The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/859588
16 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2017 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Peoples-Jones Will Lead The Way By Brandon Brown There's a reason Donovan Peoples-Jones was the No. 1 wide receiver in the country and a five-star prospect coming out of Detroit Cass Tech in 2017. The 6-2, 190-pounder is a physical specimen with out-of-this-world athleticism, evidenced by his Nike Football Rating championship back in 2015. After ripping off a 4.42-second 40-yard dash and a 42-inch vertical jump in Oregon that summer, he let the world know that he was an elite athlete. His combination of size, speed and leaping ability — along with long arms, big hands and abnormal body control — make him a prototypical wide receiver capable of catching anything thrown near him. He does need to work on his route running and getting off of jams from talented defensive backs, but if the ball is in his vicinity he's coming down with it. Michigan's stable of young receivers will have to produce with Jehu Chesson, Amara Darboh and Jake Butt all off to the NFL, and no one on the roster is better suited to step up than Peoples-Jones. Black Will Outshine His Classmate By Chris Balas Conventional wisdom says Donovan Peoples-Jones could be the most prolific freshman wide receiver Michigan has ever seen, and it wouldn't surprise. But fellow frosh Tarik Black might be better in the short run, and he showed it in the spring game with two long catches on fades. He finished with four receptions for 50 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown from fifth-year senior quarterback John O'Korn. Black tracks the ball extremely well for a freshman (or anyone else), has the build and the confi- dence to excel, and will lead the freshmen — and maybe even the team — this fall in receiving. There's a reason Peoples-Jones called him the most underrated prep re- ceiver in the country last year. Black notched 32 catches for 615 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior, and 30 catches for 610 yards and eight scores as a junior despite being the focus of defenses' attention. The good news — these two are team guys, and they'll be competing for time, but rooting for each other to succeed. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WHO WILL HAVE MORE CATCHES IN 2017: TARIK BLACK OR DONOVAN PEOPLES-JONES? Carly Bennett enters the fall ready to continue helping Michigan towards the ultimate goal of a Big Ten title. After lead- ing the team with 19 points and seven goals, she will once again be the focal point of the Wolverines' attack. Bennett is a rarity in field hockey, due to the fact that she plays left handed, flipping the right-handed stick upside down, since they only make sticks for right-handed players. Here are a few other things you didn't know about her: Nickname: "On the team I don't have that many nicknames except for Car. Bis- cuit [is another]. It's kind of a corny story, but my dad watched the movie 'Seabis- cuit,' and I grew up playing ice hockey with boys. He was small but he had a big heart, so my dad nicknamed me Seabis- cuit because of the way I played hockey." Favorite restaurant in Ann Arbor: "I would have to say Argiero's. I really love the owner, and being from Rhode Island, Providence has a really big Italian food scene, and I like the feel of it. I feel at home there." Best meal she can cook by herself: "I love to cook … definitely something Italian. I really like cranberry-crusted chicken, and then for pasta it would be rigatoni with vodka sauce." Sports she plays besides field hockey: "Ice hockey and lacrosse." Hobbies: "I actually sing and play a lit- tle bit of guitar. … I love to surf. When I'm home for the summer I surf all the time." Favorite TV show: "'Silicon Valley' and 'Billions.'" Favorite movie: "'Forrest Gump.'" Dream vacation: "I've been to Hawai'i twice for surfing, so I would say Hawai'i." Favorite professional venue she's been to: "Watching the Bruins play in The Garden [Boston's TD Garden]." Favorite professional athlete: "Ser- ena Williams. I just like her because I think she's a really good role model for women, and I love watching her play." Role Model: "I have a lot of role mod- els. I know this is corny, but I would say everyone in my family." Why she chose field hockey: "I was planning on going to college for ice hockey. My senior year of high school I was set on going to college for ice hockey, about to commit — that close — and then my brother who played ice hockey at Michigan was like, 'Carly can you just come out here and look at Michigan? Just do me a favor and look at it. They have field hockey.' … "I never really thought I could play field hockey in college because of the whole left-handed thing. … I ended up falling in love with Michigan, so the reason I play field hockey is because of Michigan." What she hopes to do after field hockey: "I'm in grad school right now, I'm trying to figure that out career wise. I either want to go into technology or finance … I really want to go abroad ini- tially right after school and try to play [professional field hockey] a little bit, just to try to get some experience." Her overall U-M experience: "Unbe- lievable, I think that would be the best word to describe it. I still look back and I cannot believe I'm at this school, and I cannot believe I'm playing this sport. It's awesome, I'm so happy I did it." — Leland Mitchinson Bennett enters her final year after leading U-M in goals (seven) and tying for second on the team in assists (five) in 2016. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Getting To Know Field Hockey Graduate Student Carly Bennett PEOPLES-JONES BLACK