The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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60 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2021 BY JOHN BORTON W oody Hayes ini- tially took no in- terest in Ohio native Jerry Zuver. In the end, the iconic Ohio State head coach knew all about him. Zuver played a key role in one of the Wolverines' most resounding victo- ries ever in Columbus, much to Hayes' dismay. The 22-0 win in 1976 marked the apex of a se- nior season filled with memories still swirling some 45 years later. The standout athlete from tiny Archbold, Ohio, knew he wasn't going to be a Buckeye, despite growing up an Ohio State fan. For a while, Michigan looked uncertain as well. He'd received a letter from then-U-M assistant coach Larry Smith regarding the Wolverines' interest. Then Smith de- parted from Bo Schembechler's staff, and Zuver found himself hearing mostly from Mid-American Conference schools. Eventually U-M got back in touch, and Schembechler uttered the words that changed everything. "All of a sudden, he just said, 'We're very interested in you. We'd like you to come to Michigan,'" Zuver recalled. "Be- ing from the little town of Archbold, Ohio, I was really kind of in awe of Bo. "When he asked me, I looked at Mom and Dad, and they both kind of smiled. I said 'YES!' That sealed my future." His future as a Buckeye slayer remained far off. In the meantime, there were les- sons to learn and hard knocks to absorb. Nearly his entire freshman class hit the demonstration teams — and got hit by older, bigger, established players. "Ed Shuttlesworth was our fullback then," Zuver recalled. "I remember com- ing up on an off-tackle play. Here's big Ed, blowing me over. I was like, wow. I've never felt anything like that before. This is a different step up from high school. "I don't remember ever taking a hit like I did that first time, when I went up against Shuttlesworth." Zuver played the jayvee schedule with his classmates, while the varsity went 10- 0-1, concluding with the infamous 10-10 tie against Ohio State. That led to a vote of Big Ten athletic directors to send the Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl. Zuver saw the field in Michigan's 1974 home opener against Iowa, a 24-7 win. He played on the kick and punt coverage squads. His sophomore contributions remained on special teams, and for a good reason. He'd switched positions from free safety to wolfman, a combo defensive back/ linebacker. There, he needed to beat out Donnie Dufek, an All-American. Zuver simply kept on plugging, grateful for the position switch. "That fall camp, the coaches did me a great service," he said. The Wolverines again enjoyed a stand- out season at 10-1, winding up No. 3 na- tionally in the Associated Press poll. But a season-ending 12-10 loss in Columbus stole away an undefeated campaign. Dufek remained in place in 1975, but Zuver broke through to begin getting set- tled in as a positional player. "I actually started two games at wolfman, because Donnie was in- jured," he noted. "Dwight [Hicks] got injured, and Jim Pickins was our shortside halfback at the time. They moved Jim back to safety to replace Dwight, and they let me start three games at the shortside halfback." The Wolverines went 8-2 with a rookie quar- terback and another ma- jor setback against Ohio State. "The biggest disap- pointment that year was, we had Ohio State at home," Zuver noted. "It was a real hard- hitting game, and we were ahead in the fourth quarter, 14-7. "We had a freshman quarterback, Rick Leach. He ended up having two pass in- terceptions late in the game that Ohio State turned into touchdowns." That made the Wolverines 0-2-1 against the Buckeyes since Zuver's fresh- man season. The steak ended with an ex- clamation point in 1976. Zuver missed the first game of his se- nior season after hurting his back in fall camp. The highlights ensued, including no fewer than six interceptions by Michi- gan's new starting wolfman. One of them capped the scoring in a 42-10 thumping of Michigan State in Ann Arbor. "Back then, Michigan State had a num- ber of passes where their quarterback just took a three-step drop and threw one way, usually outside," Zuver said. "The coaches really had us prepared — when you see that three-step drop, just stop. Fortunately, he threw it left, and be- cause I wasn't running back, I was able to run up, intercept it, and I had nobody in front of me, to the end zone, for 60 yards. "That was a dream come true. It's not often when you're on defense that you get a chance to score a touchdown." Zuver grabbed six interceptions in his senior campaign and ran in a two-point con- version in U-M's 22-0 win at Ohio State in 1976. PHOTO COURTESY BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Jerry Zuver Made The Home-State School Take Notice