The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 13 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS DESMOND HOWARD RELISHES RETURN TO ANN ARBOR, DISCUSSES U-M'S 2018 SEASON ESPN's popular football pregame show, College Game- Day, made its way to Ann Arbor for U-M's Oct. 13 contest against Wisconsin. Michigan alum Desmond Howard — who won the Heis- man trophy for the Wolverines in 1991 — has been a travel- ing member of the squad since 2005, and on Oct. 12 spoke about how special it is for him to return the city where he became a sports icon. "It reenergizes my soul," he exclaimed. "It's a great campus with wonderful people, and I appreciate the fall weather." While in town, Howard actually spoke to the U-M basket- ball teams as well, explaining how he feels compelled to serve as an ambassador for the University. "I support all the sports here at Michigan," he said. "It's always an honor for me to try and send a message to the student-athletes here — I feel like it's my duty in some ways. "I understand I'm a part of something big [on GameDay]. I don't get caught up in trying to outdo what we did the previous year, but it does drive me to go harder and per- fect my craft." As for the 2018 Wolverines, Howard said he likes what he's seen from junior quarterback Shea Patterson in particular. "It's obvious he's becoming more comfortable and get- ting into a rhythm," the analyst noted. "He's looking like the player people expected to see when he came in from Ole Miss. "It's no secret he's the most athletic signal-caller [head coach Jim] Harbaugh has had here, and you need that from the position nowadays." MICHIGAN BASKETBALL PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN MEDIA PANEL The Wolverines have been selected to finish second in the Big Ten to Michigan State this upcoming basketball season, according to a media panel vote of 28 writers (two from each school) conducted by The Athletic and The Columbus Dispatch. The survey is viewed as the primary preseason poll for the league, since the conference did away with its official media projection poll. Michigan was chosen by all 28 voters to end the year between first and fourth, with four reporters tabbing it No. 1, and 18 of them slotting the Wolverines at No. 2. No Maize and Blue players were picked to the first-team All-Big Ten squad of five, but redshirt junior guard Charles Matthews received five votes (including one for Player of the Year), while junior point guard Zavier Simpson and sophomore forward Isaiah Livers each garnered a lone tally. "Michigan might win the league, but I need to see what this thing looks like before making such a prediction," Bren- dan Quinn — one of the poll's conductors — of The Athletic wrote, upon picking Michigan fourth. " The team I saw in Spain — yes, it was August, but, nonetheless — lacked shooters and looked like a team that will significantly miss Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, Moe Wagner and Duncan Robinson in a multitude of ways. I'm not sure if fans are quite aware of how significant those holes are to fill." JIM HARBAUGH LANDS ON MIDSEASON COACH OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST The Dodd Trophy (given annually to college football's coach of the year) watch list was trimmed from 20 candi- dates to 17 Oct. 11, and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh made the cut. In fact, he was just one of three Big Ten coaches to make it, joining Penn State's James Franklin and Wisconsin's Paul Chryst. Another notable name on the tally was Notre Dame's Brian Kelly, whose Fighting Irish squad took down the Wol- verines, 24-17, in the season opener in South Bend. The award was named after legendary Georgia Tech coach Bobby Dodd and has been in existence since 1976. Accord- ing to the accolade's official website, the prize is given to the "coach of a team who enjoys a successful season on the gridiron, while stressing the importance of academic excellence and sense of duty to return something back to the community." Stanford's David Shaw took home the honor last season after leading his squad to a 9-5 record and a Pac-12 North division title. Iowa's Kirk Ferentz was the last Big Ten mentor to claim the trophy, when his Hawkeyes went 12-2 in 2015. This year's recipient will be revealed during halftime of the Dec. 31 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. — Austin Fox MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK John Beilein and his Wolverines are 82-33 over the last three years for a winning percentage of .713. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN