Down on the Diag, befuddled freshmen consulted campus maps. In the cafes along State Street, undergrads sat chatting over cappuccino. Over at Schembechler Hall, student managers handed newly polished winged helmets to the players on their way to the team picture, while legend-in-residence Bo Schembechler shared a private joke with coach Lloyd Carr.
Some things never change in this storied corner of the college football world. But take a closer look.
Was that a doorknob on strong safety Marcus Ray’s finger? Nope. It was the ring commemorating Michigan’s 1997 national championship.
Was that the queue for Powerball tickets? Nah. It was the line of fans seeking an autograph from Drew Henson, the most celebrated quarterback in the nation, at least among those who have yet to take a snap in college.
As Michigan prepares for its 120th football season, everything suddenly seems bigger and brighter. The media guide ballooned 48 pages, to an even 400, rivaling the Manhattan telephone directory.
And venerable Michigan Stadium has undergone a $6 million renovation; with 5,500 new seats along the rim of the bowl, it reclaims the title as the largest school-owned stadium in the country. Longtime season ticket-holders will be stunned to see 24-by-32-foot televisions in the scoreboards above each end zone.
Funny what a national title every half-century will do to shake up a place.
Last August, Michigan’s players vowed to put an end to a disheartening four-year run of four-loss seasons. Someone had had the temerity to insinuate, in print, that “M” stood for “mediocre.”
The Wolverines responded by putting together a perfect season and claiming a share of the national title, along with fellow-unbeaten Nebraska.
This year Michigan is hard-pressed to find unkind clippings. True, the voters in the two major polls dropped the Wolverines to fifth in the preseason rankings, with Ohio State No. 1. But most of Michigan’s inspiration in 1998 will have to come from within.
“The motivation comes from our own souls and spirits,” said Dhani Jones, a pre-med major from Potomac, Md. “There’s always time to become better. There’s no room for the word `digression,’ or `regression.’ “
Added starting quarterback Tom Brady: “The pressure of defending a national championship is pretty tough, but it’s a position we all want to be in.”
Carr proved a master motivator last season, inspiring his players with slogans drawn from literary and historical sources. This fall he has given them a new motto: Expect nothing. The idea is that the defending national champions can’t expect help from the referees, the opposition, the pollsters or the heavens.
“You always worry about the challenge ahead,” Carr said. “You want to enjoy (the championship), but there’s always anxiety and fear about the future. That’s part of life.”
In college football, defending a national title is, by definition, anxiety-provoking. Rosters churn, with key players graduating or cutting out early for the NFL, and rivals get better. It’s no wonder that only one team, Nebraska in 1995, has repeated as national titlist in major-college football since 1979.
“We’re going to set a standard,” backup quarterback Scott Dreisbach said. “We don’t want it to be a one-year-and-out thing.”
If it’s going to be a back-to-back thing, the Wolverines will need new leaders to emerge on both sides of the ball. They lost two of the stalwarts of their defense, Heisman Trophy-winning cornerback Charles Woodson and All-American defensive end Glen Steele. On offense, Rose Bowl MVP Brian Griese, a commanding presence at quarterback, is gone.
There’s no listing for “leaders” on the depth chart, but Michigan has plenty of candidates, including the feisty, hard-hitting Ray; Brady, a 6-foot-5-inch junior from California who beat out Dreisbach for the QB job in spring drills; and offensive tackle Jon Jansen, a 1997 team co-captain who has started 37 consecutive games.
Michigan is, as always, awash in talent. Henson could be a star of the future; Carr said Thursday Henson would play as a freshman. Henson is also a third base prospect for the New York Yankees, who gave him a $2.7 million signing bonus after selecting him in the third round of the June draft.
“We lost some skill guys, but at Michigan we always have skill guys to replace them,” Jansen said. “What you don’t always have, though, is leadership. We lost great leaders. It’s important for our seniors to pick that role up.”
They will have to step into the role against a typically brutal Michigan schedule. The Wolverines make trips to South Bend, Iowa City, Evanston and Columbus. Throw in three preseason Top 25 teams at home–Syracuse, Michigan State and Penn State–and it’s clear that nothing will come easily for Michigan in 1998.
But with nine starters back on the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense–Michigan allowed only 9.5 points a game, the lowest average in four seasons–Michigan figures to be in every game again this year.
Whether it wins them all again is another question.
“Everybody’s going to be expecting what we did last year, but it’s not fair to compare,” linebacker Sam Sword said. “We’ve got to establish our own identity.”
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NEXT: Indiana.
