The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Wednesday, September 26, 2018 — 7A

Back from heart surgery, Beilein looks for normalcy

John Beilein nearly didn’t get 
a stress test.
He skipped it the first time 
— he had to go recruiting. 
He didn’t want to get on the 
treadmill, and he certainly 
didn’t intend to come back to 
the doctor’s office after leaving 
that day.
“Sort of the way I live my 
life,” Beilein said. “I was in the 
middle of it, and I had the first 
part of my physical — I always 
do it at the end of the year — and 
they said, ‘Well, it’s time for the 
stress test.’ I said, ‘Well, I only 
got 30 minutes, I gotta catch a 
flight.’
“So they said, ‘Well, let’s do 
it later,’ and I actually wasn’t 
going to do it.”
He did, and the test showed 
he 
needed 
a 
double-bypass 
surgery. 
He 
underwent 
a 
successful procedure on Aug. 
6, missing the Michigan men’s 
basketball team’s trip to Spain 
as a result.

So, when Beilein sat at the 
podium Tuesday afternoon, let 
out a smile and said, “It’s great 
to be here,” it felt like he meant 
it.
He joked about spending 
more time on Twitter, not 
participating in a simulated 
airplane crash, getting a lot of 
reading 
done, 
watching 
the 
Cardinals 
get 
hot. 
Still, 
he 
seems 
pretty 
active 
for 
someone 
who 
had 
his 
chest 
opened 
up 
less 
than 
two 
months ago.
Beilein 
said 
he was walking 
five miles a day with his wife, 
Kathleen, within a week of the 
surgery. He’s back in practices 
and plans to coach in both 
the 
Wolverines’ 
closed-door 
scrimmage at Toledo on Oct. 
27 and their exhibition game 
against Northwood on Nov. 
2. Ditto for the Nov. 6 season 

opener.
When the team returned 
from Spain, Beilein eased back 
into things. He met with the 
five-man freshman class on 
the first day back, according 
to junior point guard Zavier 
Simpson, then the rest of the 
team a couple days later.
“He actually 
wasn’t 
vocal 
at all, he was 
kinda just saying 
a 
few 
things 
and 
stepping 
out of the way,” 
Simpson 
said. 
“Not 
yelling, 
maybe 
one 
or 
two 
sentences, 
stepping out of 
the way.”
For five brief minutes, when 
Beilein was told he needed 
surgery, there was a discussion 
as to whether or not the team 
should go to Spain at all. Beilein 
was all for it, installing assistant 
coach Saddi Washington as the 
interim head coach and sending 
his team on its way.

Michigan ended up going 1-2 
in three games against European 
competition, a worse result 
against far better competition 
than in Italy in 2014. Though 
Beilein missed time with the 
freshmen, it hasn’t been hard to 
catch up. He’s largely stayed in 
Ann Arbor instead of traveling 
to recruit and can spend four 
instead of two hours per week 
with the players.
Right now, ask around and 
the only tangible basketball 
impact of Beilein’s surgery is 
that he has taken a backseat 
in practices, unable to yell the 
way he might normally. The 
assistant coaches have picked 
up the slack in his stead.
“I feel like they all have a 
piece of their own pie — piece of 
the pizza,” Simpson said. “I feel 
like (DeAndre Haynes) is more 
of a player type of coach, that 
comes to you and compliments 
you or tells you things you could 
have done individually. And 
(Luke Yaklich) is extremely 
loud. He is extremely loud. Yak 
is definitely extremely loud.
“And Saddi’s just more the 
kind of mature one, that wraps 
up and summarizes everything. 
He’s the one who — he’s the one 
who’s kind of like the Coach B 
when Coach B isn’t there. He 
kind of takes over, he does — 
he’s not really a yeller, he’s not 
quiet. He’s just saying things to 
regroup us as a team, he’s just 
probably the most vocal one.”
Added Beilein: “I just stand 
in the middle and sort of talk, 
probably the way a lot of coaches 
do coach.”
By the time Beilein finished 
taking 
questions 
— 
having 
moved on from his own health 
to the progress of sophomore 
shooting guard Jordan Poole 
and 
comparing 
freshman 
forward 
Ignas 
Brazdeikis 
to Scott Ungerer, a player 
he 
coached 
at 
Richmond 
from 1998-2002 — you could 
almost mistake it for a normal 
circumstance.
If Beilein has his way, come 
Nov. 6, it will be just that.

EVAN AARON/Daily
Michigan coach John Beilein has returned to coaching after going through double-bypass surgery on Aug. 6.

ETHAN SEARS
Daily Sports Writer

One play away, McCaffrey stays prepared

Football giveth and football 
taketh away.
Dylan 
McCaffrey 
is 
the 
newest 
member 
of 
the 
Michigan football team to learn 
the maxim.
The 
redshirt 
freshman 
quarterback entered Saturday’s 
game 
against 
Nebraska 
after 
the Wolverines’ 
starters built up 
a 46-3 lead late 
into the third 
quarter.
On his first 
play, McCaffrey 
dropped 
back, 
side-stepped 
and saw a path 
down the left 
sideline to run 
with abandon. McCaffrey saw 
nothing but green in front of 
him, 
even 
adding 
distance 
between 
himself 
and 
the 
defensive back in pursuit into 
the endzone. But a holding 
penalty on redshirt freshman 
receiver Oliver Martin that 
sealed the edge for McCaffrey 
erased the most electric play of 
his young career.

“In all honesty, I didn’t 
think it was holding at all, so I 
just told him that,” McCaffrey 
said. “He agreed, but he was 
bummed like anyone would be.”
McCaffrey wasted no time 
making up for it. He threw 
two 15-yard throws on rollouts 
and had a 17-yard scamper 
on that same drive to set up a 
field goal. The next drive, he 
dropped a dime 
into the hands 
of 
freshman 
wide 
receiver 
Ronnie Bell for 
a 56-yard score. 
It’s 
give 
and 
take.
“Dylan 
continues 
to 
improve 
every 
time he gets in,” 
said 
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh. “That’s a position 
like all the positions in football, 
but especially quarterback, it 
takes playing and having time 
on task and being out there. 
And it — he’s getting that. It 
doesn’t — it’s never too big for 
him. I really like that about 
Dylan.”
A few weeks prior, Harbaugh 
lauded his demeanor more 

succinctly — “coolness.” It was 
on full display in the season 
opener against No. 8 Notre 
Dame after Shea Patterson 
departed the game with leg 
cramps in the fourth quarter. 
With Michigan within two 
scores, 
McCaffrey 
entered 
a game for the first time in 
his college career — let alone 
at a critical juncture — and 
completed four 
of 
six 
passes 
before Patterson 
returned. 
“Right away, 
you could tell 
he 
brought 
confidence 
to 
the 
huddle,” 
said 
redshirt 
junior tight end 
Zach 
Gentry. 
“He 
hadn’t 
skipped a beat, 
he completed some passes, did 
what he needed to do. … You can 
never really tell if he’s nervous. 
He talks really steady and just 
makes plays.”
Assumed backup Brandon 
Peters was injured prior to that 
game, making McCaffrey the de 
facto No. 2 quarterback. And he 
ran with it, cementing himself 
as the next man up during 

garbage time in the Wolverines’ 
following 
three 
contests. 
Through three appearances, 
McCaffrey has compiled just 
126 yards and two touchdowns, 
but a poise that has excited 
Michigan faithful.
From 
the 
sidelines, 
McCaffrey has reconciled his 
position — perpetually waiting 
in line — with a quote from his 
coach.
“Coach 
Harbaugh 
actually 
said 
something at the 
end of practice 
the other day 
that 
really 
stuck with me 
personally,” 
McCaffrey 
noted. “He said, 
‘It’s 
better 
to 
be 
prepared 
and not get your opportunity 
then it is to be unprepared and 
get your opportunity.’ I think 
that’s just something you’ve 
gotta live by. You don’t wanna 
go out there and have no idea 
what you’re doing.
“... It’s just one of those 
things you’ve gotta prepare like 
you’re one play away because, 
frankly, you are.”
It’s 
why 
McCaffrey 
continually does what he refers 
to as “mental reps.” Last year, 
as a member of the scout team, 
McCaffrey 
would 
listen 
to 
what plays were being called 
on the sideline, double-check 
with the play calls listed on his 
wristband and evaluate what 
he would do as the plays would 
unfold on the field.
Following Harbaugh’s words, 
results from his preparedness 
have been positive so far this 
season.
“Dylan’s come a long way,” 
Gentry said. “I know that’s 
one of the guys that stays after 
practice a lot and gets route 
timing with extra guys, gets 
some extra reps.”
McCaffrey still has ways 
to go before finding himself 
in the lead role. It probably 
won’t happen while Patterson 
is still here. But either way 
he’ll be prepared, even if the 
opportunity never comes.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Redshirt freshman quarterback Dylan McCaffrey has compiled 126 yards and two touchdowns in three appearances.

In fifth season, Marshall 
finally getting chance

The Michigan football team 
left no doubt with a 46-point win 
over Nebraska. The Wolverines 
dictated both sides of the ball 
throughout Saturday, racking up 
nearly 500 yards while collecting 
14 tackles-for-loss defensively.
It makes it easy to forget what 
could’ve been.
After a 32-yard pass play 
early in the first quarter, the 
Cornhuskers fooled senior VIPER 
Jordan Glasgow with a read-
pass-option, leaving receiver J.D. 
Spielman completely uncovered 
on a slant pattern. A completion 
might’ve gone the distance with 
Glasgow so out of position.
But just as Adrian Martinez 
set to throw, fifth-year senior 
defensive 
tackle 
Lawrence 
Marshall stuck up his left arm 
and batted the pass into the hands 
of junior safety Josh Metellus. It 
was a critical play — Michigan 
turned a potential defensive 
miscue into a touchdown drive 
shortly thereafter.
“I read it was a pass, and 
(defensive 
line 
coach 
Greg) 
Mattison always says ‘get your 
hands up,’ ” Marshall said during 
Tuesday’s press conference. “I 
got my hands up, got a piece of the 
ball — wish I had gotten the pick.”
Though Marshall didn’t get 
his wish, it was one of the most 
significant plays of his long but 
limited time with the Wolverines. 
Briefly a four-star Ohio State 
recruit before committing to 
Brady Hoke’s staff in 2013, 
Marshall had just 11 career 
tackles at the end of last season. 
And after undergoing a move 
from defensive end to the interior, 
his future at Michigan seemed 
murky.
But in the loss of Maurice 
Hurst, 
Marshall 
saw 
an 
opportunity. 
“I felt like with Mo Hurst 
(graduated) the spot was open,” 
Marshall said. “I wasn’t gonna 
walk away. A lot of guys second-
guess their skills, and they go 
someplace else in a lower division. 

I told myself, ‘I can play here. 
There’s no doubt in my mind.’ ”
Naturally however, Marshall 
did have his moments of doubt.
“You really be like, ‘Man, am 
I really good?’ ” Marshall said. 
“Or you really start thinking and 
second-guessing your skills. For 
myself, I just kept going through 
it, trying to get better and better.”
Marshall said he’s adjusted to 
defensive tackle by remembering 
what Hurst did in his Michigan 
tenure — in addition to watching 
Hurst’s current tape with the 
Oakland Raiders. That, combined 
with an entire summer dedicated 
solely to refining interior line 
technique, has Marshall feeling 
more confident than ever.
“I 
really 
started 
feeling 
comfortable this year,” Marshall 
said. “Fall camp (is) when I 
really got my feet wet. Last year, 
I understood it, but I didn’t know 
how to play it right.
“I know the game much better 
now. Just looking at how Mo 
played and just coming off the 
ball fast, reading my keys and 
knowing what the offensive line’s 
gonna do. I’m looking at the splits. 
I can tell if it’s a tight split, most 
likely you’re gonna get double-
teamed.”
The work paid off when 
Marshall received his first career 
start at Notre Dame. Rotating 
with juniors Carlo Kemp and 
Michael 
Dwumfour 
in 
the 
absence of sophomore Aubrey 
Solomon, his group has become 
more productive by the week. 
Marshall hasn’t had the career 
he 
probably 
expected 
when 
committed to Michigan. But six 
years later, his efforts are finally 
getting rewarded with consistent 
snaps. 
“I didn’t play my freshman or 
sophomore year, barely played 
my junior year,” Marshall said. 
“Really started to see the field my 
senior year. It’s just perseverance 
— just keep going through it. I 
started my first game my fifth 
year.
“It’s amazing really getting the 
chance to play. Showing my skills 
on the field is a great feeling.”

FOOTBALL

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor

“I said, ‘I only 
got 30 minutes, 
I gotta catch a 
flight.’ ”

“Dylan 
continues to 
improve every 
time he gets in.”

“He talks 
really steady 
and just makes 
plays.” 

Wolverines top Buckeyes 
in dominant fashion, 3-1

The field was opening up for 
the Michigan men’s soccer team.
Senior midfielder Ivo Cerda’s 
inspired run from the center line 
into the box culminated in a pass 
played into the feet of sophomore 
forward Umar Farouk Osman. 
Osman skillfully held up the ball 
and nudged it to Jack Hallahan 
standing right on the edge of the 
18-yard line.
The junior attacker chopped 
the ball back onto his right foot 
and unleashed a curling shot into 
the top corner.
“I knew that a guy was behind 
me,” Hallahan said. “I saw his 
shadow come in, so I chopped 
it 
backwards 
knowing 
I 
would beat him 
— knowing the 
keeper was set off 
guard, so I had a 
go and got lucky.”
If 
the 
Wolverines 
(2-0-1 Big Ten, 
6-1-1 
overall) 
sat 
comfortably 
before, now with 
a three-goal advantage, they 
switched into cruise control 
against Ohio State (0-2-1,1-6-2). So 
much so that the Buckeyes were 
able to pull one back in the dying 
embers of the game, making the 
final scoreline 3-1, in Michigan’s 
favor.
The Wolverines maintained 
control 
throughout. 
Senior 
defender Daniel Mukuna headed 
home a corner kick from Hallahan 
in the 21st minute to open the 
scoring.
Prior to the end of the first half 
though, Mother Nature made her 
presence known. The teams had 
to endure a 50-minute lightning 
delay before they could finish out 
the remaining 4:18.
“We waited,” said Michigan 
coach Chaka Daley. “But as soon 

as we figured out the timing, we 
just kinda went back in and said, 
‘Hey, we don’t want to have a lull 
after the long break. Let’s get out 
and focus on getting things right.’ 
Passing the ball properly and 
getting back to competing as well 
as we did in the first half.”
Half-time was shortened to 
just two minutes and when play 
resumed, the Wolverines picked 
up right where they left off.
Ohio State’s occasional spell 
of possession was cut out by the 
Michigan backline while the few 
chances the Buckeyes had early 
in the second half amounted to 
nothing. At the same time, the 
Wolverines hung onto their one-
goal lead and would’ve liked 
insurance.
With 
frustrations 
mounting 
on 
both sides, the 
game 
became 
somewhat 
chippy. 
Players 
on each team 
received yellow 
cards and free 
kicks 
became 
frequent.
The 
rising 
pressure 
was 
alleviated 
for 
Michigan in the 74th minute when 
Osman capitalized on a rebound 
opportunity, neatly placing it past 
the Ohio State goalkeeper.
The remaining 15 minutes, 
though eventful, proved fairly 
easy for the Wolverines, who 
now turn their attention to the 
meat of their schedule against 
powerhouses No. 2 Indiana, No. 5 
Michigan State and No. 20 Notre 
Dame.
“Not every game is going to be 
comfortable late in the game at 
3-0, so we want to make sure we 
have good habits and continue to 
build,” Daley said. “The strength 
of our schedule is to come — the 
challenge is in front of us. We’re 
up for it, there is no question about 
it.”

MEN’S SOCCER

CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer

“We’re up for 
it, there is no 
question about 
it.” 

