The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? tion of Hayes (Schembechler's men- tor) insisting he'd never seen a perfect play in football. "When we would go into full team, where the demo squads would come in, I can remember the play being called, and the hitting that would go on, with the helmets, the collision of the pads," Eaton said. "What I remem- ber more is, when the dust settled on the play, there were eight assistant coaches just screaming at someone, all at once. "When I say screaming, they were critiquing the practice. But it wasn't like, run the play and oh, everything is fine. "They preached the gospel of per- fection, for every play. When you do that, and all guys are syncing together, you get close to a perfect play. The closer you get, the more success you have." Success arrived in waves. The Wol- verines won the Big Ten title in 1969, 1971 and 1972 in Eaton's tenure. They compiled a 38-6 record over those four years, 27-3 in the Big Ten. "In my entire career here, we didn't lose that many games in the regular season, but those Mondays were just hell, if we lost," Eaton recalled with a laugh. "We could always remember that." Playing behind All-American Mike Keller, Eaton saw the field in a num- ber of contests, including one memo- rable moment that directly preceded Hayes tearing up the sideline markers at Michigan Stadium. Michigan Accomplishments: Associated with Michigan teams that won three Big Ten championships and lost just three Big Ten games in four years … Recorded 21 career tackles and a pair of passes broken up as a backup de‑ fensive end … Intercepted a pass in Michigan's 56‑0 win over Virginia in 1971. Michigan Memory: "You can't even put into words the friendships and the bonds you made with your teammates. People ask me today, and I tell them: my greatest memories are getting together with my old buddies that you played ball with. Being here in Ann Arbor, fortunately, I get a lot of those times — probably more than a lot of people. "It's all different age groups, too. That common bond, knowing what we all went through. We just enjoy one another's company, and probably tell more stories than we should. The friendships I had out of that are just unbelievable." Professional Accomplishments: Seventeen years in education, 16 of them at Clinton (Mich.) High School … Served as principal for six years, and coached a variety of sports, including football … Ran plant operations for School‑Tech Inc., a school supply company based in Ann Arbor. Education: Bachelor of Education degree, 1974. Family: Wife, Clare; daughter, Amelia, 27; and son, Donnie, a senior on the Michigan baseball team. The Don Eaton File