The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 39 can do that are outside the rules. I'm going to tell you — it isn't worth it.' "When you talk about Bo Schembechler, you talk about a guy who, for him, there was no compromising with the rules." You're also talking about someone will- ing to take the heat when it comes, Carr of- fered. Schembechler took plenty of it down through the years for opting to kick off twice to Raghib (Rocket) Ismail in No. 1 Notre Dame's 24-19 win at No. 2 Michigan in 1989. Ismail scored twice, returning second-half kickoffs 88 and 92 yards to lift the Irish to victory. Ultimately, Carr noted, Schembechler ac- quiesced to the plan. But many don't know the full story, he cautioned. Notre Dame led at the half, 7-6, before Ismail broke away with the second-half kickoff, outrunning Michigan's entire spe- cial teams corps and giving the Irish a 14-6 advantage. Backup quarterback Elvis Grbac led a touchdown drive to pull Michigan back within five, 17-12, early in the fourth quarter. After the first Rocket return, Carr recalled Schembechler's reaction: "So now he's say- ing, 'Okay, I want to kick the ball short. I want to squib it. We're not going to kick the ball down to The Rocket.'" Michigan's defensive coaches pushed back, arguing that the Wolverines could stop the Irish speedster, who'd clocked a reported 4.28 time in the 40-yard dash. "We're on the phone to Bo," Carr said. "The defensive coaches coached the kickoff. We say, 'Bo, we've got to kick it deep. We'll tackle him down there. We'll get him!' We took pride in that. Our players took pride in it. He said, 'Okay.'" A disastrous déjà vu ensued, Ismail burst- ing up the middle from the north end zone, breaking an early tackle attempt, then veer- ing off to streak untouched down the eastern sideline. No team had returned a kickoff for one touchdown against the Wolverines in 32 years, much less two. The second one proved the difference in Notre Dame's 24-19 win, and fans were for- ever convinced Schembechler's stubbornness led to the defeat. In reality, had he been a little more stubborn, it might have ended differently. "We get home that night, and I'm watching the press conference after the game on TV," said Carr. "One writer asked him who made the decision to kick off the second time. "And he said, 'I did.' Now, when things go wrong, no one wants to take responsibil- ity. He could have said, 'Well, my defensive coaches …' "He said, 'I did.' That's a man!" That's a man they'll never forget, be it 10 years or 100 years after his passing. ❏ Schembechler's Passion Shapes Athletic Department There's no doubt Bo Schembechler's influence still resounds inside the football building named for him. The boss there played for him and learned many life lessons through him. It doesn't stop there, though. In Warde Manuel, Michigan features an athletic director molded by the man who prowled the U-M sidelines from 1969-89. Manuel insists two men influenced his approach to life more than any others: his dad and Schem - bechler, for whom he played in 1987-88. Manuel has come a long way from the time a neck injury prematurely ended his football career. He started in athletic administration at Michigan, and has since served as an AD at Buffalo, at UConn, and now in what he hopes is the last job he ever holds. He'll be the first to tell you, he didn't get there on his own. "The lessons learned, the teachable moments I've had with him personally, or observed," Manuel mused, regarding Schembechler. "We have a tre - mendous video, that uses his words, that talks about 'The Team! The Team! The Team!' "I can close my eyes and picture him standing in front of the room, and remember him delivering a speech like that. I'm sure every guy that played on one of his teams can remember that. That's the es - sence of who he was." It's the essence of what Manuel wants Michigan's athletic department to be. "It drives me every day," Manuel assured. "I'm not here, I'm not successful, without The Team. I'm not who I am without The Team being my family, The Team being the people I work with, The Team being my friends who love and care about me. "The reflection of the words for me doesn't just result in who is on the field of play. It goes beyond that. It's The Team being our fans, our donors, our corporate sponsors, people who invest in us, our faculty, our staff, our president, our board. "I say this to young people all the time: 'Be thankful for those around you, because you have not done, and you will not do, anything on your own.' It's impossible for me to think of the successes I've had in life, and stand in front of anyone and say, 'I did this on my own.'" That, Manuel insisted, he learned both from this father and on the practice fields at the University of Michigan. "He lived that," the U-M AD said of Schembechler. "He showcased that part of what life is about every day, every practice. I could have made a solo tackle, but I didn't make that on my own. I look at what my teammates did behind me, and I look at the things that went on, on the other side, that made the guy run that way. Or the fact that somebody made a shift call at the last minute that propelled me into the backfield. "You happen to be the only person who is credited with something that so many other people have helped you do along the way. My father pounded that in my head, as a kid, to be thankful, to be appreciative of those around you. "And Bo solidified it. For me, that's an example of his words and his actions, on a daily basis, pounding into our heads that we are a team, and that we are going to win as a team." As a young football player out of New Orleans, Manuel wasn't prepared to hear the words all gridiron warriors dread most: You can't play anymore. But he heard them. He also heard Schembechler's voice, strong and steady, letting him know that life doesn't end when your playing days are over. There's so much more. "I can visualize it to this day, the way he handled me not being able to play football any more," Manuel said. "It was a lesson learned in what's most important in life." It's an influence that continues on at Michigan, through a new athletic director. "Bo was a football coach, but Bo was a compassionate, caring, loving person that we always knew cared deeply about us," Manuel said. "I tell our coaches and people around me: 'I'm going to be hard. But you're going to know I care. I want to push people to be their best,' and Bo was unbelievably passionate about pushing us to be our best. "But you always have to let people know how much you care about them. I want to drive success here. I want us to be successful. I'm going to be disappointed. I'm going to be angry. But I'm mad at people's actions or inactions, not mad at the people I care deeply about. "When things are tough, it's how people react and how supportive they are, as opposed to how disappointed they are and how selfish they may become. Bo was incredibly supportive and compassionate and helpful." It's another way Schembechler's influence still moves throughout the athletic fields and arenas throughout the Ann Arbor campus. The AD reflected: "It's in that time of difficulty and distress — the most difficult part of my life, I thought — he showed a love and compassion that lives within me and will for the rest of my life." — John Borton Lessons learned from Schembechler have helped first-year Michigan athletic director Warde Man- uel achieve success in his post-playing days. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS