The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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32 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL FRESHMAN JAKE MOODY PERFECT WHILE REPLACING QUINN NORDIN With redshirt sophomore Quinn Nordin struggling, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh turned to fresh- man kickoff specialist Jake Moody to handle field goal duties against Indi- ana Nov. 17. He responded with six field goals to set a Michigan record for makes in a game, and it doesn't appear he'll give the job back anytime soon. Moody hit both of his field goals in a loss at Ohio State, too, making him a perfect 8 for 8 in two games. Harbaugh called Moody a "cool cus- tomer" after the Indiana win, noting he didn't see anything that made him nervous about putting the rookie out there, either in his kicker's facial ex- pression or body language. "He set a record at a program that's as good as any at Michigan, that's been around for 139 years playing football. That's a huge accomplishment," Har- baugh said. "As a true freshman, he was great. "His demeanor didn't change at all. He didn't look like he needed a pep talk or a Snickers bar or anything. He just got warmed up and got out there. We didn't hesitate to give him a chance to do it, and he just kept com- ing through." He earned his teammates' respect, as well, after playing a big role in the 31-20 win during his field goal kicking debut. "It's crazy," junior safety Josh Me- tellus said. "Everybody, when their number's called, they've got to show up. He did a great job. He's still kick- ing amazing kickoffs, and he had to kick field goals especially in a game like this when we kept getting stopped on third down." The Northville (Mich.) High frosh broke the previous record of five, shared by four players, including Nordin, the team's starter the last two years. Moody said Nordin "wasn't feeling too well" and it came down to a game-time decision. Moody connected from 32, 30, 31, 33, 23 and 29 yards, earning Big Ten Co- Special Teams Player of the Week hon- ors for his efforts. He also made kicks from 31 and 39 yards out at Ohio State. — Chris Balas DEVIN BUSH IS A CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICAN, THREE OTHERS NAMED ALL- AMERICANS With bowl season approaching, All- America teams are beginning to be re- leased. Even though the Wolverines fin- ished the season 10-2 with 15 players on All-Big Ten teams, only four Michi- gan players have appeared so far on All-America lists. Junior linebacker Devin Bush Jr. was named a consensus All-American by appearing on the majority of the five teams the NCAA uses to determine consensus and unanimous All-Amer- icans — Walter Camp, Football Writ- ers Association of America (FWAA), Associated Press (AP), Sporting News and American Football Coaches As- sociation (AFCA). All except the AFCA squad have been released as of Dec. 11. Bush, who led the team with 80 tackles, was named a first-team choice by Camp, FWAA and Sporting News, while the AP listed him on the second team. Additionally, Sports Illustrated and The Athletic named him a first- team selection. "Bush is the only Wolverines de- fender on the first team, which doesn't adequately represent the dominance that coordinator Don Brown's unit dis- played for most of the year as Michi- gan put itself in position for playoff consideration," Sports Illustrated wrote. "Bush was everywhere on the field, showing up first or second on the team leaderboard in tackles, sacks, pass breakups and tackles for loss." Fifth-year senior defensive Chase Winovich was named to the second team by Walter Camp and third team by the AP after he led Michigan with 14.5 tackles for loss and seven quar- terback hurries. His 62 stops and four sacks both ranked third on the squad. Junior cornerback Lavert Hill, who intercepted a pass and broke up five more, was named a third-team All- American by the AP. Additionally, redshirt sophomore punter Will Hart was named a second- team All-American by Sports Illustrated after he averaged 47.6 yards per at- tempt. — Andrew Hussey MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • With its 31-20 win over Indiana Nov. 17, Michigan capped off a perfect 7-0 cam- paign inside The Big House, outscoring its opposition at home 303-94. The 11-point victory over the Hoosiers was the closest game U-M played all year in Ann Arbor, with every other victory there coming by at least 21 points. • Michigan's 507 yards against IU were the most it registered all year, breaking the previous mark of 491 against Nebraska Sept. 22. • Three defensive players recorded career firsts against IU — sophomore defen- sive end Kwity Paye (forced fumble), redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour (interception) and junior viper Khaleke Hudson (fumble recovery). • Sophomore wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones' seven catches against Ohio State Nov. 24 were a career high. • Freshman quarterback Joe Milton scored his first collegiate touchdown when he ran the ball in from four yards out late in the fourth quarter at Ohio State. • Junior quarterback Shea Patterson finished the regular season with 2,364 passing yards, a 65.1 completion percentage and a 21-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. • U-M's 8-1 mark in Big Ten play signaled the first time it had dropped one or fewer games in conference action since going 7-1 in 2006. — Austin Fox Moody connected on eight field goals in the final two regular-season games after being called on to replace a sick Quinn Nordin against Indiana, when he set a single-game program record with six made kicks. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL