The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 35 year as U-M's punter, but after a few shanks against Air Force Sept. 16 he was replaced by true freshman Brad Robbins. Robbins has a big leg and is just scratching the surface of his poten- tial. His one big mistake came against Indiana, when he kicked directly to elite return man J'Shun Harris in the middle of the field in the fourth quar- ter, nearly allowing the Hoosiers to pull out a win. Harris took it back 53 yards to the Michigan 20, and the Hoosiers were already in scoring position with 4:06 remaining. A better effort there would have forced IU to drive the field against a relatively fresh Michigan de- fense, down 20-10. Harbaugh never throws his players under the bus, though, and he didn't after the 27-20 overtime win. "There are a lot of young guys out there, and he's one of them," Har- baugh said. "He's doing a phenom- enal job, and the other guys are doing a phenomenal job." Robbins was averaging 41.3 yards per punt as of Oct. 14, though the numbers were a bit misleading. Some of his kicks have been short and rolled. "He's really doing what we're ask- ing him to do," Partridge said in early October. "I think the sky is the limit there, too. He's got to get better, but he's progressing nicely." Partridge loves what he's seen from redshirt junior kickoff specialist James Foug. His hang time is nearly un- canny, and his kickoffs that haven't reached the end zone — most of them had, with 23 touchbacks on 36 kicks through six games — are like punts in that they give the coverage team plenty of time to get down the field and tackle. "He's developed and been tremen- dous," Partridge said. "He's a hard worker, has a great leg and attitude toward it. "He's done a great job putting that ball up there high and giving the kick- off team a nice advantage there. Hope- fully, that continues as season goes on." Michigan ranked second nationally in kick coverage through six games, giving up only 13.92 yards per return. RETURN TEAMS A WORK IN PROGRESS The Wolverines' return teams, however, weren't nearly as effective through the first half of the season. Kick return was 104th nationally, av- eraging only 18.5 yards per runback, while punt return was 49th (8.65). Peo- ples-Jones did stand 28th nationally with an average of 9.1 yards per re- turn, including a 79-yard touchdown in a win over Air Force. "He's progressing every single day," Partridge said. "… He's getting more comfortable back there, for sure. There are still some things he can do a little better to help us out, but we're really, really excited. You haven't seen the last of him in the end zone. "He's got a great ability to track the ball, and then he can make one or two miss. He's big, so he can run through those tackles. And he's fast, so he can break it open when he makes them miss." The Wolverines switched No. 1s in the fifth game to try to add some spark to the kick return game, replac- ing sophomore Kekoa Crawford with freshman Ambry Thomas. Thomas' only opportunity came at Michigan State, when he ran one back 30 yards. "Ambry's explosive, fast and fear- less," Partridge said. The blocking always needs to be better. "You've got to have 10 guys block- ing everyone," Partridge said. "If one guy misses or takes a bad angle or one guy switches and you don't switch correctly, that guy makes the tackle." The right return men are in place now, he said, and it should only be a matter of time. Their success could be key to the second half of the season and provide a big boost to an offense that needs it. ❏ Michigan's Big Three Freshman Kickers 1. Mike Gillette (1985) — He made 16 of 23 field goals and 30 of 31 extra points in starting all 12 games for the Wolverines as a freshman. The Wolverines finished No. 2 nationally with a 10-1-1 record following a 27-23 win over Ne- braska in the Fiesta Bowl. 2. Quinn Nordin (2017) — There's a good chance he will top this list at year's end. He had made 10 straight kicks as of Oct. 14 and was 14 of 16 on the season through six games, plus a perfect 17 of 17 on PATs. He is tied for 17th nationally in field goal percentage (87.5) and tied for second in field goals per game (2.33). 3. Garrett Rivas (2003) — The offense was so good that he only attempted 12 field goals in 2003, but he made nine (long of 47) plus 50 extra points. He also kicked a game-winning 33-yarder with 47 seconds remaining in a 38-35 come- back victory over Minnesota. Freshman Donovan Peoples-Jones had a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown against Air Force, and ranked 28th nationally with an average of 9.1 yards per return as of mid-October. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL