The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOT Set In STONE Will Encourage Competition For Special Teams Jobs Michigan and special teams, and the latter, es- pecially, had enough serious question marks to keep the self-acclaimed Ma- jor League Baseball fan from giving his beloved San Francisco Giants the attention he usually devoted to them throughout the spring and summer. But that was then and this is now, and thanks to some key pieces emerging last fall — particularly redshirt junior placekicker Brendan Gibbons — U- M's special teams should not keep Ferrigno from monitoring the Giants' progress this season. Of course, he has a checklist of con- W hen Brady Hoke assem- bled his staff in January 2010, he hired Dan Fer- rigno to coach tight ends cerns he will seek to address during spring practice, most notably a wide- open competition at punter between junior Will Hagerup and sophomore Matt Wile, improved blocking on kickoff and punt coverage, and re- placing Michigan's long-term long snapper, Tom Pomarico, on punts. Still, those projects should not keep him pacing Schembechler Hall. "It's comforting to know that we BY MICHAEL SPATH Redshirt junior placekicker Brendan Gibbons connected on 54 of 55 extra points and 13 of 17 field goals last season. over Virginia Tech, staving off Wile, who many felt was a shoe-in to win the placekicking job as a freshman. Now, Wile will attempt to force his way onto the field, taking the job away from Gibbons, but that will be no easy task. "I would say based on what he did have a good kicker," Ferrigno said. "I was really pleased with what Bren- dan did, but he knows he has to stay at that level because there are other guys here that want the job." Gibbons converted 13 of 17 field 34 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2012 you, it makes you concentrate. "Matt is a very, very talented kid, goals in 2011, going a perfect 3 of 3 in the Sugar Bowl to seal a 23-20 win last year, it's Brendan's job to lose, but he's going to have competition," Fer- rigno said. "And I think that's good for Brendan because when guys don't think they're being pressed or they know there is nobody behind them, they can do whatever they want to do and there will be no consequences. But if you have a guy right there with and he can be good at anything he chooses to do. He's one of those few guys that can excel being a punter and a kicker. Usually that's a tough deal. He was also fantastic for a freshman as a kickoff guy. He did a hell of a job for us. And nobody has seen what he probably does the best — kick field goals." The coaches will chart every kick PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Gibbons and Wile take this spring, whether it's a chip-shot extra point or a 50-yard attempt into the wind. However, Gibbons cannot lose his job this spring nor can Wile win it in