The Wolverine

2013 Football Preview

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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F By Michael Spath red Jackson couldn't bear to look at the gruesome sight of Fitzgeald Toussaint's broken leg. In 22 seasons coaching Michigan's running backs, Jackson had witnessed a number of grotesque injuries, but he could think of only one as gnarly as what lay before him — Justin Fargas' broken leg at the tail end of the 1998 campaign. Staring into Toussaint's eyes early in the first quarter of U-M's week-11 win over Iowa last fall, Jackson could see fear and pain. "That poor kid," Jackson said. "I just saw the hurt in him. I couldn't think right for a while after that. It hurt all of us. It hurt his running back group and his teammates, and "Every time I see him, he looks better than the last time," offensive coordinator Al Borges said. "He recovered from surgery faster than expected, was out of his boot faster, was rehabbing, and then running and lifting quicker than even the most optimistic timetables. "From everything we're told by our training staff, he's on pace for the start of training camp and should be ready to compete for the No. 1 job." A Year Worth Forgetting Two years ago, Toussaint went through spring ball and a fall camp jockeying for playing time alongside Vincent Smith, Michael Shaw, Thomas Rawls and Stephen Hopkins. Borges and Jackson had wanted On The Comeback Trail Rapidly Progressing In Rehab, Fitzgerald Toussaint Is Poised To Reclaim The Starting Tailback Job all of his coaches, because they love him, and to see a kid like that have to experience something like that was hard." Fargas' injury occurred in week 10, on Nov. 14, 1998, while Toussaint would go down on Nov. 17. The decorated ball carrier out of Encino, Calif., would redshirt in 1999, needing the entire season to rehab. In 2000, he would return briefly to running back before transitioning, unsuccessfully, to safety. After his injury, Fargas was never the same, at least not at Michigan. He resurfaced at Southern Cal and rushed for 715 yards in 2002, three full seasons having passed between suffering the leg injury and being a productive tailback once again. The Wolverines, though, are counting on Toussaint to be back to form just nine months after he suffered a severe break. And, perhaps, most surprising is that no one doubts that he will be back. Toussaint finished the 2011 campaign with 1,041 yards and nine touchdowns on 187 carries, but his production last season fell to 514 yards and five scores on 130 attempts. photo by lon horwedel to identify a No. 1 ball carrier before the first game, and then before Big Ten play. However, four weeks into the 2011 season, no one had demanded the bulk of the carries. Toussaint had rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns on 35 touches (5.5 yards per rush), showing glimpses, but the coaches were not sure he could be an every-down, 25-carry back. Still, the 5-10, 200-pounder had displayed enough promise to warrant the opportunity. Over the next eight games, Toussaint went for 818 yards and six touchdowns, finishing his 2011 campaign with 1,041 yards. He went into his junior season proven, the clear-cut starter, and ambitious, telling reporters in the spring his goal was 1,600 yards in 2012. Instead, Toussaint had to sit out the first game of the year, suspended after a DUI arrest in the summer, and struggled to find his rhythm upon returning. The offensive line's regression from 2011 didn't help, and the passing game was not the threat it had posed a year earlier, but the end result was a dramatic drop in production — to 514 yards and five scores on 130 carries (4.0 yards per rush). "I'm not going to make excuses, but it was the entire offense that didn't perform, and I played my role in that," he said. "I needed to watch more film, make better cuts, push myself and my teammates more than I did. The offensive line needed to block better. Denard [Robinson] needed to play better. "All of us were guilty of not playing the way we were capable of; we just were never on the same page." When Robinson went down in week eight at Nebraska, the situation had a indirectly positive effect on the running game. With safeties dropping back into coverage instead of packing the box to snuff out Robinson, and a play-action quarterback in Devin Gardner freezing linebackers, holes that weren't there early in the season began to open up. Toussaint knew what to do with even the slimmest crevices, averaging 8.0 yards per carry on 24 attempts against Minnesota, Northwestern and Iowa before his injury. To suffer a season-ending break just when he had regained his mojo and the rest of the offense seemed to be humming along could have pushed Toussaint over the edge, but he's made peace with the timing. "The way I look at that is God works in mysterious ways, and I can't really question why that happened or when it happened — it just happened," Toussaint said. "I think He created an opportunity to make me stronger, to make me slow down a bit and appreciate all the amazing things I have in my life, like my daughter, and the ability to go to school at a place like Michigan and play football. "I maybe wasn't as thankful for all the good I had, and was dwelling too much on why things weren't working, and I had to be reminded that I'm blessed and really lucky to have the opportunities I have." Never Taking A Day Off Jackson was in Texas recruiting recently when he placed a phone call to Schembechler Hall, requesting head trainer Paul Schmidt. He was eager for a status report on Toussaint, prepared to lecture the senior on his workout habits, understanding what it will take for the Youngstown, Ohio, native to be 100 percent by the start of August. "Every time I call, they tell me Fitz is busting his butt and is on top of things," said Jackson, who has seen a miracle recovery once before. "I had a kid at Wisconsin, Larry Emery, that broke his leg against Indiana late in the season [in 1983] and he came back the following year and [in week three] against Michigan he rushed for 185 yards. The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview  ■ 85

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