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Sports
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 — 19
On Saturday, the Michigan
football team would have been
opening its season against
Washington in Seattle. Next
week, it would have been open-
ing its home slate against Ball
State in Ann Arbor. And The
Daily would have been there
for it all. Instead, like everyone
else, we’ll be sitting at home,
missing the joys of fall.
So on the day that Michigan’s
season would have started,
here’s what we’ll miss most:
Daniel Dash: A certain smell
of waffles, French toast, eggs
and biscuits wafts toward the
Big House press box elevator
on the morning of each noon
gameday, but it’s what comes
before the first bite that always
stands above the rest. The walk
through central campus, down
State Street and into the sea of
maize and blue flowing toward
Michigan Stadium never fails
to energize the soul. When I sit
down for my first plate of Big
House breakfast, I’m never able
to shake the sense of apprecia-
tion. And without football this
fall, the classic college town
camaraderie that’s become syn-
onymous with Ann Arbor for
over a century is what I’ll miss
most.
Next Saturday, I’ll be sitting
in my apartment instead of
filing through fans, tailgaters
and marching band drummers
on my way to what would’ve
been Michigan’s home opener
against Ball State. As ironic as
it may be, the football game
itself is the most replaceable
component of a game day in
Ann Arbor. I’ll miss the two
hours leading up to kickoff and
the two hours after the final
whistle infinitely more than the
three in between, and most of
all, I won’t be the same without
the lasting memories and rela-
tionships that only a football
season can create.
Aria Gerson: Being on The
Michigan Daily football beat
is a constant refrain of telling
people you can’t do something,
except instead of a normal
excuse, you’re telling your pro-
fessors, roommates and friends,
“Sorry, I can’t, I have to go talk
to Jim Harbaugh,” or, “Sorry, I
can’t, I’m gonna be in Indiana.”
One of the coolest things
about covering Michigan foot-
ball is that in 2019, I had the
opportunity to attend every
away game and the Citrus Bowl.
I felt the press box shake at
Camp Randall Stadium. I saw
Beaver Stadium all lit up in
white. I even saw that Quinn
Nordin 57-yard field goal. Each
school had its own little quirks.
Memorial Stadium at Indiana
has a ton of stairs (which isn’t
so great when you injured your
achilles the week of the game).
Illinois serves frozen custard,
hot cider and beer in its press
box. In Madison, we got heck-
led by Wisconsin fans for the
block ‘M’ bumper sticker on our
rental car.
The Big Ten is one of the
oldest conferences in college
football. Every game was a new
lesson in history, culture, tradi-
tion and occasionally absurdity.
This year, I was excited to see
the gopher on the big screen
at Minnesota, watch tailgaters
in Husky Harbor and — yes —
watch Michigan lose again in
Columbus.
So that’s what I’ll miss the
most. Yes, I love the game of
football. I love getting frus-
trated by short-range field
goals and sack celebrations
and rivalry trophies. But most
of all, I love the experience of
immersing myself in a new slice
of college football culture every
Saturday. I hope I get to do it
again.
Theo Mackie: The walk from
my house to the media entrance
at Michigan Stadium is 27
minutes, according to Google
Maps. On fall Saturdays, it feels
like about five. Every time, my
routine is the same. I start the
walk with my earbuds in, trying
to put myself in my own world
before kickoff. But then I get to
Hill Street, where throngs of
tailgaters walk around by the
dozen, all clad in maize and
blue, and I realize what I’m
missing out on with earbuds in.
So I take them out and listen. I
listen to the tailgaters stressing
about which party they should
go to. I listen to the party songs
blasting from behind the blue
tarps walled up around every
yard. Later, walking down
Hoover Street past Elbel Field,
I listen to the drumline. When I
get to the corner of Hoover and
Greene, I listen to the middle-
aged graduates returning for
their annual visit to Ann Arbor,
reminiscing on the glory days.
Sometimes, I even listen to
the crazy guy screaming about
Jesus for a second before tuning
it out.
Next Saturday, when Michi-
gan would’ve played its home
opener against Ball State, that’s
what I’ll miss most. Of course,
I’ll miss the football too. I’ll
miss the constant debates and
controversies. I’ll miss the
early-morning and late-night
McDonald’s stops on road trips
and the desperate searches
for the media parking lots in
Bloomington or Champaign
or State College. I’ll miss put-
ting the finishing touches on
my story amid the serenity
of an empty stadium, three
hours after 110,000 people
have headed home. But most of
all, I’ll miss the energy of Ann
Arbor on a gameday. And when
it returns some day, I’ll leave
my earbuds in my bag and never
take it for granted again.
Ethan Sears: Each week
before a home game, Dave
Ablauf, the team’s main spokes-
person, sends a form email
with media policies and proce-
dures. I don’t read it anymore,
but when it lands in my inbox,
there’s a little jolt of excite-
ment I get. It’s one of those
small things that you take for
granted, a tiny little reminder
on a Wednesday or Thursday
afternoon that there’s football
happening on Saturday. I’ve
been missing that email this
week, and on Saturday I’ll miss
the walk to Stadium and Main,
the ride up the elevator and the
hours before and after the game
in an empty, silent stadium —
back when that felt special and
not like a reminder of every-
thing bad in the world.
Being in the part of the coun-
try that’s chosen not to play
football while others do feels
like your best friend didn’t
invite you to their birthday
party. Instead of having fun,
I’m running through memories
and imagining what it would
be like if things were normal
— instead of writing this on
Friday afternoon, I’d be on a
flight to Seattle. I don’t know if
I’ll watch any of the games on
Saturday or how it’ll feel if I do.
It’s probably not healthy to have
this much of your life tied into
football, but here I am thinking
about a form email and wishing
it would come.
A year after his breakthrough debut,
Hayes ready to anchor offensive line
It’s forgotten now, amid the
dawn of a fall unlike any other
in Ann Arbor, but a year ago
this week, Ryan Hayes was the
talk of Schembechler Hall.
Three-hundred-sixty-
eight days ago, Jim Harbaugh
walked to the podium in one of
those strange scenes that used
to be the epitome of normal but
now induces shutters. A few
dozen reporters sat shoulder
to
shoulder
and
scribbled
notes as Harbaugh spoke. The
strangest note that day was
that Hayes was Harbaugh’s
offensive player of the week for
his performance in Michigan’s
mundane,
40-21,
season-
opening win against Middle
Tennessee.
It was unexpected then,
because Hayes was a late injury
replacement for Jon Runyan
Jr. at left tackle. To his right
along the offensive line, there
were four future NFL Draft
picks. But Harbaugh’s primary
takeaway wasn’t about them. It
was about Hayes.
“We learned Ryan Hayes is
pretty darn good,” Harbaugh
said then.
That
revelation
was
important for the Wolverines
because of this week, and what
this week was supposed to
bring. Michigan, back in the
before times, was scheduled
to travel to Washington this
weekend, a mighty challenge
for the first game of the post-
Shea Patterson era. Making
that
challenge
even
more
difficult was the anticipated
departures of Runyan, Ben
Bredeson,
Cesar
Ruiz
and
Michael Onwenu along the
offensive line.
All of which is why Hayes’s
revelation as a trustworthy
left tackle was so critical,
even back then. This month,
though, Hayes became even
more important. When Jalen
Mayfield — a potential first-
round
pick
next
April
—
declared for the NFL Draft
on Aug. 18, Hayes suddenly
became the centerpiece of
Michigan’s offensive line, even
with just two career starts.
From Kwity Paye’s vantage
point across from Hayes in the
Wolverines’ pad-less practices,
Hayes’s growth in the new role
was evident instantly.
“Ryan Hayes has taken that
leadership role on the O-line,”
Paye said Thursday. “I feel like
he’s been getting those guys
right.”
Hayes,
for
his
part,
is
reluctant to accept that praise.
He says his nature is to lead
by example. In the wake of
Mayfield’s departure, he says
he’s “been trying to be a little
bit more vocal and work on
that side of leadership than
just work by example.”
What he doesn’t need any
adapting to is the on-field
work. That part has been a
work in progress since he
arrived on campus as a lanky
tight end. Over the past year,
he’s completed his transition
into
a
filled-out
offensive
tackle. “From here to last
year, I definitely feel bigger,
stronger, I feel more capable to
do things,” Hayes said.
Most of that work, though,
came while redshirting his
freshman year and learning
the finer points of playing
offensive tackle from offensive
line coach Ed Warinner —
and guys like Mayfield and
Runyan.
“To see what he looked like
from his first day to Saturday,
it’s
like
night
and
day,”
Mayfield said after the Middle
Tennessee game. “It’s crazy to
see how much he’s grown and
how much he’s learned over
this past year and I just can’t
wait to see how much grows
this year.”
A year later, compare that
to how Hayes speaks about his
younger teammates.
“Two younger guys that
really impress me: (sophomore
Karsen
Barnhart)’s
really
stepped up since Jalen left,
been
playing
really
well,”
Hayes said. “And then Zak
Zinter does not look like a
freshman at all. Zinter has
really impressed everyone.”
Here he is, the guy who just
a year ago was the young player
being talked about, now doing
the talking. It’s a role Hayes
could never have expected this
time last year, when Mayfield
had two years of eligibility left.
But now, whenever Hayes’s
next game comes, it’s a role
he’ll be ready for.
“I was pretty nervous going
into (the Middle Tennessee)
game,
not
knowing
what
would happen, not knowing
anything,” Hayes said. “This
year,
it
feels
completely
different. I’m not scared.”
THEO MACKIE
Managing Sports Editor
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Ryan Hayes has grown into a leader along the Wolverines’ offensive line.
Mike Smith ready to embrace a new
challenge at Michigan
Sometimes it’s as simple as
honesty and interest.
At least it was for fifth-year
senior Mike Smith.
Last spring, as the former
Columbia point guard narrowed
down his list of transfer suitors,
the
candid
and
persistent
approach of Michigan coach
Juwan Howard stood out among
the rest. In early April, Smith
chose
the
Wolverines
over
Gonzaga, Arizona and Seton Hall.
“I think coach Howard just
showed a little more interest than
some of the other schools,” Smith
said. “He just reached out to me
and from day one, he’s always
been honest in telling me where
I’d fit in and what kind of player
he’d need for next year.
“He said it was between me
and Bryce Aiken, who is now at
Seton Hall and went to Harvard.
He said me and him were the only
two guards he was recruiting
and from everything I had seen
back then, I knew he was being
honest because nobody else was
being recruited. So I knew he
was trustworthy and a man of his
word.”
With
Zavier
Simpson
graduating and junior guard
David DeJulius transferring to
Cincinnati, Michigan entered the
offseason in need of backcourt
depth. Smith, who led the Ivy
League with 22.8 points per game
as a senior, provides exactly that.
Though Big Ten competition
is a significant step up from that
of the Ivy League, Smith is no
stranger to high-level opponents.
As a senior at Fenwick High
School in Oak Park, Ill., Smith
finished second in Mr. Basketball
voting, helped the Friars win the
notoriously competitive Chicago
Catholic League championship
and a school-record 28 games,
and finished his career second
on the school’s all-time scoring
list behind 14-year NBA veteran
Corey Maggette.
Smith committed to Columbia
relatively early his senior year.
Just 5-foot-10 and 165 pounds
at the time, most of his suitors
were at the mid-major level.
Smith’s
success
that
season
earned him a bit more attention
on the recruiting trail, but he
stayed committed to the Lions
throughout. Looking back now,
he wouldn’t change a thing.
“I think Columbia was the
best decision of my life,” Smith
said. “There’s always going to be
a life after basketball. I’m setting
myself up now for when I’m 36,
and I can’t touch a basketball
anymore. I’m going to be set for
life with just the connections I’ve
made and the Ivy League degree
that I have.”
With a bachelor’s degree in
Sociology in hand, Smith is now
pursuing his master’s at Michigan.
He’ll have the opportunity to
test himself in one of college
basketball’s best conferences, too.
It’s a challenge those who know
him best think he’s ready for.
“Mike’s got a great personality
and a lot of charisma and
confidence,” Fenwick basketball
coach Staunton Peck said. “One
of his best traits is his confidence.
He instills confidence in his
teammates as well. It didn’t
matter who he was playing
against, he thought he was as
good or better than the guys he
was playing.”
Smith
attributes
that
confidence to his work ethic and
practice schedule — both of which
have improved under the tutelage
of his mentor and friend, Miami
Heat star Jimmy Butler. The two
first connected during Smith’s
senior season at Fenwick when
Butler played for the Chicago
Bulls. They’ve trained together
ever since with Smith even
spending summers out at Butler’s
home in Calabasas, Calif.
“Being around Jimmy so much
and our little crew, we all work
out together,” Smith said. “We
work out four times a day in the
summer. And ultimately, since
he’s in a spot I wanna be in — you
know, I want to be able to play
in the NBA, I want to be able to
make that type of money and
play in those types of games — if
that’s what it takes, then that’s
what I’m going to do. I think my
confidence comes from my work
and repetition.
“If you continue to work hard,
you can feel confident in yourself
when you get stuck that you’re
going to make that shot that you
shot 300 times the day before or
the morning before the game.
With all things in life, when you
do things repetitively and keep
doing that, then you’ll feel more
confident.”
Smith’s
relationship
with
Butler also gave him unique
insight on Howard’s demeanor
and coaching style due to Butler’s
connections around the league.
CONNOR BRENNAN
Daily Sports Writer
ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Juwan Howard’s persistence helped secure Mike Smith’s next destination.
The sights, sounds and smells we’ll miss in a fall without football
FILE PHOTO/Daily
The Daily football beat missed walking through tailgates on Hill Street on the way to Michigan Stadium’s Main Street entrance on Saturday.
THE DAILY
FOOTBALL BEAT
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