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Sports
Wednesday, November 7, 2018 — 7A
Juwann Bushell-Beatty and the virtue of patience in his fifth season
Juwann Bushell-Beatty had a
particular confidence about him
when he first got to Ann Arbor.
The now-fifth-year-senior says
he was like most freshman on
the Michigan football team in
that way — upbeat that high
school success would carry over
to the next level.
“A lot of people coming from
high school those first few
years, you have that certain ego
about you,” Bushell-Beatty said
Tuesday. “College football can
be really humbling. You may not
always get those opportunities.
There are guys that are better
than you, there are guys who
will get more opportunities.
That may happen.”
That
was
Bushell-Beatty’s
reality.
He did not start his first
game until 2017 — his fourth
season with the Wolverines
— and was in and out of the
lineup throughout the year.
The offensive line struggled
and proved to be the Achilles’
heel of Michigan’s lackluster
offense.
“It
takes
a
while to adjust,
especially when
you’re
young,”
Bushell-Beatty
said. “Once you
accommodate to
that — you get
stronger,
you
get in playbook,
you do all these
things and all
these
things
come together — you get your
confidence. Confidence is one
of the most important things.”
During fall camp, however,
Bushell-Beatty said that he felt
that old confidence wane. It
must not have helped when, to
open the this season, he and
redshirt junior Jon Runyan Jr.
— Michigan’s starting tackles —
were outmatched consistently
against Notre Dame’s talent-
laden front seven.
“We knew we should be
playing better ball,” Bushell-
Beatty said. “We knew we had
to put better stuff on tape.”
That is exactly
what
Bushell-
Beatty and the
Wolverines have
done. Michigan
is
rushing
for
an
average
of
237
yards
per
game and have
allowed just 11
sacks since Sept.
1.
Bushell-
Beatty’s personal improvement,
meanwhile, has caught the eye
of the coaching staff. In his
postgame
press
conference
Saturday, Harbaugh noted that
athletic director and former
offensive
lineman
Warde
Manuel thought Bushell-Beatty
had his best game of his career
against Penn State — two weeks
after
Bushell-Beatty
had
a
similarly strong performance in
East Lansing.
“The last few weeks, I’ve been
on an upward trend,” Bushell-
Beatty said. “… Being older, I
don’t really have the classes
like the younger
guys do, so I’m
just
putting
more time into
film, getting into
the
playbook,
paying attention
to the opponent,
working
on
techniques
—
those
are
all
things you have
to do.”
Rashan Gary thinks Bushell-
Beatty’s largest leap has come
in pass protection. In previous
battles, the junior defensive
end used to take advantage of
Bushell-Beatty’s impatience at
the line of scrimmage.
But,
recently,
Gary
has
noticed a different approach
from Bushell-Beatty.
“Sometimes,
he’ll
be
aggressive and shoot his hands,
and I’ll get them down,” Gary
said. “But it’s like, ‘Alright,
now what are you going to do,
Rashan?’ Now, I got to make the
move, and he’ll counter it. So
it’s a great battle,
and he’s getting
better.”
Added
Bushell-Beatty:
“I think that’s
probably
one
of
the
biggest
things for me,
just focusing on
being
patient.
I pride myself
on having quick
feet and being about to adjust
quickly. Sometimes, it’s not all
about that. You got to be more
patient in pass (protect) and be
more precise and specific with
your movements.”
Patience has indeed been
pivotal for Bushell-Beatty —
both in his current technique
and career trajectory overall.
Five years removed from high
school, the Wolverines’ starting
right tackle is finally feeling
confident — and playing the way
he once expected to.
“Some people need more reps,
just need more time,” Bushell-
Beatty said. “Since being an
offensive lineman is one of
the most difficult positions on
the field, it’s not something
that comes to you right away.
Once you really get it down pat
and spend a lot of time on it, it
becomes a lot more natural.”
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Fifth-year senior tackle Juwann Bushell-Beatty says he has become much more patient since coming to Michigan as an over-confident freshman.
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Editor
“College
football can
be really
humbling.”
“Some people
need more reps,
just need more
time.”
Gary returns to strong D-line after time away
There’s a big difference between
Rashan Gary’s preparation for the
Michigan football team’s last road
game and its upcoming one.
Three
weeks
ago
as
the
Wolverines got set to face Michigan
State, Gary was questionable to
play with a shoulder injury that he
suffered before the season began. It
had kept him out of the three games
before.
On Tuesday, Gary thought back
on that time.
“I really wanted to come back
Michigan State, but I personally
wasn’t ready,” Gary said. “… With
my range, I felt that I could do a
little bit, but you know, throughout
the week, it wasn’t where I think I
could come out and give my team
100 percent.”
Heading into Michigan’s game
against Rutgers, Gary says his
health isn’t an issue.
Gary played in the Wolverines’
win over Penn State on Saturday,
albeit on a limited snap count. He
finished with two tackles and made
his typical impact on the plays he
was in.
Gary said it gave him chills
stepping back on the Michigan
Stadium turf with his teammates
after his hiatus.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, I missed y’all. I
love y’all,’ ” Gary said. “… It felt good
putting the pads on somebody else.”
It was an odd time away for
Gary.
By nature of the way the
Wolverines
handle
injury
news — they hardly divulge
any information — speculation
surrounded Gary.
Some said he was more injured
than Michigan was leading on.
Some thought Gary would go the
route of Nick Bosa and sit out before
declaring for the NFL Draft. Gary’s
mom added fuel to the fire by
posting cryptic Facebook statuses.
Gary says he wasn’t perturbed
by any of this. He said he never
considered skipping the rest of his
games at all and that he tried to stay
away from the speculation.
“I’m the only person that knows
what’s going on,” Gary said. “You
know, I’m the only one that can
really tell you the real story about
it. So, you know, having my mom
speak out on it, that’s what she
did. You know, that’s my mom, so
I always support her and what she
feels, but also, you know, things like
that, I can’t let that get me mad. I’ve
still got things to do. I’ve still got
goals to accomplish, and I just need
to get back to them.”
The rumors were even stranger
because Gary wasn’t really missed
that much by the Wolverines’
defense.
His
backup,
sophomore
defensive end Kwity Paye, was
more than solid in Gary’s absence,
while junior defensive end Josh
Uche made a major statement — he
is now 12th in the country in sacks.
Again, Gary claims not be
bothered by this, rather giving
positive reviews of his underlings.
“That’s something I’ve been
seeing since spring ball and camp,”
Gary said. “You know, just now that
they got the opportunity to show
off and showcase their talents, it’s
crazy. You know, every time Uche
goes in, I’m expecting him to get
a sack. Every time Kwity goes in,
I’m expecting him to hold it down
and get a tackle, be an impact. And
that’s the ability that they have and
that’s what they’ve been showing.
I feel like, with me not playing,
they did a great job coming in and
stepping up and providing for the
team in the ways that we needed.”
Perhaps that makes Gary’s
return all the more impactful.
Michigan’s defensive line, which
was dominating teams without
Gary, has now returned a potential
first-round draft pick.
Poor Rutgers.
WRESTLING
MIKE PERSAK
Managing Sports Editor
KATELYN MULCAHY/Daily
Junior defensive end Rashan Gary re-joined the Michigan defense against Penn State after missing the previous three games with a shoulder injury.
‘M’ alum takes second
at World Championship
Adam Coon stepped onto the
mat one last time for all the marbles.
The former Michigan heavyweight
was paired against Russia’s Sergey
Semenov in the gold medal match
of the 2018 World Championships
on Oct. 28. Win and go down in
wrestling history. Lose and avoid
satisfaction with the taste of
victory fleeting your starved pallet.
Unfortunately for Coon, the
latter would play out before his very
eyes. After dropping his opponents
for four straight pins to land him a
spot in the final bout, Coon’s run
would come up one match short.
And in the end, Coon saw his own
dominant move, the body lock,
used against him and fell by a 9-0
technical fall to Semenov.
The
body
lock,
a
move
completed by stepping into your
opponent and clenching your
arms around his upper body, led
Coon to execute devastating upper
body throws and ultimately pin
his opponents in dramatic fashion
throughout the tournament.
What makes Coon’s body lock
so deadly, though, is not his upper
body strength, but rather shifty
footwork that tricks his opponents
into falling into the lock. Coon uses
hip bumps, turns and false steps
to lure his opponent into a prime
position to be taken down. Falling
for the siren call of the false step,
Coon’s opponents then fall victim
to the throw.
“I’ve been working body locks
since I first started wrestling
when I was very young, so I kinda
grew up in it,” Coon said. “I’ve
very comfortable in that position,
especially when I know a lot of
other people are not. Especially
the way that I hit it. I have a very
unorthodox type style from the
body lock.”
Semenov, on the other hand,
proved apt at countering Coon’s
trickery
and
confounded
the
former Michigan star. Also relying
heavily on the body lock, Coon
knew the bout would be a fight for
the position — though this was a
fight he could not win.
Moving forward, Coon will look
to diversify his offensive arsenal in
the Greco-Roman style of wrestling,
so as to not use the body lock as a
crutch in future matches. Offensive
diversification as well as defensive
adaptability will be the name of
the game for Coon’s future training
regimen. And in order to gain that
extra edge, this training might not
happen in the United States.
Leaving
Budapest
behind,
Coon fully intends to continue
competing in the big international
tournaments in pursuit of the
ultimate goal — an Olympic gold
medal. Along the way, Coon will
look to monetize his efforts in
next-level wrestling by pioneering
the freshly minted American
Wrestling League (AWL).
The AWL is seeking to create
professional wrestling — not the
“chair-over-the-head” kind, but
legitimate, traditional wrestling
where athletes can make money
while they pursue international
glory in the World Championships
and
Olympics.
After
getting
drafted by fellow United States
team member David Taylor on Nov.
3, Coon will test the waters of the
AWL and try to spin wrestling into
a full-fledged career.
Before he gets another crack
at the next major international
tournament, don’t expect Coon to
fade from the spotlight anytime
soon. Whether wrestling in the
AWL, playing tug-of-war against
50 elementary schoolers or pulling
trucks by rope, Coon’s stardom has
grown beyond Michigan, and if all
goes well, will one day land him
on top of the podium at the World
Championship.
JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer