The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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michigan football 8. LB James Ross III (32 points): The sophomore moved past veteran teammate Desmond Morgan to become the team's leading tackler through 10 games with 75. Ross had 25 tackles in the first three games of November, including 13 against Northwestern. He also contributed 2.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage during that span. 9. LB Cam Gordon (30 points): Jake Ryan's anticipated return has not lived up to expectations, but much of that has to do with Gordon, who has raised his play at the Sam linebacker position, taking away snaps that may have otherwise gone to Ryan. The senior notched 16 tackles, including two for loss, in the first three November contests, and now has career highs in sacks (four) and tackles for loss (6.5) this year. 10. PK Brendan Gibbons (29 points): After a troubling October in which he was 4 of 8 on field goal attempts, the fifth-year senior placekicker was rock solid to start November. He made all seven of his tries, including the game-tying 44-yarder against Northwestern at the end of regulation. Through 10 games, Gibbons had made 15 of 20 field goals this season (75.0 percent). 11. Blake Countess (29 points): The redshirt sophomore cornerback did not have a bad month, but he wasn't the playmaker the first three weeks of November that he had been in September and October. Countess picked up 11 tackles in three games, and stood at 38 on the year. He also had three passes broken up and a team-high four picks. — Michael Spath Student-Athlete Of The Month Senior Defensive Back Courtney Avery Like so many college students before him, senior defensive back Courtney Avery found his major — and future — almost by accident. When he first arrived in Ann Arbor as a freshman from Mansfield, Ohio, Avery though he wanted to study pre-med to eventually become a doctor. But it didn't take long for him to realize that it wasn't going to work. "I took a biology class and a chemistry class, and I realized I wasn't too interested in science, it just didn't click with me," he said. "I had to find something else." During his freshman year, he talked with defensive back Floyd Simmons (2008-12) about his major, political science. "Floyd Simmons recommended this class to me," Avery said. "And once I took it, I fell in love with it and it sparked my interests. "Initially, I took the class Floyd recommended, that was an introduction course to political science. I found it very interesting, and it was something I