The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SportsMonday
October 7, 2019 — 3B

Michigan’s OL and what could have been

As 
Michigan’s 
offense 
stalled to a halt on Saturday, 
prompting worry and disbelief 
from everyone except coach Jim 
Harbaugh, one area emerged 
without widespread critique — 
the offensive line. 
Shea Patterson was sacked just 
twice, and any pressure on him 
usually felt like a result of his 
standing in the pocket too long. 
Michigan’s run game vacillated 
between solid and slightly below-
average with 3.6 yards per carry. 
On the few drives where the 
Wolverines moved the ball, the 
line got a noticeable push. AJ 
Epenesa, the Hawkeyes’ stud 
edge rusher, had a relatively quiet 
day, with two tackles — albeit a 
sack and a TFL.
All of this is to say that the 
line wasn’t much of a story in 
Michigan’s 10-3 win over Iowa. It 
played just fine — a line that has 
held firm for most of the year. It 
did for most of last year, too. An 
area that, during a week one loss 
at Notre Dame in 2018, seemed 
poised to halt any progress the 
Wolverines had made, is now the 
least of anybody’s concerns.
Saturday was an apt time to 
think about this, because an 
alternate history came with it. 
Alaric Jackson, a 6-foot-6 junior 
from Detroit, lined up in an Iowa 
uniform. Jackson will be in the 
NFL one day — if not next year, 
then in 2021. If Michigan’s line 
hadn’t figured itself out in the last 
year, he might have been standing 
there on the sideline Saturday as 
one of the most glaring recruiting 
misses of the Harbaugh era.
As 2016’s recruiting cycle came 
down to the wire, Harbaugh had 
Devery Hamilton, a four-star 
tackle from Baltimore, signed, 
sealed and delivered. He was 
supposed to be the next big thing. 
Then he got into Stanford late in 
the process.
Hamilton flipped. Michigan, 
suddenly, was left with a spot to 
fill. “It looked like a need,” Steve 

Lorenz, a recruiting analyst for 
247Sports, said this week.
Jackson was local and well-
regarded, a high-level 3-star 
prospect. Michigan kept an eye 
on him in case this scenario came 
to pass, though it hadn’t extended 
an offer. That’s the luxury of being 
the biggest program recruiting a 
kid in-state. Jackson would have 
gone to Michigan with an offer, 
and Michigan knew it.
After 
Hamilton 
flipped, 
Michigan offered Jackson. Then, 
at the last second before signing 
day, the Wolverines pulled the 
offer.
“It’s still up to (Michigan),” 
Lorenz said. “They still have to 
send the letter in for him to be 
able to sign with them. 
“... I suspect it was much 
more of a numbers type thing 
(than Jackson’s ability). Not that 
they were full, necessarily, but 
sometimes the decision is, do we 
bank a scholarship for next cycle 
or do we take this guy? And there 
were a couple (players) at a couple 
different positions that Michigan 
did not send a letter to that same 
day.”
There’s nothing particularly 
untoward 
about 
Michigan’s 
behavior. The Wolverines likely 

told Jackson of the situation 
ahead of time, knowing he had 
an Iowa offer in his back pocket. 
It comes down to the reality of 
recruiting, and the reality of 
where Michigan thought it was at 
that point — in the second year of 
the Harbaugh era and ascending.
Judging by the next class when 
it signed, you wouldn’t have 
batted an eye at the decision. On 
the line, it featured center Cesar 
Ruiz, tackles Andrew Stueber 
and JaRaymond Hall and guards 
Joel 
Honigford 
and 
Chuck 
Filiaga — all highly-touted. Of 
that group, only Ruiz starts now. 
Stueber got hurt before this 
season. Filiaga and Honigford 
are backups, though there still is 
a notable optimism around the 
former. Hall is no longer with the 
program. 
On the first day of the 2017 
season, Michigan started a group 
that lacked in experience. It didn’t 
go well. The Wolverines finished 
that season 117th in adjusted sack 
rate, and the problems seemed to 
carry over into the 2018 opener 
against the Fighting Irish.
It’s easy to imagine a scenario 
where Jackson grabs a starting 
tackle job from Jon Runyan Jr. or 
Juwann Bushell-Beatty after that 

game, then runs with it. It’s easy 
to imagine he does so before then.
“You 
go 
across 
the line, 
Runyan’s (class of ) ‘16, Bredeson’s 
‘16, Ruiz is ‘17, Big Mike (Onwenu) 
is ‘16 and then Mayfield is ‘18, 
right?” Lorenz said. “So, you look 
at that, it’s hard not to imagine 
Jackson wouldn’t be one of the 
starting tackles right now.”
Instead of Jackson starting, 
Runyan flipped a switch and 
turned himself into one of the 
most dependable tackles in the 
conference. 
Bushell-Beatty 
had a fine senior year and now, 
Mayfield seems to be a long-term 
starter.
On Saturday, Mayfield sat at 
a Crisler Center podium taking 
questions following Harbaugh 
who, minutes earlier, went out of 
his way to highlight the line.
“I thought our offensive line 
played really good. Played really 
physical,” Harbaugh said. “And 
played against some really good 
players, too. They got some 
really — they got guys who can 
put pressure on the quarterback. 
That showed up a few times.”
So, hypotheticals, what-ifs and 
future NFL tackles passed over 
aside, Michigan is pretty happy 
with what it has.

ETHAN SEARS
Managing Sports Editor

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Michigan’s offenive line continued its consistent play, allowing just two sacks against Iowa on Saturday afternoon.

‘M’ cruises over ‘Cats

Persistence pays off.
It’s an old adage that constantly 
finds modern applications.
The Michigan men’s soccer 
team (5-2-3 overall, 2-0-2 Big Ten) 
found the truth of that on Sunday 
as it beat Northwestern (5-5-1, 1-2-
1) by a score of 3-0.
The game got off to a slow start, 
but picked up in intensity in the 
second half. Both teams struggled 
to create scoring opportunities in 
the first half, and failed to turn 
any of the sparse chances into 
goals.
The best opportunity of the 
first half came in the 23rd minute, 
when 
Wildcat 
goalie 
Miha 
Miskovic came out to clear a long 
throw by junior defender Austin 
Sweich but was beaten to the ball 
by fifth-year forward Nebojsa 
Popovich. But Popovich’s header 
harmlessly struck the crossbar 
with the open goal gaping.
The Wolverines began to ramp 
up the pressure in the second half, 
coming out of the locker room on 
the front foot and staying there 
throughout the rest of the game.
Nine minutes into the second 
half, junior defender Jackson 
Ragen headed a corner from 
senior forward Jack Hallahan 
back across the goal to the near 
post, where it was smashed home 
by junior midfielder Carlos Tellez 
to break the deadlock. Three 
minutes later, junior defender Joel 
Harrison played in Tellez through 
the right hand side, but Tellez’s 
chip past the goalie drifted just 
wide.
Tellez 
had 
a 
breakout 
game off the bench, playing a 
very influential role after his 
introduction in the middle of 
the first half. His high work rate 
and ability to read the game kept 
Northwestern pinned back for 
all of the second half and kept 
chance after chance coming for 
Michigan.
“(I’m) doing everything for 
the team, whatever role that 

takes,” Tellez said. “Whether it’s 
starting, coming off the bench, 
coach knows I am always there 
for whatever role needs to be 
played. So I am just happy to come 
off the bench and help the team in 
whatever way I can.”
The Wolverines doubled their 
tally with 33 minutes left in the 
game after a fantastic driving run 
by Popovic with the ball, where 
he drifted past several defenders 
before unleashing a shot into the 
top left corner.
A 
beautiful 
give-and-go 
between sophomore midfielder 
Kevin Buca and Tellez with 13 
minutes left allowed Buca to put 
a cross in to the far post, where 
senior midfielder Umar Farouk 
Osman was waiting unmarked. 
Osman calmly settled the ball 
and slotted it past the charging 
Miskovic 
and 
into 
the 
net, 
increasing the lead to three and 
effectively sealing the game for 
the Wolverines.
Hallahan 
was 
his 
usual 
influential 
self, 
continually 
providing a threat to score. He 
had two assists on the night, 
and 
proved 
instrumental 
as 
a 
playmaker 
and 
facilitator 
throughout.
“Jack is a difference maker 
… he’s a special player … most 
importantly, he’s a great team 
guy,” said Michigan coach Chaka 
Daley. “He really is a selfless 
player who works hard for the 
team.”
The defense held strong again, 
limiting Northwestern to just 
six shots and recording its third 
consecutive clean sheet. Ragen 
led the way with a stout defensive 
performance, 
and 
senior 
goalkeeper Andrew Verdi had a 
good game as well. 
“Our first half performance 
was pretty solid,” Daley said. 
“Defensively, we gave our team a 
chance to win the game and that 
just stayed contagious throughout 
the game. The first goal … created 
confidence within the group for 
all the positive soccer that we 
were going in the right direction.”

MEN’S SOCCER

STEEL HURLEY
For The Daily

Wolverines’ pass rush proves worth

Early this week, Don Brown 
offered his defense a challenge.
Iowa 
quarterback 
Nate 
Stanley 
had 
thrown 
eight 
touchdowns 
and 
zero 
interceptions on the season. 
The 
Michigan 
defensive 
coordinator told his guys to try 
for at least two picks.
But 
when 
sophomore 
defensive 
end 
Aidan 
Hutchinson dug into the film, 
he noticed something else: 
Stanley rarely got hit. With 
ample time in the pocket, of 
course his throws were clean. 
So Hutchinson and the rest of 
the pass rush vowed to pressure 
Stanley and force him to make 
plays.
Eight 
sacks, 
three 
interceptions 
and 
a 
10-3 
Wolverines win later, it was 
clear: Stanley failed the test.
“After today, we smacked 
him,” Hutchinson said. “And 
that showed what happens 
when you apply 
pressure on that 
guy.”
In 
a 
game 
Michigan 
coach 
Jim 
Harbaugh called 
a 
“defensive 
masterpiece,” 
it 
was 
the 
Wolverines’ 
vaunted 
pass 
rush 
that 
provided 
the 
most 
luster. 
Brown frequently called blitz 
packages, and no matter who 
was tabbed with chasing down 
Stanley, they got to him.
Five 
different 
players 
— 
Hutchinson, junior defensive 
end 
Kwity 
Paye, 
fifth-year 
senior 
linebacker 
Jordan 
Glasgow, sophomore linebacker 
Cam McGrone and fifth-year 
senior defensive end Michael 
Danna — had at least one sack. 
Michigan’s eight sacks were 
not only the most in one game 
since 2016, they were more than 
Stanley had been sacked in the 
Hawkeyes’ previous four games 
combined.
Brown knew that Iowa was 

a bruising, run-it-down-your-
throat type of team. He saw 
how much the Wolverines had 
struggled against a similar style 
against Wisconsin two weeks 
ago. But the Hawkeyes didn’t 
have 
a 
Heisman-candidate 
running back like Jonathan 
Taylor, so Brown predicated 
his game plan on one thing: 
stopping the run.
And as senior viper Khaleke 
Hudson put it, “the results 
talked for themselves.” Iowa 
finished 
the 
game 
with 
one 
rushing 
yard. Michigan 
forced Stanley 
to 
pass, 
and 
when 
he 
dropped back, 
the Wolverines 
brought 
the 
blitz. 
They 
constantly 
forced 
the 
Hawkeyes 
into 
third-and-
long situations, making Iowa’s 
offense as one-dimensional as 
the Badgers made Michigan’s.
“They’re 
not 
really 
comfortable passing the ball,” 
Hudson 
said. 
“They’re 
not 
really a spread team or anything 
like that. So just stopping the 
run and doing whatever we can 
for them to be uncomfortable.”
Iowa was so uncomfortable 
that, in an effort to stop 
the 
Wolverines’ 
rush, 
they 
committed 
two 
consecutive 
holding penalties on one drive 
in the fourth quarter. That, 
combined with a false start, set 
up third-and-19 at Michigan’s 
39 — at which point Stanley was 

unceremoniously sacked again.
“That’s 
huge,” 
Harbaugh 
said. “That’s how you get the 
one yard rushing, when you 
can get those big plays, those 
big tackles for losses and sacks. 
Brought a lot of pressure, plus 
it led to a lot of penalties. Our 
guys were getting held quite a 
bit and that showed up in the 
game.”
The Hawkeyes had one last 
shot to win the game in the 
fourth quarter. They drove into 
Michigan’s territory with the 
clock winding down, and on 
fourth-and-10, Stanley dropped 
back. The Wolverines brought 
the blitz. Some tried to strip the 
ball out while others aimed to 
bring Stanley down.
Somehow, Stanley escaped, 
throwing the ball with his left 
hand to an open receiver who 
seemed to have lots of space 
in front of him. But Michigan 
still stopped the play for a loss, 
mostly due to the pass rush 
pushing Stanley back so far 
even a catch had little chance. 
Then, the offense kneeled out 
the clock for a win.
“Everybody 
had 
to 
do 
their 
jobs, 
stick 
to 
their 
assignments,” Danna said. “We 
didn’t need any Supermans or 
any superheroes.”
He was referring to the 
defense, and how it was a team 
effort that led to the win. But 
really, the Wolverines — with 
a paltry offensive showing — 
did need a superhero, and as 
Stanley faltered under pressure 
again and again, the pass-
rushers might as well have been 
wearing capes.

Cazzie Russell on Howard’s next steps

As he sat there embracing both 
old and new fans of Michigan 
basketball, Cazzie Russell didn’t 
miss a beat. Despite not having 
donned a Michigan jersey since 
1966, 
the 
Wolverine 
legend’s 
presence loomed just as large.
Signing autographs as part of 
the release of a line of Michigan 
basketball memorabilia on Friday, 
Russell sat there as a beaming 
fan regaled him with a tale of his 
first Michigan basketball game 
— a rousing affair in which the 
legendary 
guard 
dropped 
48 
points. 
Next up was a woman who 
clung onto a framed old newspaper 
article 
portraying 
Russell 
headlining that year’s All-America 
team — a squad that included 
current Miami Heat President and 
NBA legend Pat Riley. 
Russell, sitting at a table with a 
20-foot photo of himself standing 
in the midst of a construction 
site that would become Crisler 
Center in the background, was as 
chipper as ever. His presence in 
Ann Arbor harkens back to the 
early chapters of the basketball 
program’s successes and calls for a 
moment of reflection before it’s set 
to enter a new era — one marked by 
freshly minted head coach Juwan 
Howard.
Recognizing 
the 
potential 
impact a visit with a program 
legend could have on his team, 
Howard brought Russell in to talk 
with his players last week. While 
Russell’s drop-in may have been 
more of a formality, a nod to the 
two-time consensus first team All-
American player, there is no doubt 
his mere presence elicited ideas of 
the heights to which a Michigan 
player can soar.
After all, this is the No. 1 overall 
pick in the 1966 NBA Draft, the 
1966 College Player of the Year and 
the man who led the Wolverines 
to three consecutive Big Ten 
titles and two Final Fours. When 
the Crisler Center construction 
was eventually completed, they 
dubbed the new stadium, “The 
house that Cazzie built.”
With 
that 
pedigree, 
it’s 
unsurprising that Russell has kept 

up with the program.
Following the team since his 
departure to the NBA in 1966, 
Russell was quick to share his 
thoughts on the decision to bring 
on Howard to stand at the helm. 
And judging by his questions, 
Russell is just anxious as the rest 
of us to see what Howard’s squad 
is going to look like.
“I think that it’s a great hire for 
several reasons,” Russell told The 
Daily. “It always was a dream of 
mine to come back and coach at 
my alma mater. It’s gotta be a great 
feeling, having played here.
“He seems to be well aware, 
very cognizant of where he is in 
terms of this program. So it’s good. 
I think he’s going to do well, of 
course we need to wait and see 
what type of game would he like 
to play. Up-tempo, how his team’s 
gonna be defensively? Will they do 
a good job of implementing some 
inside and outside stuff and not 
just specifically one facet?”
Perhaps Russell’s time with the 
program could lend some answers 
to his own questions. But he’ll be 
the first one to tell you that that 
was then, and this, as it goes, is 
now.
It may be an understatement 
to say that college basketball and 
the Michigan program specifically 
have changed since the ‘60’s. The 
three-point line wasn’t even added 
to NCAA courts until 1986.
“I drove around to look at even 
the great improvement down by 
the athletic department,” Russell 

said. “I mean, that’s a city within a 
city. A lot of things have changed, 
and you look at the impact of the 
changing of time, and what things 
are necessary to keep up with the 
program and keep up with other 
teams. 
“There’s a lot of things you have 
to do to stay competitive, so I get 
a chance to look at all this. I mean 
your own catering service. I mean, 
man, please!”
Now, all Russell can do is sit 
back and see the manifestation of 
the blood, sweat and tears he left in 
Ann Arbor.
After 
the 
signing 
session, 
Russell got up and went over 
to a reunion dinner with the 
remaining members of that 1966 
team — a tradition upheld since 
their graduation. And among 
the shared laughs, food and 
drink, it was inevitable that the 
conversation turned to legacy and 
how those players have left their 
mark on Michigan history.
“It’s fascinating to me to see 
this progression and then to think 
back on 1962 up until now, but 
you’re part of that history,” Russell 
said. “You look at everything, and 
maybe, just maybe, you might’ve 
had an impact or influence on 
things getting started in this 
direction. So you think back about 
how blessed you are to reflect 
about this history. 
“No matter what anybody says, 
they can’t take away from the 
fact that you were a part of this 
history.”

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson had a sack in Saturday’s win.

We didn’t need 
any Supermans 
or any 
superheroes.

JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Writer

FILE PHOTO/Daily
Michigan legend Cazzie Russell commended the hire of Juwan Howard.

