The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2019 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL particular drive, he'd also kick the extra point," Harbaugh said. "But if we had three extra points in a row, that would constitute a field goal and then the other kicker, it would be his turn." Moody made 10 of his 11 field goals last year and kicked the game- winning 43-yarder in the 24-21, dou- ble-overtime win over Army to reach 3 of 3 on the campaign. Nordin was responsible for the only miss this season, a 55-yard at- tempt just before halftime against Army, his only try so far. — Chris Balas TARIK BLACK IS GRATEFUL TO BE BACK AND HEALTHY Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Tarik Black had some dark days in his first two seasons, suffering breaks to both of his feet that cost him all but three games of his freshman cam- paign and the last six of 2018. He's fi- nally back to full health and proving himself to be one of the Wolverines' better receivers. Black hauled in seven receptions for 104 yards in his first two games, including a 36-yard touchdown in the opener with Middle Tennessee State, and was preparing to make an impact in Big Ten play after notching only four catches for 35 yards follow- ing his return last year. "I'm back to myself," he said. "I played a little last year, but I wouldn't say I was myself. I'm fully healthy now and am ready to con- tinue to get better. "I wouldn't say I was 100 percent last season, but you have to play through some pain — I don't know what percentage I was at. I got back [to 100 percent] in spring ball." Black admitted it was just as tough to deal with the mental aspect as the physical during his recovery. "I had never really been hurt play- ing football before, so I had some PTSD [post-traumatic stress disor- der] from it," he admitted. "I didn't expect the second injury after I had the first one, so then it was like, 'What if it happens again?' Now I'm out of that phase and ready to move forward. "I just had to believe in myself and have faith in God — I've gained a better relationship with God since all that stuff happened. Keeping faith in God and trusting in His plan and the process. My mom, dad, family, teammates and coaches — a little bit of everybody [also helped]." Black is playing with a metal screw in both of his feet, though he can't feel them and is moving as well as he has since he arrived at U-M. He's put the past behind him and is happy to be contributing, not thinking about his injuries. "You always have those little things you think could happen, es- pecially coming off of two [foot sur- geries]," he said. "You forget about it with time and move forward, and I'm in that space." — Chris Balas MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Redshirt freshman running back Ben VanSumeren carried four times for seven yards in the 40-21 win over Middle Ten- nessee State Aug. 31, and scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter. • The 40 points U-M posted on MTSU were its most in a season opener since taking down Hawai'i 63-3 on Sept. 3, 2016. • Junior wideout Donovan Peoples- Jones sat out Michigan's first two games (Middle Tennessee State and Army) of the year with injury, marking the first two contests he had ever missed in a Wolverine uniform and snapping a streak of 26 straight appearances. • Senior tight end Sean McKeon's 28- yard touchdown in the second quarter of the Middle Tennessee State win was his fifth collegiate score, and the longest touchdown grab of his career. • Freshman running back Zach Char- bonnet became the first U-M freshman to start a season opener at running back since Sam McGuffie against Utah in 2008. Charbonnet was also just the fourth freshman Wolverine rusher to do so since 1944, with Gene Derricotte in 1944 and Wally Teninga in 1945 being the other two. The California native's 90 rushing yards against MTSU were the most for a U-M rookie in his debut since Chris Evans racked up 112 yards on Hawai'i in 2016. • Junior cornerback Ambry Thomas' in- terception against the Blue Raiders was the second of his career, with his other occurring in a 42-7 win at Rutgers last season. • The Aug. 31 tilt with MTSU was Michi- gan's first-ever showdown with the Blue Raiders; they became the Maize and Blue's 151st different opponent of all time. • Fifth-year senior linebacker Jordan Glasgow registered two sacks in the win over MTSU, after only having two quarterback takedowns his entire career entering the night. He leads the team in that category after two tilts. • Sophomore wideout Ronnie Bell's seven receptions and 81 receiving yards in the 24-21, double-overtime victory over Army Sept. 7 were both career highs. • U-M's 2.4 yards per rush against the Black Knights were its lowest in a victory in the Jim Harbaugh era at Michigan. • The 3.3 yards per rush Army averaged against U-M was the lowest it had been held to since Navy limited it to 3.1 on Dec. 12, 2015. • The 24-21 win over the Black Knights was the closest non-conference victory of the Harbaugh era, with the 29-13 win over Air Force on Sept. 16, 2017, stand- ing as the previous closest. • Senior cornerback Lavert Hill's third- quarter interception against Army was the fourth of his career. The other three were pick-sixes against Wisconsin last year and versus Cincinnati in 2017, and a pick he returned for no gain at Indiana in 2017. • The 43 passing yards U-M's secondary held Army to were the lowest for a foe since Rutgers threw for just five yards against the Maize and Blue on Oct. 8, 2016. — Austin Fox In the season opener, redshirt sophomore Tarik Black hauled in four passes for 80 yards and a touchdown — eclipsing his statistics from an injury-shortened 2018 campaign. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL