8 — Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
With real tests still on the horizon, offensive line showing improvement
Junior
defensive
end
Rashan
Gary
has
noticed
a trend with the opposing
offensive line in practice.
If Gary and his crew of All-
America-level defensive line
talent win a rep, the offensive
group wants another.
“ ‘Let me get that rep back,’
” Gary recalls hearing. “ ‘We’ll
do it again.’ ”
Added Gary: “Iron sharpens
iron.”
It’s
part
of
a
broader
attitude Gary and much of the
team have started realizing:
the offensive line is confident
and only gaining confidence
each week.
“We’ve been saying it all
year,” said junior guard Ben
Bredeson,
“that
we’ve
all
gotten a lot better.”
Bredeson isn’t wrong; they
have been saying it all year.
Some — those in the media
included — just haven’t been
willing to listen. Last week,
senior tackle Juwann Bushell-
Beatty pushed back against
fans who judge offensive line
play without understanding
its nuance.
“The public doesn’t really
understand
the
inner-
workings of how things go
on in here. I think there were
mistakes,
and
when
there’s
mistakes — and
there’s
always
—
everyone
wants to point
fingers
and
there are things
that happened,”
he
said.
“It’s
football.
I
understand,
regardless
of
what happens, O-Line is going
to take blame for whatever.”
In week one, that criticism
was
defeaning,
after
the
offensive line took the brunt
of the heat for a 24-17 loss
against
Notre
Dame.
The
Wolverines averaged just 1.8
yards-per-rush in that game,
and managed to score 10
offensive points.
In the three games since,
Michigan has averaged over
278 yards rushing and 50
points per game. And after
being
sacked
three
times
(and pressured
countless
more)
in
the
opener against
the
Fighting
Irish,
junior
quarterback
Shea Patterson
has been sacked
just three times
in
the
three
games since.
You might say it’s unfair
to
judge
the
offensive
line against three inferior
opponents.
Bushell-Beatty
and other offensive linemen
might say it was just as unfair
to judge them after one game,
the season-opener.
It works both ways, which
is why the group up front
doesn’t get too bogged down
in outside perception.
“We don’t have any stats to
go with the work that we do,
but just seeing
it
on
film,”
Bredeson said.
“If
you’re
an
O-Lineman, you
understand, you
can
see
what
you’re
doing
well,
what
you’re not doing
well.”
While
increased
repitition among the starting
unit
—
Bushell-Beatty,
Bredeson, sophomore Cesar
Ruiz, junior Michael Onwenu
and
fifth-year
senior
Jon
Runyan — has players and
coaches encouraged, much of
the optimism regarding the
offensive line has to do with
those working behind the
starters.
In
Saturday’s
56-10
annhiliation of Nebraska, 10
reserve
offensive
linemen
saw game action, including
promising
freshmen
tackles
James
Hudson
and
Jalen Mayfield.
The
duo
—
often
grouped
together
for
convenience —
has been coming
along
well,
even
sniffing
potential
starting roles. It seems both
will be starters at Michigan,
whether that’s one week or
one year from now. Last week,
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh
said each was taking roughly
25 percent of the reps with the
first-team offense.
Bredeson
has
seen
significant
potential
with
both, in practice and limited
game action.
“James
(Hudson)
is
an
outstandingly
athletic
kid.
Once
he
cleans
up
some
technique
things and gets
his consistency
down, it’s scary
how
far
that
kid could go,”
Bredeson said.
“Measurables,
you can’t really
measure it, but
you can see it
every
single
day when he’s
making progress. And he’s
made a ton of progress. If you
watched film from this spring
all the way to now, it’s night
and day.
“Jalen
(Mayfield)
made
huge
strides,
coming
in,
especially as a freshman. It
was a big learning curve, but
I think we’re past that now
with him. Really happy with
him.”
As any offensive lineman
will tell you, though, there’s
tremendous
intangible
value
in
the
development
of
cohesion.
When
asked
where the unit as a whole
has improved most, Bredeson
pointed to communication.
“I felt like we didn’t talk
enough early weeks, especially
in the Notre Dame game,”
Bredeson said. “Now, we’re
not
only
communicating,
we’re
over-communicating.
Things are going really well
for us on the line. Once we’re
able to talk through the looks
and see what we have, that
gives Cesar the full picture of
what’s going on; he can make
all the adjustments.”
And as all the other pieces
seem
to
fall
into
place,
as an All-Big Ten caliber
quarterback starts to come
into his own, as a young
receiving
corps
continues
to blossom, as the group of
tight ends round out what’s
nearing a complete offense,
the offensive line seems to be
the final piece to the puzzle.
It’s certainly no guarantee
the maligned group ever gets
to
an
above-average
level
against other top-end Big Ten
teams — it seems nobody will
know until the mid-season
matchups
against
Wisconsin,
Penn State and
Michigan State.
But Bredeson,
the
de
facto
leader
of
the
offensive
line,
is confident his
unit will excel,
even if those on
the outside are
still scarred from week one.
“I think we’ve matured
a lot, more than you should
in three games,” Bredeson
said. “The way normal teams
mature through the season,
I think we’re past where we
should be on paper. I think
that’s going to pay dividends
later on.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior guard Ben Bredeson believes that the offensive line is still improving with teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State on the horizon.
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
“... O-line is
going to take
blame for
whatever.”
“James
(Hudson) is an
outstandingly
athletic kid.”
“Jalen
(Mayfield)
made huge
strides.”
Michigan dominates, settles for tie against PSU
Two minutes is rarely enough
time to determine the better team in
a soccer match. Sometimes, though,
it’s enough to impact the result.
Unfortunately for the Michigan
men’s soccer team (1-0-1 Big Ten,
5-1-1 overall), Friday night was one of
those times, as it drew Penn State 1-1.
Just 130 seconds into the game, it
fell a goal behind when the Nittany
Lions’ Christian Sload collected a
pass near the penalty spot, turned
and fired past the Wolverines’
sophomore
goalkeeper
Henry
Mashburn.
“It did catch us off guard but that
shouldn’t be happening,” Mashburn
said.
Added Michigan coach Chaka
Daley: “Those mistakes and that
focus in the first couple of minutes
might have been the difference in
getting three points or one point.”
The Wolverines, though, quickly
settled into the game, dominating
the rest of regulation.
Just two minutes after the goal,
sophomore forward Jack Hallahan
put Michigan on the front foot
by taking the ball in midfield and
beating a few defenders on his way
into the Penn State box, although
his eventual cross inched too close
to goalkeeper Josh Levine.
Though
it
didn’t
lead
to
anything, that burst of energy was
foreshadowing of things to come for
the Wolverines.
Over the next 65 minutes,
Hallahan was the their best player,
penetrating the Nittany Lions’
defense from the right wing all
night.
“I’m smart enough to know that
when someone’s playing well, let’s
make sure to get it to him,” Daley
said.
“One day it’s Umar (Farouk
Osman), the next day it’s (Hallahan),
one day it’s (Mohammed) Zakyi.”
On Friday, it was Hallahan. And
finally, after spending the evening
whipping in crosses that couldn’t
find a man or shots that just missed
the target, he was the one who broke
through for Michigan in the 70th
minute.
He cut onto his left foot and put
a dangerous cross into the penalty
box, where it deflected off a Penn
State defender and into the net.
“We put them under a ton of
pressure and I think at some point,
something’s gotta give,” Daley said.
“And I thought we just continued to
press and press and put stuff in on
tip of the goalkeeper and something
had to give and we found one. We’ll
take it any way we get it.”
Four minutes earlier, though,
came the biggest of a string of
missed chances for the Wolverines
that could have turned into goals.
Hallahan was at the center of
Michigan’s attack again, as he broke
down the right wing before cutting
a pass back to senior forward Noah
Kleedtke, whose shot was kick-
saved by Levine from close range.
When asked if any missed
chances stood out to him, Hallahan
pinpointed that play.
“Noah Kleedtke’s where I’ve
gone down the line and cut it back
and their keeper’s got a foot on it,”
Hallahan said. “It’s just margins at
that point.”
Ultimately,
that
inability
to
convert
chances
doomed
the
Wolverines. With 12 minutes left
in
regulation,
senior
defender
Marcello
Borges
found
senior
midfielder Ivo Cerda six yards out
but Cerda couldn’t put it on target.
That ended up being Michigan’s
last major chance as Penn State
rebounded in a balanced overtime
period, and for all their dominance,
Daley and the Wolverines had to
settle for a draw.
“We’re disappointed because
that (opening goal) was maybe the
difference for us,” Daley said. “… But
fortunately, we got one point. And at
the end of the day, that’s important.”
CARTER FOX/Daily
Michigan coach Chaka Daley believes his team’s lack of focus in the opening minutes may have cost the Wolverines in their tie against Penn State on Friday.
THEO MACKIE
Daily Sports Writer
VOLLEYBALL
Wolverines lose against
Nebraska, defeat Iowa
Michigan coach Mark Rosen
called this weekend’s experience a
new dynamic for the team.
He
was
referring
to
the
beginning of Big Ten play, of
course, but in many more ways
than one, the seventeenth-ranked
Wolverines volleyball team had
to face a new dynamic — losing
— as it dropped its first match of
the season against No. 3 Nebraska
before bouncing back to beat Iowa.
“I thought we played okay at
times, but we didn’t play at the level
that we needed to to be successful,”
Rosen said. “That was the first loss
for us, how’s the team going to
respond? How are they going to be
able to come back from that?
“We don’t know because we
haven’t done it all year.”
Despite the set count saying
otherwise, as Michigan fell in four
sets to the Cornhuskers, the game
was close-knit, with both teams
encountering ways to exploit one
another’s weaknesses.
Though for the Wolverines,
their weaknesses were an open
book — and Nebraska read it.
While tough serving will throw
any team off, Michigan’s passing
dove in quality due to taking the
brunt of bad first touches, and
in turn, the offense as a whole
struggled. The Cornhuskers were,
as Rosen emphasized, “huge,” and
against a mismatch physically,
mediocre passes won’t get the job
done.
In many cases where one team
is more dominant sizewise, it is
counterable with pinpoint passing.
There are ways to work around a
stable block if the spiker has flexible
spiking options once in the air —
which falls upon the setter to make
happen. And there was no question
that Nebraska was bigger and more
physical.
But by taking away junior
setter Mackenzi Welsh’s typically
accurate-passes through aggressive
serving, the Cornhuskers disrupted
the Wolverines’ balanced offense
so that it could only muster a .135
attack average to a .314 of their own
— a game-defining differential.
They
essentially
made
it
so
Michigan had no choice but to hit
where and when they wanted to
and made the offense predictable.
When you face someone more
physical, someone who forces you
out of your game plan and has all
the adjustments to counter what
you are good at, there’s little you
can do.
But the Wolverines found a way
to keep the match against the third-
best team in the nation competitive,
and it is every bit a testament to
their tenacity. But that alone just
wasn’t enough. Nebraska had the
edge in every statistical category
and came out on top accordingly.
The real worry for this Michigan
team was how it would respond to
the loss, something it had avoided
all year. There are many routes a
team can go after the first loss, but
the Wolverines took one that Rosen
thought of as a nice job in bouncing
back.
In a nearly-equivalent statistical
game, Michigan found a way to
tip the balance through standout
performances from its outside
hitters. Junior Sydney Wetterstrom
hit a career-high 21 kills, while
senior Carly Skjodt and freshman
Paige Jones added 18 and 14 kills,
respectively.
Those players proved to be a
difference maker in an up-and-
down match.
“It was a good, balanced match,”
Rosen said. “They were good.
We were good. And it was really
back-and-forth, and the first set
was really tight, and I thought we
competed really well in those last
few points to finish it out...”
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer
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