The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Sports
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 — 7
Peoples-Jones emerging as top target
Donovan
Peoples-Jones
didn’t score a touchdown or
notch more than 65 yards in a
single game last year.
Then a freshman, he wasn’t
alone in his struggles; the
Wolverines’ leading receiver
last year, Grant Perry, totaled
just 307 yards himself. The
offense as a whole managed
157
passing
yards
per
conference game en route to a
disappointing 8-5 record.
For the Detroit native, it
was far from the first year he
imagined.
“I feel like, as a competitor,
any time where you’re not
doing as well as you want, or
the team isn’t doing as well as
you wanted to, there can be
tough times,” Peoples-Jones
said Monday. “Just because
you want to be the best. I’d
just leave it at that.”
A year later, Peoples-Jones
is helping lead a resurgent
Michigan
offense
—
and
having quite a bit more fun
doing it.
“Just
playing
with
my
teammates has been so much
fun this year,” he said. “It
definitely makes it fun to go
out there and play each and
every game.”
Success and enjoyment often
go hand-in-hand, of course.
Peoples-Jones
leads
the
Wolverines’ receiving corps
in receptions (30), yards (447)
and touchdowns (seven) — and
it’s not hard to envision even
more on the horizon.
The former five-star recruit
came to Michigan with plenty
of hype to his name. He flashed
signs in 2017 — including
a
44-yard
run
against
Cincinnati and a 79-yard punt
return score against Air Force
— but struggled to sustain
consistency.
This
year,
Peoples-Jones
has emerged as a premier
threat on an improved offense,
adding new layers to his game
each week.
“I think he has a better
understanding of coverages
and defenses, and how to get
open on every
play,”
said
junior tight end
Sean
McKeon.
“He’s
just
making
a
lot
of plays for us
right now. He’s
attacking
the
football, getting
separation
off
really any kind
of coverage.”
Against
Michigan State, Peoples-Jones
notched the play of the day —
a 79-yard touchdown to break
the 7-7 stalemate in the third
quarter. As he swaggered into
the end zone, Peoples-Jones
posed like the Paul Bunyan
trophy, a token he and his
teammates would later hoist
on the field.
But there have been more
subtle examples, too.
Facing
a
third
down
against Rutgers
on
Saturday,
Peoples-Jones
lined up in the
slot. He offered
a
deceptive
move
at
the
line
to
gain
separation,
then
darted
to the inside,
catching a pass
for a first down and carrying
several defenders an extra 10
yards for good measure.
Together through 10 games,
the receiving corps has 89
catches, 1,244 yards and 15
touchdowns. In the entirety of
last season, the wide receivers
totaled just 97 catches, 1,151
yards and three touchdowns.
It’s
a
unit
that
has
unsurprisingly,
given
their
relative
youth,
taken
a
signficant leap forward this
season. Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh has taken notice.
“The biggest thing is the way
(the receivers) catch the ball.
All the pass receivers, still the
amount of drops is really so
low right now for the year. The
way they’re catching the ball
is really good,” Harbaugh said.
“Also, the separation they’ve
gotten in the passing game.
The precision in how they
run the routes has been really
good. The third thing I would
point out is their blocking.”
And on Peoples-Jones in
those specific categories?
“Boom, boom, boom. Top of
the list.”
MAX MARCOVITCH
Daily Sports Editor
RUCHITA IYER/Daily
Sophomore wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones leads the team with 30 receptions, 447 yards and seven touchdowns.
“The way
they’re catching
the ball is really
good.”
The discussion moves away
from football
A
t the same Monday press
conference a year ago,
approaching the penul-
timate
game of
the regular
season, Jim
Harbaugh
looked like
he wanted
to be any-
where
besides the
podium.
Despite
an 8-2
record, the Michigan football
team’s offense was a mess and the
injury report read like its own ros-
ter — Harbaugh faced 10 questions
about injuries alone. With a three-
game win streak, he was asked if
he believed in momentum. The
common denominator of every
rapid-fire question was football.
Flash forward to Monday,
November 12, 2018. As the Wol-
verines await Indiana for their
final home game of the season,
their win streak stands at nine.
Momentum has left, and status
quo has taken its place.
This Monday, as everything is
trending in the right direction for
Michigan football, talking about
Michigan football took a backseat.
“I kinda forgot your question,”
Harbaugh told Nick Baumgardner
of the Detroit Free Press, who was
inquiring about the run game. “Do
you have a dog? A big dog, right?”
Baumgardner does have a dog:
Biff, a boxer.
“Biff. Sounds like a good, strong
dog,” Harbaugh said with com-
plete sincerity.
He eventually offered one sen-
tence on why he loves a good run
game. But his team’s efforts were
not exactly top of mind for him in
the moment.
“I would also like to congratu-
late (Miami Dolphins running
back) Frank Gore,” Harbaugh
continued. “The record he set
this past Sunday, and Frank is my
favorite player of all that I’ve ever
coached. Fourteen years of each
year rushing for over 500 yards,
surpassing Walter Payton and
Emmitt Smith, is incredible. Just
incredible.”
As his team goes, so does the
frequency of Harbaugh’s effusive
praise and non-sequiturs. He said
he loves player meetings with
defensive coordinator Don Brown
because the “paint peels off the
walls” from his enthusiasm and
censorable messages.
He went on to commend his
wide receivers for playing through
harsh winds against Rutgers.
“I dropped two in the pre-
game,” he said disappointedly. “I
pride myself on catching them all.”
And for injury updates on soph-
omore defensive tackle Aubrey
Solomon, who sat against the
Scarlet Knights because of illness,
Harbaugh offered sage advice:
“It’s cold and flu season, get your
flu shots.”
Sure, call it Harbaugh being
Harbaugh and you might be right.
But it seems different, almost
intentional this time.
Like shooting a free throw
in basketball, focusing on the
mechanics can disrupt the psyche
of an excellent shooter. Talk too
much about football now, and you
trip over the details.
And it’s not just Harbaugh —
his players are doing the exact the
same thing.
Junior running back Tru Wil-
son, who finished with eight car-
ries for a career-high 58 yards on
Saturday, faced the media. Wilson
didn’t receive any questions about
his previous game.
But he got plenty about his pet
snake, Mako.
“He’s just getting done shed-
ding, so I haven’t been able to
play with him for the last week
or so,” Wilson said. “I guess he’s
blind when he sheds, so I guess it’s
kinda dangerous — not danger-
ous, he’s not gonna kill me. The
ball pythons are a very defensive
creature.”
Wilson stepped away, and
then it was senior receiver Grant
Perry’s turn. He, like Wilson,
donned a hat emblazoned with the
now well-known “Revenge Tour”
slogan. Perry said Santa is making
all of the clothing extensions.
Shortly after, junior tight end
Sean McKeon walks in. The Mas-
sachusetts native is asked about
the Boston Red Sox’ recentWorld
Series win, and later explained his
sweatshirt featuring a picture of
rapper Logic to a scrum of largely
30-year-old-plus media reporters.
In terms of football-savvy ques-
tions and answers, there wasn’t
much to learn. The confluence
of football and success ironically
leads to discussing anything but.
A week from now, with the
Wolverines presumably sitting
at 10-1 after beating the Hoosiers
next Saturday, they will be a vic-
tory over Ohio State away from
reaching the first of their goals — a
Big Ten East Division champion-
ship. And a week from now, the
tone will assuredly be different
than it was Monday. But as it
stands, Michigan has reached the
apex of comfortability this season,
and it showed.
So you probably don’t have to
absorb much of what Harbaugh or
his players said. But don’t forget to
get a flu shot.
Wolfe can be reached at
eewolfe@umich.edu or on
Twitter @ethanewolfe.
ETHAN
WOLFE
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh is currently sitting on a 9-1 record headed into Saturday’s matchup with Indiana.
‘M’ competes at Oracle
ITA Fall Championships
The Michigan women’s tennis
team competed in the Oracle ITA
Fall Championships — a five-day
tournament in Surprise, Ariz.
last week. The tournament was
an elite event, composed only of
regional finalists and marked the
colse of the fall competition for
the Wolverines.
Michigan
sent
four
team
members to compete in the
tournament
—
seniors
Kate
Fahey and Brienne Minor and
juniors Chiara Lommer and
Giulia Pairone.
“We
were
fortunate
enough to have
four girls make
it into this event
and
compete,”
said
Michigan
associate
head
coach
Teryn
Ashley-Fitch. “It
definitely helped
them
to
have
their teammates
competing next to them. I feel
like it pushed the girls to really
want to do well. So, even though
it was an individual event, it
almost felt like a team event.”
Fahey entered the tournament
as a serious competitor. She came
into
the
tournament
having
reached the 2018 Oracle ITA
Masters semifinals and also
ranked as the No. 11 seed in the
singles draw.
Winning four back to back
matches, Fahey advanced to
Sunday’s finals. There, she lost to
Georgia’s Katarina Jokic with a
final score of 6-3, 7-5.
“Kate is just so mentally
tough,” Ashley-Fitch said. “She
practices at a very high level. She
is so consistent with her effort
everyday in practice, and it’s
paying off.”
Fahey
also
competed
in
doubles with Minor. The pair was
coming off a strong performance
at the ITA Midwest Regionals,
where they won the doubles title.
The pair won in the first round
on Wednesday beating Florida’s
doubles team, McCartney Kessler
and Victoria Emma, 6-2, 7-6 (7).
Then on Thursday, against a
doubles team from UCLA doubles
team, the duo fell (7-5, 6-3).
“Kate and Bri got a good win
in the first round. When they’re
good, I feel like they’re one of the
best teams out there,” Ashley-
Fitch said. “They trust each other
a lot on the court. There are still
a few things we need to work
on, like staying
aggressive
and being less
predictable.”
In
singles
competition,
Pairone
and
Lommer
also
competed.
Pairone lost in
the second round
to
Alabama’s
Ann
Daniell
(2-6, 6-3, 6-1), and Lommer fell
in the first round to Southern
California’s Salma Ewing (7-5,
4-6, 7-6 (2)).
Lommer,
however,
shined
in the singles consolation play.
Lommer cruised through the
tournament to compete in the
finals against Standford’s Emily
Arbuthnott but lost to Arbuthnott
with a final score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“Chiara had some quality
wins,” Ashley-Fitch said. “She is
so mentally sound, and I think
she is going to play a huge part
in our team season starting in
January.”
The
Wolverines
certainly
played
up
to
the
tough
competition.
The
confidence
and enthusiasm derived from
this strong performance could
certainly bleed into the team’s
work ethic during winter play.
WOMEN’S TENNIS
MEGAN CHAPELLE
For the Daily
“They trust
each other
a lot on the
court.”
Michigan finishes 7th
in 2018 Collegiate Cup
Its season may not start until
January,
but
the
Michigan
women’s water polo team looked
to make a preseason splash this
weekend as it got back in the
water for a five-game exhibition
series at the 2018 Collegiate Cup in
Irvine, Calif. The Wolverines were
victorious against the University
of Hawaii and Pacific Unversity
but fell to the New York Athletic
Club, Southern California and
California, taking seventh in the
tournament.
Michigan
coach
Marcelo
Leonardi
emphasized
the
importance of exposing his team
to high-caliber opponents in the
preseason: “(It) provides high-
level competition in a November
setting early on. If you want to
play and compete with the best,
the majority of the teams are from
California ... it gives us a chance
to travel and prep and go through
something similar to in-season.”
Leonardi’s expectations for the
Wolverines are high going into his
fifth season as Michigan’s head
coach. Last season, the Wolverines
went
32-9,
won
the
CWPA
Championship — its third straight
— and made it to the quarterfinals
of the NCAA Tournament.
With six returning starters
this year, Leonardi will be looking
towards some strong veteran
leadership to push his team to new
heights this year.
“This season, we are a little bit
more seasoned in terms of age,”
Leonardi said. “We bring a lot back
from last year’s run.”
Led by three senior captains,
attacker Julia Sellers — the 2018
CWPA
tournament
MVP
—
utility Kim Johnson and attacker
Delaney Cleveland, the team is
eager to build off last season’s
impressive finish.
Michigan began early Saturday
morning against the New York
Athletic Club. By halftime, NYAC
led 5-4, with Melissa Seidermann
and Michigan junior attacker
Skylar Pyle each contributing two
goals to their respective teams.
However, NYAC pulled away in
the second half and went on to
score nine unanswered goals to
defeat the Wolverines, 14-5.
In its second game of the
day, Michigan faced off against
the University of Hawaii. The
Wolverines trailed the Rainbow
Warriors 4-2 at the end of the third
quarter but rallied to tie the game
up 6-6 with two minutes left. A
last-second goal by Pyle with only
18 seconds remaining in the game
gave the Wolverines the 7-6 win in
an exciting, competitive battle.
“My teammates just did a great
job setting me up (for the game-
winning goal),” Pyle said. “... We
have
been
anxiously
waiting
to play games, we have been
practicing since school started.
Being able to see how we match up
against really great teams has just
been awesome.”
Michigan
faced
Southern
California in its final Saturday
matchup. Despite a valiant effort
by the Wolverines, the Trojans
came out victorious, defeating
Michigan
10-1.
Southern
California driver Paige Hauschild
notched four goals en route to her
team’s win.
On Sunday, the Wolverines
first battled against the California
Golden Bears in a high-scoring,
back-and-forth
matchup.
Tied
12-12 at the end of the fourth
quarter, extra time was required
to settle the contest. However,
California defeated Michigan 4-2
in the shootout.
In the Wolverines’ final game
of the weekend, they faced Pacific
University in the tournament’s
seventh-place game. Four quarters
once again could not settle the
game, as the two teams were tied
9-9 going into the shootout. This
time, the Wolverines redeemed
themselves, winning the shootout
4-3.
“With each game, we are
growing
more
and
more
comfortable,” Leonardi said.
Come
regular
season,
the
comfort gained from battling
prime opponents in a competetive
setting could prove vital to the
team’s future success.
DREW COX
For the Daily
WATER POLO