The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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March and April. The coaches will wait until August, and fall camp, to make a determination, with game experience and, more importantly, game success weighing into their de- cision. Hagerup is a perfect example. The 6-4, 225-pounder had a terrific spring and fall camp, and absolutely drilled the football in practice each week of the season, but he struggled terribly in game action, averaging just 36.0 yards on 29 kicks. He was replaced by Wile in the Sugar Bowl after his two punts traveled a combined 50 yards. "We didn't just play him because he had been the punter the year be- fore and had done a nice job [averag- ing 43.6 yards]," Ferrigno said. "We felt, in practice, Will was doing better than Matt. "He'll tell you he's not as consis- the season at punter while Hagerup served a month-long suspension for a violation of team rules. He averaged 41.4 yards on 14 punts and then aver- aged 43.7 yards on three punts in the Sugar Bowl. He wasn't recruited to serve as U-M's punter, but he might prove the best man for the job. "We weren't surprised by how well he punted last year because we knew a lot about Matt — we worked with him when we coached at San Diego State, had him in camps, and could see what he could do," Ferrigno said. "I knew he was a good punter. And I knew when the situation came up with Will, we'd be OK there because of Matt. "We can, and will, continue to de- tent as he needs to be yet. Once that consistency comes, he'll be as good as there is. But he hasn't shown that yet. And he knows Matt can do that job, so he better get better. "We weren't as pleased as I know we will be in the future with him." Wile started the first four games of velop him as a punter because we need competition at every position on the field — offense, defense and special teams. I'd say the punting job is pretty even at this point. "Competition will bear that out. Even with Brendan, I'm not telling him, 'You're the guy.' It's his job to lose, right now, but he still has to per- form and hold off the other guys. Ev- ery year you start over." ❑ Kickoff/Punt Returns Though placekicker Brendan Gib- Spring Preview: bons was a revelation, and Michigan's kickoff coverage and punt coverage was above average, the special teams play wasn't a complete success. U-M averaged just 18.4 yards per kickoff return, ranking 11th in the Big Ten, while its 9.0-yard average on punt re- turns ranked fifth in the conference. Redshirt junior Jeremy Gallon han- dled punt returns for the Wolverines in 2011, averaging 10.1 yards on 19 returns, and he will again be counted on in that role in 2012. He could be given an opportunity to return kick- offs, but not at the expense of his ever-expanding offensive responsi- bilities. "He's an excellent punt returner," Ferrigno said. "He gets the ball, he doesn't let it bounce. Last year, we didn't have many issues with him that way. He's explosive. He has good vision. He hits it up in there hard. He doesn't dance too much, which is a pet peeve of mine. I want guys that hit it and go. "He had an 80-yard punt return called back against Eastern Michi- gan that hurt his average, but gener- ally speaking I was very pleased with him. dled more than half (19) of U-M's 35 kickoff returns in 2011. Fifth-year senior receiver Terrence Robinson, sophomore cornerback Blake Count- ess, redshirt freshman Justice Hayes or true freshman Dennis Norfleet could fill the void created by Odoms' departure. Ferrigno's chief focal point this Martavious Odoms (2008-11) han- " spring will be improving the effort of the wedge and Michigan's blockers. "I think we have good kids back there that can return kicks, lots of tal- ent … like with Jeremy on punts last year we were always one block away, and we need to get that one block, Ferrigno said. "We need to improve a lot in our return game because we don't get enough out of it. We have to get more field position for our offense. "I'm not pleased with where we're Sophomore Matt Wile handled kickoffs last year, and he also punted 17 times for an average of 41.6 yards, with a long of 58 yards. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN at, and we're going to attack that this spring. " — Michael Spath APRIL 2012 THE WOLVERINE 35 "