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.