The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/402034
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? course, the previous year it was 50-14. "That just really stuck in those guys' craw, and of course, we were the tar- gets for that. We're like, 'You want us to put this on?' It was quite a week of practice." The heat Schembechler generated still wasn't enough to hold off a major snowstorm the week of the game. Michigan didn't have indoor prac- tice facilities back then. While Schem- bechler embraced the toughness practicing in winter produced, he still required efficiency rendered impos- sible amid snow banks. "We go out there and we're trying to practice on this field, and we're not getting anything done," Eaton re- called. "We're just slipping all over. Bo told the managers to go out and buy every snow shovel around." When they returned with a couple dozen, the freshmen — who served as demonstration players in practice — got to demonstrate their shoveling skills. That made for a miserable ses- sion of clearing the way, in anticipa- tion of impending relief. Not so fast, Eaton and his class- mates discovered. "We were cold," he recalled. "Your feet got cold in the snow, and we were wearing cleats, that weren't meant to be in the snow. We're thinking, well, we're going to go inside and watch film. That's what the varsity did. "They handed us the snow shovels. We all went out to the Tartan Turf and cleaned it off. When we were finish- ing and it was windy, we thought, well, at least they'll let us go in and get warmed up. "Bo blew the whistle and brought the varsity out. We had to go right back into a contact practice. I can re- member all of us looking at each other. We were frigid. I'm sure everybody has had an experience where you're that cold and then had to go into something physical." Eaton and his classmates watched the '69 game from the stands, like any other fans. But they knew they'd thrust a hand — a multitude of cold ones — into making that 24-12 upset happen. Eaton put in overtime that week, running patterns so Michigan's de- fensive backs could get a better feel for what they'd see out of the Ohio State receivers. "A couple of the defensive backs asked if I would stay after practice with them and run some quick outs, so they could get their footwork down," he said. "It was pretty impres- sive." Schembechler and his staff proved impressive in every detail, Eaton as- sured. While the former Michigan de- fensive end expresses great respect for Elliott, who handed over "tremen- dous leaders, tremendously tough guys" to Schembechler, Eaton mar- vels to this day about what he found himself caught up in. Michigan practices were part gaunt- let, part survival drill, part efficiency test, and always picked apart by coaches like a Thanksgiving turkey amid an underfed home. "Right away, I knew I was in a different world," Eaton said. "He brought with him a marvelous staff.