The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/998618
44 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2018 FOOTBALL PREVIEW we went wrong," Gary offered. "It was like, that one play messed us up, or that second play messed us up. It was small mistakes, [situations] that we put ourselves in — that's why we lost. "We've just got to finish. Going through the end of practice, it's like, 'Let's finish. Let's finish. Let's finish!' That's all we think about — just pushing ourselves to be the best we can be." That can be awfully good, Mattison de- clared. "When you're coming back after being an All-Big Ten first-teamer, and you were a great backup/rotator with Chris Wormley, and then you were the starter last year, this is your time," Mattison said. "These are your guys now. "It's the same thing with Chase. They voted you All-Big Ten. You came back. Now let's go. They've kind of looked at it that way, too." Mike Wroblewski, the graduated Michi- gan linebacker, battled on the same defense as both veteran Wolverines the last several seasons. He doesn't see any stretch of the imagination necessary for them to compete at the top level in the college game. "They're definitely the best two pass rush- ers, in my opinion," Wroblewski insisted. "As bookends on the D-line, there's nobody better. They can both defend the run, both defend the pass and both are explosive play- ers. "They're both just super passionate. They both love football. They're always around the building, always improving. They love to practice, love to get after it, love to sack the quarterback, for sure. That fire they play with is probably the biggest thing that sets them apart." Gary, Wroblewski noted, can be summed up in one word. "Explosiveness," the former Wolverine offered. "His first step is better than any of- fensive tackle's get-back, and he's so darned fast. He's to the quarterback by the time [the offensive linemen] get back there [to block]." As for Winovich, Wroblewski noted: "It's his hustle. If you watch the tape, no matter where he breaks out from, he always runs it down. You'll never catch him not pursu- ing the ball, or not running across the field trying to make a tackle. He's always getting after it." The Gary Backstory It sounds like nothing has changed too much, other than the physical dimensions and the size of the crowds. Gary's mom, Jen- nifer Shepherd, describes her son as a "teddy bear" and a loving young man who is gentle, playful and fun with his nephews, his sister and Shepherd herself. At the same time, she's seen him unleash his fury on the football field, and focus him- self in the classroom. 'He's a very hard worker," Shepherd said. "Academically, he's a hard worker, and he tries to be the best. When he's challenged, he seems to meet those challenges. "He was pretty frustrated last season. At the end of the season, he kind of got it. The double- and triple-teams, the blocks and all that stuff, it frustrated him at first." The Michigan State loss, in a monsoon, frustrated Gary terribly. In the Amazon Prime documentary, Gary's tears mixed with the night's downpour in a fashion heart- breaking for any mom. Once she saw the video, that is. "I couldn't take it. I went to my car. I was drenched," Shepherd acknowledged. Afterward, Gary remained crestfallen for a time. Resilience eventually won out, aided by his sister, his mom, younger relatives, a late-night bite to eat and the realization that the sun would rise in the morning. When Shepherd watched the documen- tary, she wasn't sure. "That was the first time I saw just how hard he took it," she said. "But Rashan is passionate about everything that he does. That's who he is. He trains hard, he plays hard. He wants his coaches to push him. He wants his teammates to push him. "In turn, he pushes them. We don't always get the results we want. That's just how he expresses it." Shepherd knew early on her son wasn't like other kids, in terms of physical dimen- sions. She didn't know how different of an athlete he'd eventually be. When your son towers over everyone else, it's tough to gauge what one day might be. "Rashan was always the biggest kid," Shepherd said. "I knew that he was fast, but Gary has totaled 93 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks and one forced fumble during his first two years at Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN