The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Sitting Down With Graduate Student Left Tackle Ryan Hayes Michigan graduate student left tackle Ryan Hayes has played a lot of football at Michigan, in- cluding 14 starts for last year's Big Ten title team. He returns to help lead a line expected to be one of the best in the country. Hayes joined us recently for this Q&A, answering questions about the offense, personnel and more. The Wolverine: You earned All- Big Ten honors (second team) last year. What are your personal expectations this year, and what did you work on in the offseason? Ryan Hayes: "I changed up some of my techniques from last season, which has really helped me. Also, just putting on more muscle. I think that's what I've noticed the most the first week and a half [of fall camp] — I feel a lot stronger and a lot more comfortable taking on bull rushes." The Wolverine: What kind of strides has the offensive line made after adding two new starters (center Olu Oluwatimi and right tackle Trente Jones)? Hayes: "We're definitely further ahead than we were last year because we were able to do more stuff this summer with the team. I think ev- erybody knows the standard now. It's been said — we don't have to talk about it. "Everybody has the same motivation … building on last year. We want more than last year. Last year wasn't good enough in our minds. We're just going to keep building off that." The Wolverine: What would you say is the offense's identity right now? Hayes: "I think it just carries over from last year — a physical, smart, precise team. I think we're going to keep carrying that through camp, and we'll just figure it out as it goes. "We're playing hard, and we're playing physical. That's what we are right now." The Wolverine: What have you seen from returning starters Trevor Keegan (left guard) and Zak Zinter (right guard)? Hayes: "Trevor has made a big stride from spring ball. It's just helped we've had a year playing together. He and I are working really well right now. We know what each other is thinking without saying. We're just good. "Zak just keeps progressing. He's going to be a really good football player. He already is, but he's going to keep going up. He's a freak in the weight room and a freak athletically. He's going to be great for us." The Wolverine: What can you use to motivate a team that won the Big Ten championship and made the College Football Playoff last year? Hayes: "Michigan State and Georgia are our biggest motivation right now. Those two games were not good for us. We want those back. "We won a Big Ten championship; we won against Ohio State. We want more than that right now. That's our motivation, and we're going to keep working towards that." — Chris Balas Hayes started 14 games and earned second-team All-Big Ten accolades for the Wolverines' conference title squad in 2021. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Women's golf junior Monet Chun: She finished as the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur, played at Cham- bers Bay in University Place, Wash. Chun fired a 36-hole 149 (76-73) in the championship match against the winner, Ja- pan's Saki Baba. She became the first Wolverine to reach a U.S. Amateur final match in 66 years, following U-M men's golf legend Chuck Kocsis in 1956. With her finish, she earned an exemption for the 2023 U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links and will be exempt from qualifying for the next three U.S. Women's Amateurs, if she stays eligible. Football junior Blake Corum: The running back was awarded Big Ten Pre- season Honors ahead of the 2022 campaign, appearing on a 10-member list that includes five representatives each from the league's East and West divisions. He was U-M's lone member. Seven of the Big Ten's 14 schools had players make the list, with only Ohio State (three) and Wisconsin (two) having multiple mentions. In 2021, Corum racked up 1,093 yards from scrim- mage — 952 rushing and 141 receiving — with 12 touchdowns (11 rushing). He earned third- team All-Big Ten recognition from the coaches and an honorable mention nod from the media. Women's track and field sophomore Yemi Mary John: Representing Great Britain, the incoming sophomore claimed a gold medal at the World Ath- letics U-20 Championships in Colombia. She entered the event with a personal best of 52.98 seconds in the 400 me- ters, but shattered that three times — in the opening round (52.42), semi- finals (51.72) and finals (51.50). Her finals per- formance is the 63rd-fastest in world history for a U-20 athlete and No. 2 in British history for that age group. Her Great Britain team also won the bronze medal in the 4x400-me- ter relay (3:31.86), finishing behind Jamaica (3:31.59) and the United States (3:28.06). Volleyball junior Jess Mruzik: The outside hitter was named to the preseason All-Big Ten team Aug. 1. An honorable men- tion All-American in 2021, Mru- zik tied for the team's lead with 389 kills, led the Wolverines in points (446) and ranked third in digs (275). She appeared in all 30 matches, competing in 109 sets. — Clayton Sayfie