The Wolverine

October 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1029353

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 18 of 67

OCTOBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 19 upheaval. He'd committed to Brady Hoke's staff, prior to Michigan hiring Harbaugh. Four years later, Kinnel appreciates all he's experienced in Ann Arbor. "I think it's one of the best decisions I've ever made, coming to the Uni- versity of Michigan," he said. "I've learned so much and done so many great things here. I'm just honored to be in this situation now, being a captain. "It's pretty much all my dreams coming true. I've got one more year left to accomplish my goals, and I'm excited for it." Kinnel admitted getting a little choked up over getting handed the reins of leadership. That was in large part because his parents did, after he told them and his girlfriend about the end-of-fall-camp players' vote. "They were extremely excited," Kinnel said. "I told them we were vot- ing for captains, and they knew I had somewhat of a chance to win. It was an exciting feeling for them. "My parents told me they were emotional. That made me a little emo- tional, just to realize how big of a goal that is, a big step of your life. I'll al- ways be a captain at the University of Michigan. That's an exciting feeling for me and my family." Kinnel watched carefully a year ago, when one Michigan captain in particular showed the way. "Just last year, my best friend, Mike McCray, was captain," Kinnel recalled. "He's back in the building with us this year. I learned a lot from him, how he led and what he did. [2012 team captain] Jordan Kovacs has been back in the building with me for a couple of years, and he's telling me what to expect. I've been learning from him as well." Neither former Wolverine repre- sented the most vocal leader Michi- gan has ever featured. That fit well with Kinnel's style, since he'd rather show it than say it. "I just try to do my job, every single day," he said. "Be on time, come to practice every day, work hard, stay healthy. That's what I try to do and whatever happens with that, hap- pens. I'm just here to do my job and be the best teammate I can be to my teammates." Kinnel insists there's plenty of room to lead on this team, well beyond the captains. The other seniors and those forceful juniors share in pushing the team forward as well, he noted. "They're great," Kinnel said. "There are other guys who could be in the same positions as us. That's what makes the situation so good. We're the four captains, but there is more lead- ership across the board on this team." SENIOR RUNNING BACK KARAN HIGDON Higdon certainly isn't shy about speaking his mind, noting earlier in the fall he'd be disappointed in any- thing short of a national champion- ship. He doesn't back away from any aspirations, from team success to im- proving on the 994 rushing yards he provided the Wolverines a year ago. As for serving as a captain, he sees it as a logical extension of the leader- ship he's already tried to provide. "I was excited for that," he said. "It's a great accomplishment, and I'm glad my teammates look at me as an honored guy. It's a privilege to repre- sent them." Higdon asserted before the season ever began the sort of confidence he has in this team and its offense. The latter group struggled a year ago, but the senior tailback insisted it was about to take a strong step forward. "We're more dynamic," he said. "We've got a lot more athletes, a lot more playmakers who know what they're doing, know how to do it, are doing it at a high level. It makes it that much more dynamic, that much more fun and that much more confident." The entire team, he noted, became driven by Michigan's stumble at the end of last season, including a come- from-ahead loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. "That bad taste of the South Caro- lina game kind of sat in our mouth," he said. "We didn't like it. With the addition of the new strength and con- ditioning staff, they enforced that as well. We're held to that standard." Heading into the season opener against Notre Dame, Higdon insisted the message remained simple. "Give it all you've got," he said. "Lay it all on the line. We've got four quarters. Why not treat this like a na- tional championship game?" Hours later, Michigan faced its first adversity of the 2018 season. The 24- 17 defeat under the lights in South Bend hit all the Wolverines hard, but only a few had to come out and talk about it with the feelings still raw. Higdon proved first up in that de- partment. If the loss dented his confi- dence at all, it didn't show. "We came out and played hard, fought hard and played all four quar- ters," he said. "This is only the begin- ning. We've got another game next week, and we've got to get back to the drawing board." Higdon answered with a game- high 156 rushing yards in Michigan's 49-3 rout of Western Michigan the next week, demonstrating the sort of resilience he expects all year. JUNIOR OFFENSIVE GUARD BEN BREDESON As a third-year starter, Bredeson has seen almost as much on-field action as any Michigan player. He became a logical choice for a cap- tain's designation, once the spots for juniors were made available. He doesn't take the confidence placed in him for granted. "It's a huge honor, and it's some- thing that's going to stick with you for a lifetime," he said. "It was defi- nitely a big deal for me to be named a captain, and I'm very grateful for it." Bredeson noted he's seen more leadership across the board on this team, including among individual position groups. He acknowledged that the offensive line has heard some of the negative commentary that has come its way over the past couple of years and insisted his group is anx- ious to change that narrative. "We have a great room, and the group's always working really hard," he said. "We run ourselves really well. We've got a great work ethic in the O-line room. All summer we were together, and I think you're go- ing to see some hard work paying Senior safety and team captain Tyree Kinnel "Since I've been here, there's a lot more ownership with the players. I think that's why Coach [Jim] Harbaugh wanted to add the juniors to the captains list. They're such a good class, and there's so much leadership in that class as well."

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolverine - October 2018