memory of me catching the pick 

and him blocking for me. I see 
him and he’s like ‘come on’ and 
he turned, and I was like ‘I’ve 
gotta score.’ I knew there was 
no time left on the clock because 
before the play I looked up, and it 
said 17 seconds. I knew had to put 
some points on the board.”
Metellus had nothing but 
green and those four blockers in 
front of him. But a straight-line 
sprint looked more like a rabbit 
chase. Hicks’ legs were twisted 
in his downhill pursuit, and with 
Mustang running back Xavier 
Jones catching up, Metellus 
changed course and cut to the 
middle. As he slowed down, 
Metellus made a second inside 
cut past two Mustangs and finally 
lunged towards the end zone just 
before being taken down.
“I liked the route that I took,” 
Metellus said through a smile. “I 
just tried to get in the end zone in 
any way possible.”
Instead of a one-possession 
game against a subpar SMU 
team, 
Michigan 
headed 
to 
the locker room with a two-
possession cushion and every 
ounce of momentum as it headed 
towards a 45-20 victory.
“Our strength coach is big on 
boxing,” Proche said. “He says if 

you take punches in the mouth, 
you bounce right back. We got 
punched 
and 
didn’t 
bounce 
back.”
Metellus’ 
interception 
— 
alongside his five tackles — was 
a bright spot on an otherwise 
unimpressive 
defensive 
performance. 
The 
defense 
collected seven penalties for 
72 yards — 37 of which came 
on one drive that ended in an 
SMU touchdown. It was both 
a testament to the errors the 
defense still must eradicate as 
well as how well the Wolverines 
respond to mistakes.
Metellus is less an exception 
and more of a figurehead to that 
testament. The nature of Don 
Brown’s defense often leaves 
Metellus in isolation, leaving 
it up to him to win one-on-one 
coverage or to spy on a potential 
run or short throw. Some may 
call the role thankless, but it’s 
a give-and-take that Metellus 
acknowledges.
“I feel like I could play at a 
higher level,” Metellus said. “I’ve 
made some good plays so far 
throughout the season. I’ve had 
some plays that I wish I could 
have back. So far, I feel like I 
could take another step to help 
the team out more. Not that I’m 
playing bad, I just feel like I’ve 
got more in me that I could help 
the team win.”
The score was lopsided against 
the Mustangs, but even the 20 
points Michigan allowed seemed 
excessive. The indifference in 
Metellus’ words — “not that I’m 
playing bad” — is recognition of 
the room for improvement. One 
defensive touchdown can’t erase 
the seven defensive penalties.
“You address each of them,” 
said 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh. 
“I know some of them were 
penalties. Penalties are hurting 
us, we have to clean up and get 
better at it. … I don’t want 13 
penalties in a game.”
If 
you’re 
Metellus, 
you 
recognize the need to change, 
but admire his unit’s short-term 
memory and resiliency.
It’s 
something 
the 
junior 
safety has refined each season, 
and his pick six is living proof of 
that.

There’s room 
to improve
F

ootball players 
and coaches love 
to remind people 
that there’s always room for 
improve-
ment. The 
Michigan 
football 
team is no 
different, 
and Satur-
day’s game 
was not an 
exception. 
“Really 
look 
forward to a great week of 
practice for the football 
team,” Michigan coach Jim 
Harbaugh said after the Wol-
verines beat SMU, 45-20, on 
Saturday. “We’re getting clos-
er to being good, really good, 
but we’re still not quite there 
yet. See improvements can 
be made. And really looking 
forward to a great week this 
week in preparation.”
In most cases, the senti-
ment of 
Harbaugh’s 
quote is sim-
ply coach 
speak, because 
of course 
every team 
can always 
improve. It 
still probably 
qualifies as 
coach speak 
here, given 
that the question Harbaugh 
was asked was whether or 
not he expects running backs 
Karan Higdon and Chris 
Evans to play next week 
against Nebraska.
But even despite that, and 
despite the Wolverines’ lop-
sided victory, there were mis-
takes, sometimes glaring ones, 
on which Michigan will have 
to improve.
Take, for example, the 
Mustangs’ first touchdown of 
the game. Wolverines safety 
Brad Hawkins and corner-
back David Long had some 
kind of miscommunication, 
and, whatever it was, it left 
SMU receiver James Proche 
running wide 
open up the 
sideline. 
Proche caught 
the pass from 
quarterback 
Ben Hicks and 
scampered 50 
yards to the 
house. Just 
like that, a 
game Michi-
gan should 
have run away with was tied, 
7-7.
And based on the final 
score, you could argue Michi-
gan did run away with it. But 
it was still a game that saw the 
Wolverines commit 13 penal-
ties for 137 yards, including a 
targeting call on junior VIPER 
Khaleke Hudson which will 
hold him out of the first half 
of next week’s game against 
Nebraska.
“You address each of them,” 
Harbaugh said. “… And pen-
alties are hurting us. That’s 
something we have to clean up 

and get better at. We address 
each one — technique, what 
we’re using, the discipline 
that we have. Get them cor-
rected, get them coached, get 
improved. Don’t want 13 pen-
alties in a game. Don’t think 
anybody does.”
And of course, there were 
some mistakes along the 
offensive line throughout the 
night, but hashing through 
those feels like overkill at this 
point.
The thing about all of this 
is that the mistakes, this time, 
didn’t matter, because the 
Wolverines ultimately played 
well enough to win comfort-
ably.
Junior safety Josh Metellus 
prevented the Mustangs 
from scoring before half and 
flipped the whole feel of the 
game on its head with his 
73-yard interception return 
for a touchdown. Junior 
quarterback Shea Patterson 
continued to show exactly 
why his arrival 
was so coveted 
this offseason, 
and sophomore 
wideout Dono-
van Peoples-
Jones proved 
he belongs on 
this stage with 
his three touch-
downs.
The talent 
on Michigan’s 
roster is eye-popping, espe-
cially against the SMUs of the 
world. Perhaps that’s what 
makes the Wolverines’ mental 
mistakes so mind-boggling.
Michigan has time to fix 
many of these errors before 
it gets to the meaty part of 
its schedule, and if it wants 
to reach its preseason goals, 
it needs to. Wisconsin, even 
with its loss to BYU is still a 
team that will gladly make 
them pay for 137 penalty 
yards and blown assignments. 
Michigan State and Penn State 
will too.
Heck, if Nebraska quarter-
back Adrian Martinez returns 
next week, the Cornhuskers 
aren’t a team 
to play around 
with.
The point is 
this: the Wol-
verines got by 
on Saturday 
with some mis-
takes because 
they were 
always going to 
beat the Mus-
tangs. The tal-
ent gap was far too wide.
But there are teams coming 
soon against whom that kind 
of thing won’t fly, and, since 
those games are the ones that 
will define the Wolverines’ 
season, ignoring the gaffes 
would be disingenuous. 
Maybe it feels like nit-
picking, but in this case, it’s 
about more than just room to 
improve.

Persak can be reached at 

mdpers@umich.edu or on 

Twitter @MikeDPersak or 

Venmo @Mike-Persak

FOOTBALL

MIKE 
PERSAK

EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson threw for three touchdowns on Saturday.

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones made four catches for 90 yards on Saturday afternoon against SMU.

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

“Don’t want 
thirteen 
penalties in a 
game.”

“Get them 
corrected, get 
them coached, 
get improved.”

ALEC COHEN/Daily
Junior safety Josh Metellus returned a tide-turning pick six seconds after being called for pass interference on Saturday.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

