The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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142 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 1. Peoples-Jones Strikes A Pose With Michigan and MSU tied at 7-7 and 2:35 remaining in the third quarter of the Oct. 20 showdown in East Lansing, junior quarterback Shea Patterson took a shotgun snap from his own 21-yard line and immediately looked down the field to his right. He held the ball for three seconds before launching a pass 32 yards in the air down the right sideline and into the arms of sopho- more wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones, who was being single-covered by sophomore cornerback Tre Person. Peoples-Jones had a step on the young defensive back, and with no safety in sight, had nothing but green grass between him and the end zone. Person made a diving desperation shoestring tackle attempt at the Michigan 43-yard line, but Peoples-Jones dodged the effort and sprinted freely into the end zone. Upon scoring what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown, the sophomore receiver put both hands on his hips and cocked his head to the side, imitating the pose of the famous Paul Bunyan Trophy the two rivals battle for. The score put Michigan up 14-7 (it would go on to win 21-7), and was the most impactful and memorable play of the Wolverines' entire 2018 season. 2. Carving Up The Cornhuskers Michigan dominated Nebraska in all three phases of its 56-10 beatdown Sept. 22, and Peoples-Jones best exem- plified the Wolverines' special teams success early in the third quarter. With the Maize and Blue already lead- ing 39-0 and just more than nine minutes left in the frame, Nebraska punted from its own 10-yard line. The sophomore caught the ball at the Michigan 40- yard line and darted up the field and to the right sideline, with a convoy of blockers clearing a generous path along the way. He ran into heavy traffic at the Cornhusker 32-yard line, however, forcing him to cut straight left and back out over the middle of the field. The highlight of the entire punt return then came when he met fifth-year senior linebacker Luke Gifford at the 21-yard line — the wideout pulled off a perfect 360-degree spin move without breaking stride, causing Gifford to completely whiff on his tackle attempt. Peoples-Jones then showed off his incredible speed, cutting across the whole field before diving into the end zone just in front of the left corner pylon. The score put Michigan up 46-0 and allowed the Detroit native to showcase several of his physical at- tributes — speed, vision, athleticism, shiftiness, etc. — all in a single play. 3. METELLUS SWINGS MOMENTUM SMU surprisingly trailed Michigan just 14-7 late in the second quarter of the Sept. 15 contest in Ann Arbor, and was looking to knot the score before the break. Mustang redshirt junior quarterback Ben Davis took a shotgun snap from the U-M 36-yard line with 16 seconds remaining before halftime, and rocketed a pass toward the left sideline. Instead of connecting with his target, junior safety Josh Me- tellus read the play perfectly and intercepted the ball along the boundary at the 33-yard line, immediately darting forward with an assembly of Wolverine blockers in front of him. Metellus advanced all the way to the SMU 15-yard line before being forced to the middle of the field, fancily stopping abruptly at one juncture to avoid two Mustang tacklers. He then collided with an SMU defender, and the two went piling into the end zone with only one second remaining on the clock. The pick-six gave Michigan a 21-7 lead at the break and killed any momen- tum the Mustangs had hoped to take into the locker room. They wouldn't get closer than 15 points the rest of the way in what wound up being a 45-20 U-M victory. 4. Hill Gets Stylish Michigan's 38-13 destruction of Wisconsin Oct. 13 featured several high- light reel plays, but none were more impressive than junior cornerback Lavert Hill's fourth quarter pick-six. U-M led the Badgers 24-7 with 10:03 remaining in the game, when Wisconsin began a drive deep in its own territory hoping to mount one final comeback attempt. Redshirt junior quarterback Alex Hornibrook took a snap from under center at his own 23-yard line and faked a handoff to sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor. Junior defensive tackle Carlo Kemp quickly barreled down on Hornibrook while the quarterback tried to find a receiver and forced an ill- advised throw as a result. The ball only traveled six yards before Hill seem- ingly snatched it out of nowhere with just one hand. Redshirt junior tight end Kyle Penniston was the only Badger who stood between Hill and the end zone, but wound up being no match for the speedy corner. The junior returned the interception un- touched to make the score 31-7, slamming the door on any hopes Wisconsin had of a comeback. 5. Thomas Lights Up The Irish Not a whole lot went right in Michi- gan's 24-17 season-opening loss at Notre Dame, though junior cornerback and kick returner Ambry Thomas served as one of the few bright spots. The Irish had grabbed a 21-3 lead with just less than four minutes to go until half- time. On the ensuing kickoff, Thomas fielded the ball at his own 1-yard line and zigzagged through traffic a few times in the middle of the field, but wasn't touched until he en- countered his own 35-yard marker. A swipe of his shoulder from an Irish defender didn't phase him, nor did another tackle attempt nine yards later. That was the final obstacle Thomas faced on the play, running the final 56 yards un- touched into the end zone. The return made the score 21-10 and gave the Maize and Blue some much-needed momentum heading into halftime and actually allowed them to mount a potential game-tying drive with 1:48 remain- ing in the game (though the possession ended with a Patterson fumble). TOP FIVE INDIVIDUAL PLAYS Junior safety Josh Metellus' 67-yard intercep- tion return touchdown just before halftime helped the Wolverines seize momentum and cruise to a 45-20 triumph over SMU. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL