2B — Monday, October 8, 2018
SportsMonday
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Here’s the season for Michigan
M
ichigan sophomore
fullback Ben Mason
says he’s looking
forward to next week’s game
against
Wisconsin.
So are we.
This is
the season-
defining
stretch
for the
Wolverines,
a gauntlet
of three
difficult
games.
Wisconsin, Michigan State,
Penn State.
“The beginning of the
schedule was prep to get
through these,” said junior
linebacker Devin Bush Jr.,
“and I feel like we’re ready.”
All the offseason talk
of improvement, of being
ready for the big games, of
contending for a Big Ten
title and a bid to the college
football playoffs — all that
talk comes to a head next
week.
Because everything
Michigan wants is still on the
table. All of the Wolverines’
goals were still there for the
taking even after their ugly
season-opening loss at Notre
Dame on Sept.
1.
It feels like
that game took
place ages ago.
In the context
of a 12-game
season, it did.
Against the
Fighting Irish,
Michigan
started slow
out of the gate.
It fell behind,
21-3, and that was too much
to overcome, because the
Wolverines couldn’t give
Shea Patterson enough time
in the pocket. They couldn’t
establish the run game. They
couldn’t make big plays when
they needed to; they gave up
big plays when they could
least afford to.
Basically, they looked a lot
like they did last year, when
they stumbled
to an 8-5
season.
In a way,
this team is
still dealing
with some of
those same
issues. No one
has forgotten
Michigan’s
17-0 deficit at
Northwestern
last week. The
offense still has drives in
which it looks stagnant.
But there’s plenty that’s
different now, too.
It starts up front. Give
the Wolverines’ offensive
line credit. They talked all
offseason about simplifying
things, about the effect of
new offensive line coach Ed
Warriner.
Against Notre Dame, it
looked like that
talk was just
that: talk.
But the
offensive line
has steadily
improved. To
borrow the
lingo of Jim
Harbaugh, it’s
an ascending
unit. They kept
Patterson clean
against Western
Michigan, SMU and Nebraska.
Then the linemen did the
same against Northwestern’s
Joe Gaziano and Maryland’s
Jesse Aniebonam, two of the
conference’s premier pass-
rushing ends.
The run game has been
consistent, too. Karan
Higdon is averaging over
100 rushing yards per game.
Mason continues to plow over
defenders in
short-yardage
situations.
And, of
course,
Patterson has
been everything
Michigan
needed him to
be. He has been
one of the best
quarterbacks in
the conference
so far. He
has been a steady presence
under center, and when
things go wrong, he can still
make plays like the 34-yard
touchdown pass he completed
to sophomore receiver
Donovan Peoples-Jones, when
Patterson spun away from the
rush, flipped it to Peoples-
Jones and watched as his
receiver did the rest.
That’s the sign of a good
quarterback:
he makes the
easy plays look
routine, and
does the same
with the hard
plays.
Patterson is
on a roll, and
his impact can’t
be understated.
He has already
surpassed the
total number of
touchdowns Michigan threw
all of last season, and he did
so in six games.
That has opened things
up for the offense, too. In
stark contrast, Michigan is
opening its playbook up. The
Wolverines are adding layers
to what they’d shown through
the first few weeks.
Last year, it was the
opposite. On the ground,
Michigan scrapped its zone
running schemes and went
with a steady diet of powers
and counters. It asked even
less of its quarterbacks.
The offense looks like a
more consistent unit than last
year’s. It looks ahead of where
it was against Notre Dame.
The defense has been great,
too, like it was expected to be.
There have been minor blips
on the radar; the unit would
probably have liked to have
several drives against Notre
Dame and Northwestern back.
Still, this has been one of
the best units in the nation.
It has beaten up on the teams
that it should’ve, and now it’ll
have a chance to prove itself
against Wisconsin’s power-
run game, the dual-threat
capability of Michigan State
quarterback Brian Lewerke
and the explosiveness of Penn
State’s offense.
Think of the past five games
as homework assignments.
The Badgers are a midterm
exam. So are the Spartans
and the Nittany Lions. All
in preparation for the final
against No. 3
Ohio State.
Michigan
lost to all four
teams last fall.
It wasn’t good
enough.
The
Wolverines
believe they’re
good enough
this year. They
think they’re
ready for this
stretch. We’ll find out if that’s
true after these next three
weeks.
Sang can be reached by
email at otsang@umich.edu
or on Twitter @Orion_Sang
ERIN KIRKLAND/Daily
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson and the Michigan football team have the toughest stretch of the season ahead, facing Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State.
ORION
SANG
“The beginning
of the schedule
was prep to get
through these.”
Think of the
past five games
as homework
assignments.
The Wolverines
believe they’re
good enough
this year.
FOOTBALL
Gentry notches career highs against Maryland
Ask Jim Harbaugh where
redshirt junior tight end Zach
Gentry has grown most, then sit
back and listen.
First, to the physical stature.
“The way he’s grown most is
probably putting on 40 pounds
of muscle.”
That’s not all.
“He’s
grown
so much as a
blocker.”
Then to his
receiving ability.
“He’s
grown
as
a
hands
catcher;
he’s
able
to
pluck
the ball out of
the air with the
hands. He’s got a
great frame and target, a great
catch radius. But also makes the
tight body catch, the contested
catch.”
Missing anything?
“And
he’s
got
the
best
attitude you ever want to be
around a guy.”
In Saturday’s 42-21 win over
Maryland, Gentry added seven
catches and 112 yards — both
career highs — to a rapidly
ascending
breakout
season.
The former quarterback has
evolved into the top target in
Michigan’s receiving corps. He
now leads all Wolverines pass
catchers with 20 catches and
306 yards, nearly matching his
career output prior to this year
(20 catches for 324 yards).
When Harbaugh and his
staff envisioned what a 6-foot-8
high school quarterback with a
4.6-second 40-yard dash could
do at tight end,
this is what they
envisioned.
A
quarterback’s
best
friend.
A
matchup
nightmare.
It
should
have
been
a
sign of things
to come when,
in
the
face
of
adversity,
Patterson turned to Gentry
against
SMU
to
open
up
the offense. In that contest,
Patterson found Gentry down
the seam on a crucial 3rd and
four, after the Wolverines had
started the game with three
drives and zero points.
Against
Northwestern,
another
sign.
This
time,
Patterson looked for Gentry
on the game-winning drive.
The duo completed two crucial
receptions, including a laser
throw and catch to put Michigan
in a goal-to-go situation.
These aren’t trends anymore,
though. They are facts. Gentry
is the primary weapon in
the passing game and the
player most trusted by junior
quarterback Shea Patterson.
A reporter posed Patterson
a question of that ilk after the
game.
Shea, can you
talk about your
connection
with
Zach
Gentry
today?
“Ah,
yeah,”
Patterson
said.
“That’s my boy.”
When
Patterson got to
Michigan, Gentry
was one of the
first to welcome
him with open arms. That
relationship is now bearing
fruit on the field, as well.
“He’s a heck of a target,”
Patterson said. “You can really
put it anywhere — (6-foot-
8), fast too. Kinda like (Rob
Gronkowski) out there. He’s
going to play this game for a
long time. Just excited I can
throw the ball to him.”
Against
the
Terrapins,
Gentry showed all the tools that
have enticed him to Harbaugh
and Patterson. He caught balls
down the seam. He showed an
ability to find pockets in the
zone. He caught a pass with a
defender draped on his back.
He even showed that much-
improved run blocking.
It hasn’t always been this
smooth for the New Mexico
native, though. His transition
from quarterback tight end
—
while
retrospectively
a blessing in
disguise
—
caused
some
frustration for
Gentry.
“At
the
time,
it
was
upsetting,”
Gentry
told
The Daily on
Sept. 10. “I had
never played another position
other than quarterback my
entire life. Being recruited to
be one, it was a little upsetting.”
Just four weeks ago, after
a win over SMU in which
Gentry registered four catches
for 95 yards, he admitted that
he had been frustrated early
in the season with his lack of
involvement. In the first two
games of the season, Gentry
registered just three catches
for 31 yards. He knew he was
capable of more.
“I hadn’t been maybe as
involved as I wanted to be the
first couple games,” Gentry
said at the time. “I was just
kind of patiently waiting.”
Wait no longer.
For the redshirt junior tight
end, it’s all coming together at
the right time. If he continues
down this path, it’s not hard
to imagine an All-Big Ten
season, a high selection in the
NFL draft. The Gronkowski
comparisons
come
across
as
premature
but
hardly
unimaginable.
Finally, 68 seconds after he
began, Harbaugh tied up his
answer into a bow.
“He’s really worked hard,”
Harbaugh said. “Everything
you want a tight end to be,
he’s really growing into a
prototypical type of tight end.”
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
Watson pick-six marks
growth of senior corner
The Michigan football team’s
game against Maryland was not
in doubt with just over 4:30 to
play.
The 15th-ranked Wolverines
had just driven down the field
and scored to go up, 35-14, and
the Terrapins’ ensuing drive
felt more like an effort to make
the score respectable than an
attempt to climb back into things.
So on third down, when
Maryland quarterback Kasim
Hill dropped back and threw
a 46-yard pick-six to fifth-year
senior
cornerback
Brandon
Watson, the greatest effect was
not on the result of the game.
Instead, it was on Watson and his
teammates, who have seen him
develop into a solid cornerback
and a leader on the defense.
“He’s very deserving of that,”
said senior safety Tyree Kinnel.
“He’s like one of the old guys
around here, so, you know,
everyone respects him. Everyone
looks up to him around the
building. And he’s been working
so hard through his five years
here, and that’s a well-deserved
play for him. I’m just happy
for him. I know he’s happy for
himself, and everything’s good.
I thought we played really well
today, and he’s a big part of the
reason why.”
The
play
continued
what
could only be categorized as a
successful season for Watson
so far. He has been one of the
biggest surprises, considering his
past within the program.
Watson
was
a
three-star
recruit in the class of 2014. He
redshirted his freshman year,
and for the last three seasons, has
wavered between being mainly a
special teams contributor and
a cornerback when the starters
need a spell.
There wasn’t much reason to
believe that would change this
season, as juniors Lavert Hill
and David Long were one of the
best cornerback tandems in the
country last season.
But ever since the beginning
of Michigan’s season opener
against Notre Dame, Watson has
consistently rotated in alongside
Hill and Long. In fact, he made
an instant impact, recording his
first career interception against
the Fighting Irish.
You could even make the case
that Watson has been the most
consistent cornerback on the
Wolverines’ roster.
“B-Wat been consistent since
last year, in my opinion” said
junior linebacker Devin Bush.
“He’s been consistent since last
year, this offseason, spring ball,
camp, you know, he’s always been
B-Wat. So, I mean, I expect that
out of him.”
Perhaps the difference this
season is Watson’s experience,
which has catapulted him into a
leadership position on a defense
chock full of talent.
“He’s developed a lot as a
leader, you know, leading our
defense,
making
sure
we’re
doing everything we’ve gotta
do, taking over the corners room
as a leader,” said junior VIPER
Khaleke Hudson. “He’s a great
leader for us, and I really like
him.”
“He’s grown, technique-wise.
He’s grown into a leader,” added
Kinnel. “... With me and him
being the leaders back there,
we just try to motivate and be
the leaders back there. And he’s
improved so much individually,
so I’m excited for him.”
The theme here, of course, is
happiness for Watson, getting a
definitive big play to point to as a
mark of how far he has come in
his career. And that was evident
after Watson’s interception.
As
he
sprinted
into
the
endzone, Watson didn’t stop,
jogging all the way across the
field and back to the sideline,
where he was mobbed and
knocked over by his teammates,
eager to celebrate a pick-six that
meant more for sideline spirits
than it meant for the outcome of
the game.
MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
EMMA RICHTER/Daily
Redshirt junior tight end Zach Gentry set career highs in both receptions and receiving yards on Saturday.
“He’s got a
great frame and
target, a great
catch radius.”
“You can really
put it anywhere
— (6-foot-8),
fast too.”