The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/698673
THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 35 "I was having a pretty good practice my freshman year," he recounted. "I was kind of showing them what I could do. But I twisted my ankle really bad. "He says to me, as we're walking off the field: 'I'm going to see how tough you are. "'Get that thing wrapped up. Wrap it up tight. Real tight, where you can't walk, al- most. Get it wrapped an hour before practice. Walk around with it. Now, you're going to walk around with a limp, and you're going to run with a limp. But after about 45 minutes, your body will accommodate for it.'" Morris unleashed a belly laugh, thinking back to the challenge of his college days. "He was right," Morris said. "I forgot about it. The thing about Bo is, you showed the toughness. That's the one thing. "You would do almost anything for that man. You see the brick wall, but he says, 'That ain't no brick wall.' You're like, 'What?' 'Just run into it. Don't worry about it.' You'd run into that wall." When it came to Ohio State, Falk agreed with Spielman. The competition level proved unbelievable. But the respect came right along with it. Falk remembers well his marching orders from General Bo, during the 10-Year War with Woody Hayes. Falk recalled: "He says, 'Let me tell you this. We will respect Ohio State. You will take care of Ohio State. Whatever Woody Hayes wants, you make sure he gets it. In return, we expect the same thing.' "There was always a mutual respect be- tween the two teams, between Michigan and Ohio State. I think there's some of that yet today, although I don't think it's as great as it was at that time, because of the connection between Bo and Woody and Earle Bruce." It Was A Nightmare In 2006, the Wolverines' defense proved more than respectable. While reeling off vic- tories in their first 11 games, defensive coor- dinator Ron English's crew surrendered an average of 12.1 points per game. They featured All-American defensive end LaMarr Woodley, along with future pros like defensive tackle Alan Branch and cornerback Leon Hall. Offensively, the Wolverines rolled behind three-year starter Chad Henne at quar- terback, with fellow three-year starter Mike Hart at running back. They went with future pros Mario Manningham, Adrian Arrington and Steve Breaston at the wideouts, behind a line paced by All-American left tackle Jake Long. The offense proved plenty capable, but they'd needed to score more than two touch- downs just twice all year to win. No so in Columbus. Instead, the two teams combined to score 81 points, the most in the history of the series, dating all the way back to 1897. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel threw off the conservative cloak and came out firing, deploying four- and five-receiver sets. OSU quarterback Troy Smith riddled the Michigan secondary on 29-of-41 passing for 316 yards and four touchdowns. The Wolverines' seemingly impenetrable defense found itself reeling from the opening salvo. When Smith wasn't finding favorable passing matchups, OSU's Antonio Pittman churned for 139 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. "It was a nightmare, the way we played," Carr insisted. "They had a good team, but de- fensively, we didn't play well enough to win." An early injury on the defensive side hurt Michigan badly. The Wolverines were already thin at safety, and starter Willis Barringer went out, further opening the floodgates. The Wolverines by no means capitulated. Henne fired back, going 21-of-35 passing for 267 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Hart rushed 23 times for 142 yards and three scores. The sudden and unexpected loss of Schembechler created unavoidable distractions and cast a pall over U-M's No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown with Ohio State, a contest the Wolverines went on to lose 42-39. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN