The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/901162
38 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2017 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL "Brandon [Peters] used to come down and whip it around pretty good," Brown said of Michigan's red- shirt frosh. "It seemed like last year we had a lot more guys that were rotating in and out of there. You're not really overly paying attention. "But for Dylan — and [redshirt sophomore Alex] Malzone helps us, too — it's his world. When a guy takes it upon himself like that, he takes the whole group with him and that gives us a chance to have a quality practice. "You don't realize how important that is until at the end of practice, and you go, 'Wow … that was really a qual- ity practice. We got a lot of work done.' "This is a special guy. I see him in the building all the time. And I'm not mak- ing a case … I'm just saying from our standpoint, to get ready, it's nice when you have a scout team that committed to helping the defense." — Chris Balas TIGHT ENDS BECOMING FOCAL POINT IN PASSING GAME On the final play of the third quarter at Maryland Nov. 11, Michigan red- shirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters surveyed the field and found his target, sophomore wide receiver Eddie McDoom, who reeled in the pass for a two-yard gain. At first, it seemed it was just another ordinary second-down play — but the box score after the contest showed oth- erwise. It was the only reception made by a wide receiver in the entire game. It is the first time under the leader- ship of head coach Jim Harbaugh that wide receivers caught just one pass in a game. Peters did complete nine passes against the Terrapins, but four went to tight ends and four more to run- ning backs. The involvement of tight ends in Harbaugh's offense has always been a subject of conversation, and that will likely continue given how success- ful the position group has been in the passing game this season. Redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry led the Wolverines is receiving against Maryland, catching three passes for 63 yards and a touchdown. Soph- omore tight end Sean McKeon also caught a touchdown pass from Peters, giving the Wolverines at least one score from two tight ends in the same con- test for the second time since Harbaugh took over prior to the 2015 season. "We have a good connection," Peters Superlatives From Games Seven Through 10 Three Best Players 1. Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. Statistics don't necessarily tell the whole story for Hurst, who has been wreaking havoc in opposing backfields all season. His 12.5 tackles for loss rank third on both the team and in the Big Ten, while his 4.5 sacks stand fourth on the squad. Hurst has been nearly unblockable for opposing linemen in 2017 — this was per- haps best on display during the Minnesota game Nov. 4, when he sacked redshirt sophomore quarterback Demry Croft while being blocked by redshirt freshman right guard Conner Olsen. 2. Junior running back Karan Higdon The junior absolutely blew up for the Wolverines in October and carried that suc- cess over to November. Higdon erupted for 158 yards and two touchdowns against Rutgers Oct. 28, and followed that up with his second 200-yard performance of the season (Oct. 14 versus Indiana was the other) against Minnesota Nov. 4. Higdon has provided Michigan's offense with the explosiveness it had been miss- ing before his emergence. His 854 yards are the fourth most in the conference, while his 10 touchdowns and 6.6 yards per carry both rank third. 3. Sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill Michigan's pass defense ranks second in the country (allowing 144.5 yards per game), and Hill has been a big reason why. The sophomore cornerback's statistics (two interceptions and seven passes broken up) aren't necessarily impressive on their own, but that's because teams aren't throwing at him. Led by Hill's efforts, the Wolverines shut down two of the conference's best receivers in November — Min- nesota sophomore Tyler Johnson Nov. 4 (one catch for 29 yards) and Maryland junior D.J. Moore Nov. 11 (five catches for 37 yards). After 10 games played, Moore led the Big Ten with an average of 85.7 receiving yards per game, while Johnson ranked fifth at 67.7. Key Play Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters entered the game against Rutgers Oct. 28 at the 7:01 mark of the second quarter, and has given the offense a boost ever since. In the four games he has played this season, Peters has thrown for 329 yards, completed 60.9 percent of his passes and tossed a team-high four touchdowns with no interceptions. The offense as a whole has also averaged 34 points per game in his two starts — it only averaged 26.4 prior to that. Best Highlight With Michigan and Minnesota tied at 7-7 with 1:09 left to go in the first quarter Nov. 4, Higdon ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run to give the Wolverines a 13-7 lead (the PAT was missed). The play was just one of many highlight-reel runs for the Maize and Blue on the night — Higdon wound up with 200 yards for the game, while the Wolverines as a team racked up 371 yards on the ground. Surprise Performer Freshman offensive lineman Cesar Ruiz gets the nod here. He filled for injured sophomore right guard Mike Onwenu against Minnesota and Maryland Nov. 4 and Nov. 11, respectively, and performed admirably. The freshman helped the Wolverine rushing attack rack up a combined 531 yards against the Gophers and Terrapins. Ruiz revealed after the Minnesota game that he has been taking practice reps at all of the offensive line spots, with the exception of left tackle. Bold Prediction Michigan will beat Ohio State Nov. 25 at The Big House. The Buckeyes have certainly played better than the Wolverines for the majority of this season, but proved they have some deficiencies in a 55-24 blowout loss at Iowa Nov. 4. Michigan has gained momentum in October and November, going 4-1 since its loss to Michigan State Oct. 7, with the only setback coming at Penn State Oct. 21. Head coach Jim Harbaugh understands what will be at stake when Ohio State comes to Ann Arbor and will have his team ready to pull off the victory. — Austin Fox