8 — Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Sports
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com

Karan Higdon relishes workhorse role he played against Northwestern

Even 
when 
he 
wanted 
to forget about it, Karan 
Higdon couldn’t avoid seeing 
his 
holding 
penalty 
from 
Saturday’s 
20-17 
win 
at 
Northwestern.
“(I’ve seen it) a couple times, 
I had no choice,” Higdon said. 
“A lot of people sent it to me. 
It’s one of those things that — 
I can’t say it happens — I have 
no explanation for it. … I don’t 
know how that happens.”
The senior running back 
was faked a handoff up the 
middle, 
getting 
swallowed 
at the line of scrimmage by 
a Wildcat player while Shea 
Patterson scrambled to the 
left for a 20-yard pickup. 
While Higdon was sent to the 
ground, so was the yellow 
penalty 
flag, 
calling 
back 
Patterson’s run and stymying 
a potential comeback drive in 
the fourth quarter.
The call was a blemish 
on 
an 
otherwise 
hard-
nosed contest that primarily 
featured Higdon. With junior 
running back Chris Evans — 
who Higdon calls his “partner 
in crime” — again sidelined 
due to an injury, Higdon was 
the Michigan football team’s 
bellcow. He toted the ball 30 
times for 115 yards and two 
touchdowns — one of which 
gave the Wolverines their first 
lead with 4:06 left in the game. 
It’s no wonder that on the 
fake handoff, Northwestern 
swarmed him.
Higdon’s 30 attempts are 
hardly eye-popping; it’s only 
tied for the 55th-most rushing 
attempts in Michigan history. 
It’s not even the most he’s had 
as a running back — he tallied 
35 rushes in his freshman year 
of high school. But in a pivotal, 
“prove it” year in the Jim 
Harbaugh era, the workhorse 
role given to Higdon in Evans’ 
absence is emblematic of just 
how much trust the coaches 

and players have in him to 
fulfill that role.
“He’s a very valuable player 
in the backfield,” said redshirt 
sophomore tight end Nick 
Eubanks. “I have no doubt in 
mind that he’ll run the ball, 
break 
tackles. 
He 
always 
has the urge to get the extra 
yardage off breaking tackles. 
I’m glad to have a dude back 
there like that.”
And 
as 
Higdon 
stood 
before the media on Monday 
afternoon, the wear and tear 
from Saturday’s game was 
non-existent. He has a trusted 
post-game and rehab routine 

— contrast bath therapy, a 
massage and repeat.
After 
all, 
Higdon 
has 
seen 
similar 
work 
before. 
The senior popped off for a 
previous high of 25 carries in 
a dominant 200-yard, three-
touchdown 
performance 
against Indiana in 2017. But on 
Saturday, the running lanes 
were tighter and Higdon had 
more difficulty getting chunk 
yardage — 12 of his carries 
went for three yards or fewer. 
And yet, his versatility and 
pass protection kept him as 
the lead back.
“He really got the ability 

to run all the assortment of 
runs,” Harbaugh said. “He’s 
not really in a category where 
he can only do inside runs or 
can only do outside runs, he 
can do both. (He) can also 
pass protect. High level of 
trust with Karan in every 
phase, including ball security. 
It allows us to do as much as 
the offense has.”
Even with a career-high 
in carries, the performance 
was a not a career-best. But 
his dependability rested not 
only in Higdon’s run game, 
but in his level-headedness. 
Higdon said he gets “hotter 

and hotter” with more carries, 
an assertion evidenced by his 
night-capping, fourth quarter 
touchdown.
His 
calmness 
was 
also 
emblematic of his sideline 
demeanor 
in 
a 
comeback 
situation.
“This was a game where 
guys had to really dig deep, 
look in the mirror and see 
how bad they really want it,” 
Higdon said. “Guys like myself, 
the other three captains, Shea, 
a lot of the guys on the defense 
stepped up, coaches — just 
saying, ‘Keep going, it’s a four 
quarter game, we have all a 

whole other half. This it the 
time to make a difference.’ 
And we did that.”
For now, Evans’ timetable 
to return is still a mystery. 
But without him, Higdon and 
his team still don’t bat an eye. 
When Higdon was told of the 
current Michigan record for 
rushing attempts — 51 carries 
by Chris Perry in 2003 — he 
laughed.
“50 carries? Shoot, I’d do it 
though,” he said. “… Whatever 
it takes to get the job done.”
And that’s what Higdon did 
Saturday, despite how ugly it 
was.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Senior running back Karan Higdon carried the ball 30 times, the most since his freshman year of high school, in the Michigan football team’s 20-17 comeback win over Northwestern on Saturday.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

Runyan: O-line improved, but still needs work

The season-opening loss 
to 
Notre 
Dame 
displayed 
numerous truths about the 
Michigan football team. It 
showed 
that 
the 
addition 
of 
one 
player 
— 
junior 
quarterback Shea Patterson 
— couldn’t fix everything. It 
showed the beginnings of a 
heavily-penalized defense. It 
showed a continuation of the 
Wolverines’ struggles on the 
road.
But at the defeat’s core 
was an offensive line that 
was outmatched. Michigan 
allowed three sacks while 
struggling 
to 
generate 
substantial push for senior 
running back Karan Higdon. 
That 
combination 
— 
a 
quarterback with little time 
and a running back with little 
room — culminated in only 
one 
offensive 
touchdown 
against the Fighting Irish.
“Notre Dame showed us 
what we needed to work on,” 
said senior left tackle Jon 
Runyan Jr. “For me, it was 
definitely pass protection.”
The emphasis has been 
clear 
in 
the 
following 
weeks, albeit versus lesser 
competition. 
Michigan’s 
offensive line has allowed 
five sacks in its four games 
since, as Patterson has had 
noticeably 
cleaner 
pockets 
from which to throw.
“Pass protection is going 
pretty well,” Runyan said. “… 
Shea’s had time, and when 
he has time, he can make 
unbelievable plays with his 
arm.”
Patterson’s 
ability 
was 
apparent in Michigan’s game-
winning drive Saturday. He 
found redshirt junior tight 
end Zach Gentry twice for 
gains of 12 and 22 yards to 
set up Higdon’s go-ahead 
touchdown.
Most 
importantly, 
they 
were completions that were 
well 
protected. 
Patterson 
went 
through 
multiple 
progressions before throwing 
both passes, allowing Gentry 

enough time to get open 
thanks to his offensive line.
Now, 
Runyan 
sees 
run 
blocking as his unit’s biggest 
area 
for 
improvement. 
Excluding jet sweeps and 
quarterback 
runs, 
the 
Wolverines ran for 126 yards 
on 33 carries Saturday. That’s 
respectable 
but, 
especially 
with 
Higdon’s 
yards-after-
contact, 
not 
ideal.
“We’re 
not 
at 
the 
point 
we 
need 
to 
be,” 
Runyan 
said. 
“I 
think 
we 
averaged 
(around) 
three 
yards per carry 
last week, and 
we want to get that up around 
four, four and a half. … That’s 
something 
that’s 
been 
a 
big point of emphasis as an 
offensive line.”
There’s been no shortage 
of criticism for the group this 
season. From former standout 
receiver 
Braylon 
Edwards 
to 
fans, 
the 
Wolverines’ 
offensive 
line 
has 
been 
dragged through the mud on 
social media.

It’s been a challenge for 
Runyan to manage all that 
noise. For he and fifth-year 
senior right tackle Juwan 
Bushell-Beatty 
especially 
— the most popular targets 
of criticism — it’s a delicate 
balance using it as motivation 
and not listening at all.
“The narrative has been 
going in ever 
since 
I’ve 
been here that 
the Michigan 
offensive line 
hasn’t 
been 
up 
to 
the 
standards that 
people outside 
this 
building 
would 
like,” 
Runyan 
said. 
“We take that 
personally, and we’ve been 
trying to (change that) every 
day.
“When it comes to certain 
things that go on during the 
game, people have no idea 
what our scheme is on the 
play, no idea how we block it. 
… Stuff like that, we take it 
with a grain of salt it doesn’t 
affect me too much.”
It helps Runyan to know 
he’s 
an 
everyday 
starter. 

Even 
with 
his 
struggles 
and growing hype around 
redshirt 
freshman 
James 
Hudson and true freshman 
Jalen Mayfield, coach Jim 
Harbaugh hasn’t wavered on 
his starting group.
That’s allowed chemistry 
to build up front. Last week, 
junior guard Ben Bredeson 
said 
communication 
was 
the offensive line’s biggest 
jump 
since 
Notre 
Dame 
— something Runyan now 
believes comes naturally on 
the left side.
“Being with Ben working 
with him since the beginning 
of camp, we have that non-
verbal communication going 
where we don’t really need 
to say much — we know what 
to do,” Runyan said. “Having 
that consistency has been 
really helpful.”
Added 
Harbaugh: 
“(Runyan’s) 
been 
healthy, 
stronger this year playing 
with physical demeanor. He’s 
always been athletic, but he’s 
stronger at the point of attack. 
Playing good football.”
With their play on Saturday, 
perhaps that last point can be 
extrapolated to the rest of the 
offensive line as well. 

‘M’ sweeps Rutgers

The job every week for the No. 
17 Michigan volleyball team is to 
handle business and get the win. 
So against Rutgers, the Wolverines 
could be considered overqualified.
The Scarlet Knights have won 
only one out of 80 Big Ten games 
since joining the conference, and 
on Friday, the Scarlet Knights 
continued the trend of losing by 
bowing out to Michigan in straight 
sets, 3-0.
The Wolverines played the match 
much like how a typical work day 
would go. Up early, staying strong 
until the break but ready for the 
day to end at close. Michigan put in 
work on the offensive and defensive 
end in the first two sets, providing 
little reason for scare until the third 
set, when it lost focus and dug itself 
in an early deficit. However, the 
Wolverines responded in quick 
succession to quash any doubt that 
they would win.
“Being down or being close to a 
team and being able to keep playing 
our own game,” said junior outside 
hitter Sydney Wetterstrom. “And I 
think that we’ve implemented it in 
this match, and we’ve been working 
on it.”
Playing its game and style had 
given Michigan success all season, so 
the team had little reason to change. 
With their balanced offense, the 
Wolverines were led by senior outside 
hitter Carly Skjodt and Wetterstrom 
in the first set. With three runs of four 
or more, Michigan built an early lead 
that it wouldn’t relinquish, winning 
the first set 25-11.
Rutgers had little response in the 
second set as well. Though it put up 
a much better fight, the efforts of 
the Wolverine veterans proved to be 
too much to overcome. Junior setter 
Mackenzi Welsh, in particular, 
played her part in controlling the 
pace of play.
“(Welsh) ran a great offense,” 
Wetterstrom said. “I think tonight, 
she was seeing the block. She was 
heading away from the block, we had 
a lot of one-on-one, or one-on-nones 
hitters, and she was utilizing going 
against the mismatch, and she just 
did a really good job placing the ball.”
For part of the third set, the 

Scarlet Knights worked out an 
answer.
This time, it was an approach 
Michigan 
had 
seen 
before. 
Opposing services have proven to 
be a challenge for the Wolverines all 
season if they deviate any bit from 
the standard serve. Michigan saw 
it with Nebraska and with Iowa. 
And as both teams started play after 
intermission, Rutgers pulled out the 
same tactic.
Quickening the pace at which 
she served, Scarlet Knight Marle 
Weidt disrupted the pace of play 
for Michigan by preventing the 
Wolverines from setting up their 
receive defense. Unsettled, the team 
allowed Rutgers a 7-3 lead.
“That server was going back and 
serving as soon as the ref blew the 
whistle, and that’s not something 
we see very often,” Welsh said. “In 
the Big Ten especially, and she was 
putting really good pace on the ball, 
and so we put our three best passers 
back there to be able to fight her off 
and be able to get out of the rotation 
as fast as possible.”
With a lineup of sophomores 
defensive 
specialists 
Jacqueline 
DiSanto and Natalie Smith and 
senior libero Jenna Lerg in the 
back row, Mark Rosen opted for 
a defensive lineup specializing in 
receiving. The Wolverine coach saw 
the struggle and realized the need to 
respond.
With 
better 
first 
touches, 
Welsh saw the burden of having to 
coordinate passes off of bad touches 
lifted. Michigan, through the efforts 
of Welsh, Wetterstrom and Skjodt, 
fought back to win the set 24-26 and 
claim the match 3-0. Welsh ended 
the night with 41 assists while Skjodt 
and Wetterstrom tallied 15 and 11 
kills, respectively.
“I think the passing and defense 
tonight was amazing from all the 
people that played back row for our 
team,” Welsh said. “I think I was 
put in really good positions to out 
our hitters in really good positions 
because of that. And I think all of 
our hitters did amazing and got hits 
when we needed them and fought 
hard through every single push.”
Though Michigan lapsed at 
moments during the game, the 
match ended up as just another day’s 
work for the team.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Redshirt junior Jon Runyan Jr. (#75) believes the offensive line has improved pass protection but still needs work.

VOLLEYBALL

MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
TIEN LE
Daily Sports Writer

“Notre Dame 
showed us what 
we needed to 
work on.”

