The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/213966
been some real eye-openers in Michigan practices. That's where the second-year Wolverine tries to work on some of the skills that can make future Saturdays special. "He's had a lot of one-handed catches, a lot of really nice one-handed catches," Hecklinski said. "Between him and Gallon, every day they try to figure out who's going to have the best one-handed catch. I've seen him snag them over this head, just like the screen he caught against Notre Dame, where the ball was behind him and he caught it one-handed. He does a lot of that in practice. "Look at his hands. His fingers are longer than some people's legs. He's got huge hands, and he's got great ball skills." "I get a little on the wild side, and usually try to do spectacular catches, just to work on them," Funchess admitted of his practice efforts. "I caught one — I won't throw names out there — on one of the safeties. I had to jump real high. "I went up and snagged it over two people. I let them know. I kind of looked at them after I caught it, sort of like LeBron [James] looked at Jason Terry after he dunked it on him." The slam-dunk for Hecklinski, in evaluating Funchess' ball skills, comes when watching him execute a drill on his own. The sophomore shines when using the JUGS machine, involving spinning wheels that fire out footballs one after another. There's not much juggling to Funchess' JUGS work. "Probably the best thing I see is when he gets on the JUGS and starts catching them one-handed," Hecklinski marveled. "That ball is coming 50, 60, maybe 70 miles per hour, and he's just snagging them one-handed." "I try to get my hands stronger, and do little tricks with the JUGS machine — catch it with one hand, behind the back, all that kind of stuff," Funchess acknowledged. "I just try and do something different." He's given the Wolverines a different type of weapon, in an area where they sorely needed one. Funchess' presence gives opponents another threat about which to worry, whenever Gardner can escape the rush long enough to deliver. In recent days, that's been a tall order. The double threat still gives Michigan one of its greatest hopes in the days ahead. "When you have both kids in the football game, now you have to decide, 'Uh oh, who do we cover, if we want to try to double?'" Hanlon noted. "It's pretty hard to double receivers on both sides. It gives us a big plus to have them both on the field at the same time, and both having great years so far." Hecklinski pointed out the threat Dileo poses as well, after recently healing from an injury. "He's provided that other threat, along with Jehu and Jeremy," Hecklinski said. "In those respects, they've got to feed off each other. In Devin Gardner's eyes, he has to be able to find someone. "There's always one who will probably be doubled, and there's one