The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Are Beginning To Emerge This Season Big Ten's Future Standouts to ball carrier, but, sidelined with injuries, he has turned his responsibilities over to Abdullah. The sophomore has rushed for 716 yards and eight touchdowns, is also a dangerous returnman, and should be the undisputed No. 1 tailback in Lincoln next year. Andrew Maxwell, Michigan State: The junior signal-caller ranked 11th in the Big Ten in pass efficiency through nine weeks, but would have far better numbers if his receivers could hold onto the football; MSU has averaged four drops per game. Maxwell, though, has the arm and the temperament to be a championship quarterback. Allen Robinson, Penn State: With the Nittany Lions in year one of a four-year postseason ban, few are paying attention to the happenings in State College, Pa., but the sophomore wide receiver is putting up incredible numbers in his first season as a starter. He leads the Big Ten with 52 catches for 631 yards and eight touchdowns, and should earn greater time in the spotlight with continued success. Ryan Shazier, Ohio State: The sophomore has built off a productive rookie cam- paign to become Ohio State's top linebacker, racking up 84 tackles, including 9.5 for loss, with 10 passes defended in nine contests this season. OSU hasn't had an All-American linebacker since 2008 (James Laurinaitis), but Shazier possesses that potential. Jake Ryan, Michigan: Like Shazier, Ryan may contend for All-Big Ten honors this fall — his nine tackles for loss rank third among conference 'backers. Ryan should enter 2013 a household name regarded by most to be Michigan's best defensive player. This season, the redshirt sopho- more has 56 tackles in eight games, with 3.5 sacks. Brad Roby, Ohio State: Roby is resurrecting the Buckeyes' once-proud cornerback tradition in his soph- omore season. The 5-11, 190-pounder leads the Big Ten in pass breakups with 16,and has added two intercep- tions, while accumulating 42 stops in nine games. If he isn't already, Roby will be considered the league's best coverman in 2013. Deion Barnes, Penn State: Big Ten pass rush- ers haven't been racking up the QB takedowns this season in record numbers, but Barnes has been impressive in his redshirt freshman cam- paign, notching four sacks to rank among the league leaders through nine weeks. In a league short of dominant defensive ends, Barnes figures to be the most ac- complished heading into the 2013 campaign. — Michael Spath Redshirt sophomore linebacker Jake Ryan was Michigan's leading tackler through eight games, notching 56 stops, with nine tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL since 2006 (Tyrell Sutton), but the junior has ended that drought, rushing for 1,077 yards and nine scores in the first nine games this season. Ranked sixth nationally in all-purpose yards (184.1 per game), Mark is poised to compete for the league rushing title. Ameer Abdullah, Nebraska: Rex Burkhead began the year as NU's proven, go- Sophomore cornerback Raymon Taylor may be gaining followers in Ann Arbor, but most of the Big Ten probably still doesn't know his name. That will change in 2013 when Taylor possesses the potential to become one of the conference's top performers. Here is a look at eight other players poised to break out a year from now. Venric Mark, Northwestern: The Wildcats haven't had a 1,000-yard tailback THEY CAN COUNT ON HIM Mattison knows difficult days lie ahead for his sophomore corner- back. Every player experiences some ups and some downs, and the roller coaster for Taylor has largely been enjoyable thus far. However, the Wolverines believe even when tough times occur, they can count on their teammate because he's already been there for them. HIS TEAMMATES KNOW "The thing about stepping in when someone goes down is it's not the coaches you think about but your teammates," Rogers said. "They're counting on you ,and you don't want to let them down. That's where the drive and the motivation to play your best comes from, and Ray has been in that situation already. Noth- ing that happens the rest of the sea- son and the rest of his career will be as big as that moment." Taylor and Countess have been called 'Twins' by their teammates. The two friends are almost insepa- rable off the field, so it pained Taylor to see his brother fall to the turf in pain, but watching Countess taken off the field by U-M's training staff also inspired him. "This is a family, and once your brothers need you, you have to step up to the plate and make plays," Tay- lor said. "The expectations are high, and I knew that going in. I sat down with the coaches, and then Blake, J.T., Kovacs, [Thomas] Gordon — those guys play at such a high level, and they were expecting me to come in and do the same thing. I told myself to give it my all and do my job to the best of my ability. "I keep telling myself that every day in practice and on game day." Taylor answered the call when Michigan needed him most, and while Countess was expected to con- tend for all-conference honors this season, Taylor has played very well, filling a void that could have had grave repercussions for a secondary and a defense overall seeking to com- pete at a championship level. "You constantly tell your guys, 'You never know when your chance is going to come, and when it does come, you have to be ready. It's your fault if you're not,'" Mallory said. "I believe he prepared himself so that when that opportunity came, he was ready to go." u NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 39