Player Comments from Weekly U-M Football Media Luncheon

Joe Sgroi | Norman Heuer | Zach Kaufman
Dave Pearson | Tyrece Butler

Fifth-Year Senior Long Snapper Joe Sgroi

On if he saw the game-winning kick go through ... "I looked up right as the ball was going through the uprights. I saw it go right through the pipes. It was a heck of a kick, right down the center."

On the missed field goals ... "Both Phil (Brabbs) and Troy (Nienberg) have had a tremendous amount of pressure put on them. They are in a high-profile situation where they are competing for a job. They are trying to fill the shoes of a guy who was pretty solid for four years for us (Hayden Epstein). They have been called out as being the question marks on the team. That is a lot of pressure to put on two young guys who really do not have much experience. Thos first couple of kicks had nothing to do with their talent as kickers. They are both very good kickers. I have a lot of confidence that they can continue to perform the way the Phil did at the end of that game."

On how the team creates pressure situations in practices ... "I think that you feel more pressure during practice. Even though the crowd is not around and even though it does not really matter what happens, for some reason the coaches create an atmosphere where they put a lot of pressure on you. You are thinking about things a lot more during practice and you put a lot more pressure on yourself. In the game, you just go out there and let instinct take over and things just happen. You are not focusing on technique aspects and you are not over-thinking. For both of [the kickers] I imagine that it is a little bit different. For myself, and I think as you go, in game time you just let instinct take over. You go out there and since you have done it a thousand times before it just becomes natural and you do not even think about it. For those guys, maybe they were thinking about it a little too much just because it happened to be their first time out there. They have done it a thousand times in practice too and I think that is why everyone had a lot of confidence in them because everyone has seen them miss three in a row and them go on a streak and hit 30 in a row. I think everyone had a lot of confidence that either of them could have come out there and stroked that last one."

On what the coaches do to create pressure ... "Every once in a while there will be things like if we make this field goal we will not run sprints after practice or this is a two-minute situation where the offense has the ball on third down and if they do not get a first down we are going to come in for a game-winning kick. I think it is more than that though. You have all the coaches right around you, in your ear talking to you during practice. If you screw up during practice you are going to hear about it. During the games they try and keep everyone relaxed. They try and make it so that there is more stress on you in practice so that when it comes time for the game it seems easy."

On how he felt during that last snap ... "I expected to feel more nervous for that. With the clock running down and I was standing on the sideline I expected myself to be more nervous going out on the field than I ended up being. The only thing that I can remember thinking when I got over the ball was I was surprised at how loud the stadium was when we are kicking a field goal to win the game. It seemed like it should have been dead silent. That is the only thing that I can remember thinking actually."

On the Washington long snapper ... "He had a rough day. I feel bad for a guy when that happens because he had a rough time. He is in a different situation where he was playing every down of the game at linebacker. Then he had to come over and try to snap after he has been in there getting beat up. It is a lot more difficult, I guess."

On if he has someone that he matches up against during games ... "No, not at all. I view it more as competing against myself. I know what I should be able to do on the field. I am competing against my own expectations."

On if special team players have more sympathy for the other team than position players ... "I think the kickers have that. They all seem to know each other and work out in the off-season. I cannot say that for long snappers. I think that it is because you are in a limited number of plays. If you are in the game for five plays and screw up once it could mean the game whereas as quarterback is not going to look at it the same way because they are in there for 55 or 60 snaps a game."

On his decision to come back for his fifth year ... "The first thing that I thought in the locker room after the game was that being part of such an amazing game like that made it worth it to come back. It took a while to decide if I would be able to handle both school and football but it was something that I was interested in from day one assuming that I got into the (law) school."

On if not being noticed by the fans is a good thing ... "Coach (Andy) Moeller said that after the game I was a true offensive lineman because I won't get any recognition from the game. That is fine with me. If nobody finds out who I am then I am probably doing my job."

On balancing football and law school ... "So far this summer I did not find it to be that much different than undergrad. It's just a matter of keeping myself disciplined."

On his decision to take summer classes ... "I think it is about a quarter of the incoming class gets started during the summer. I did it so that I would not have to take a ridiculous load in the fall to graduate on time."

On the difference between taking the bar exam and making a big snap ... "I guess you can always take the bar over again. The snap you cannot."

On his decision to attend graduate school at Michigan ... "I love Ann Arbor. I love Michigan, I plan on living here the rest of my life. The people around here are wonderful, and the option to play football on top of that made it an easy decision.

Senior/Junior Defensive Tackle Norman Heuer

On being just out of reach of the quarterback ... "I cannot tell you how frustrating that is. You always want to get there but if you cannot get the sack you want to put a hit on him so he knows that you are there. The quarterback got hit a lot and he kept playing. They played real hard and ran the the ball. They weren't going to give up and weren't going to lay down."

On getting prepared for Western Michigan ... "We know that we are going to face another passing team. We know that we have to fix our mistakes and go from there."

On trying to focus on the next game ... "I do not think I will ever forget about that game. I hope there are more memorable games to play."

On the relationship between members of the of defensive line ... "We are a very tight unit. Everybody is really close. Most of us have been together the whole time we were here. It's great to know that you're with these guys who know all about you. It helps us on the field. By playing together so long we can read off of each other."

On the physical shape the players were in toward the end of the game ... "It was really hot. I know some guys were having problems breathing because of the heat and the humidity. We were definitely tired, but we had to fight through it."

On the game-winning field goal ... "That is the first field goal that I have ever watched because I get so nervous. We were all on the sideline and the defense was holding hands. We are happy that we got the ball back for the offense and they were able to go down and get the score."

On freshman defensive lineman Gabriel Watson ... "He is a big guy. He is doing well. He is ahead of all of us when we came in here. I think it is more mental right now. He just needs to know his plays and go from there."

Junior Inside Linebacker Zach Kaufman

On the win against Washington ... "To beat a Pac-10 school close to home is definitely a plus."

On Washington's strengths ... "Washington is a great passing football team; the rush wasn't working as well as they wanted it to, so they were throwing a lot."

On his first collegiate start ... "I was very nervous, but after that first play, I was okay. But it was really exciting."

On this week's game vs. Western Michigan ... "They played a tough game against us last year, so we need to come out there with our best foot forward."

On what was going through his head on the last play ... "I usually watch the field goals; this one in particular was terrifying. We were all pretty nervous but were hoping for the best."

On the win in general ... "That was probably my favorite home game since I've been here. The crowd was into it; it was pretty intense."

Senior/Junior Center Dave Pearson

On losing his helmet on one play ... "I don't really remember it that well. I just remember that I hit somebody on the defense and my helmet came flying off, and I was just running down to cover the pass and then I had to go retrieve my helmet after that."

On playing in a big game after making the switch to offense from defense ... "I was kind of glad that it was such a big game because I now have played in a big game and I know how that feels right off the bat. My nerves were obviously pretty high because it was my first start and after the second play of the game it settled my nerves a little bit. So that was nice of Chris (Perry) to go ahead and do that for us."

On hearing quarterback John Navarre through the crowd noise ... "He did well communicating with all of us and there wasn't a problem hearing him throughout the game."

On the two big second-half drives when U-M ran the ball effectively ... "I think it definitely helped our confidence because Chris (Perry) did a good job running the ball, and we were just trying to make the holes for him. Things worked out well because he was able to get some pretty good yardage in there."

On the one snap exchange that did not seem to go right ... "I take the blame for that one because John (Navarre) has taken many snaps, so it might have been something that I did. But overall I think we both felt pretty good throughout the course of the day. Obviously there are some things as a center that I need to work on, so I just have to get back out there on the practice field and get back to work."

On forgetting about Washington and not thinking about Notre Dame this week ... "You look through the years at some of the big upsets that Western has had and that the MAC schools have had over some Big Ten teams, and you don't want something like that to happen after such a big win over Washington. You don't want to let anything slip away, so I think that everyone is really focused on the game this week. I don't think that Coach (Lloyd) Carr lets us take any game lightly, so we will be ready to go."

On the overall strength of the MAC and some of their recent upsets over Big Ten teams ... "There is a ton of talent on the MAC teams, and I followed the MAC throughout high school. They have some really good players on those teams, which makes for some great competition and some really tough teams in the MAC."

On the process of making the switch to offense from defense ... "It was after the bowl game last year that Coach Carr had talked with me about making the switch, and I was pretty receptive to it. I thought that it would be a good move because I had thought about it over the previous three weeks. So he talked to me about it and I decided to give it a shot. So in the weeks leading up to the spring game I had a lot of help from the other centers and guards, and I also watched some film with (2001 starter) Kurt Anderson. I had a lot of help from the entire offensive line, which helped me make the transition."

On the offensive line ... "We felt pretty good, but obviously we all made a couple of mistakes and need to keep improving. As a unit we felt pretty comfortable playing next to each other and we jelled well with each other. I think that it will come more as we play more games, but for the first game we were pretty happy."

On the hole created for Chris Perry's 57-yard touchdown run ... "I saw that on the film, and that is what our job is and he made some guys miss in the secondary like he is supposed to. That is his job, and our job is to make the holes for him."

On coach Lloyd Carr asking him to make the change to offense ... "I don't know if it was anything in particular, but they just thought that I might be a good fit in there and be able to pick up the plays pretty well, be tough enough on the offensive line, and ultimately be able to contribute."

On the offense getting credit for the win ... "It obviously helps our confidence to be able to go out there against a top team and be able to put some points on the board. We couldn't have won the game at all without the defense. They made the big stop with under a minute left so we could get the ball back. But it makes the offense feel good to know that we can go out there and do things like that."

On the defense playing a lot of minutes in the first half and the offense needing to stay on the field and give the defense a break ... "Yeah, we realized that we had too many three-and-outs and some turnovers that led to some short drives that put our defense in some tough positions. We knew the defense was going to get tired out if we didn't get out there and control the ball some. That was one of our goals -- to get out there and run the ball -- and it worked out for us."

On the struggles in the second quarter with the three-and-outs ... "We just weren't executing as well on first down by not getting enough yardage, which makes things tough. Getting more yards on first down makes everything easier to do from there."

On the quick hitting of the holes against Washington ... "That was the coach's decision on the plays that we run and maybe they saw something up in the press box that we could use against Washington."

On being comfortable on offense now and not being on the defvensive unit ... "I am pretty solid on offense now and I am enjoying it over there. I really don't have any regrets about moving."

On seeing the offensive line coming together as the game progressed ... "We got the big lead in the game early, and we started to let it slip away when we weren't doing a whole lot. We felt like we had to go out there and finish the game. As the game progressed some of the nerves went away and we started to come out a little harder. There is still room for improvement, but I think that we had a pretty good day."

On getting ready for the stretch of the next three game and forgetting Washington ... "I don't think that it is that difficult because we have put the Washington game behind us. We came into today and watched some film on the Western game and it kind of makes you forget about what happened last Saturday. I think that we all realize that if you don't stay focused on the game coming up then you have a lot better chance of getting beat and nobody wants that to happen. So everybody stays pretty focused."

On last year's game with Western Michigan ... "It was an early game last year, and a lot has happened since then. I remember that they had a tough offensive line and a good quarterback. They were able to get some things on us that we can hopefully try to stop a little better this year. They were just a tough team."

Senior/Junior Wide Receiver Tyrece Butler

On Braylon Edwards owing him forever for the fumble recovery ... "At practice yesterday he told me that he owes me, so I guess so."

On what he thought when he saw that play develop ... "I saw the ball come out of his hands and I just jumped on it. I didn't know if it was incomplete or if it was a fumble, I just jumped on the ball."

On that being credited to coaching ... "Yeah, that is just coaching the fundamentals."

On feeling like the only guy to think that it was a fumble on the play ... "Yeah, because everybody else was just standing around, and I showed off my quickness a little bit and got on the ball."

On Edwards not going after the ball ... "He thought that he dropped the ball and he was mad at himself. It was just a mistake that he made, and he has to move on. You mess up and you just have to forget about it."

On what kind of pattern he was running on that play ... "I was running a crossing route, and I saw him catch the ball, and when he dropped it I just ran over there and jumped on the ball."

On being happy with the way many guys were involved in the passing game ... "With our new passing offense, John Navarre is very comfortable with getting the ball to everybody. He has a lot of confidence in the receiving corps this year and is passing the ball to everybody."

On his huge third-down catches ... "The defenders were all over me on those plays, and I just had to use my body and concentrate to get the ball into my hands and try to advance it."

On the play when John Navarre made the big deep-out pass ... "I think it was a great throw to me. He was aggressive with the pass, and he did a great job out there."

On being able to have some success after a couple injury-plagued seasons ... "It was just great being out there, especially after my knee injury. It is just great to be able to do something for this team by making plays and just being out there and doing what I can do."

On describing himself as a receiver ... "I consider myself a deep threat and a possession receiver. Just any way that they can get me the ball, I'll take it."

On playing Western Michigan's secondary ... "They have two senior leaders back there, and last year's secondary was great. They will want to carry that on to this year and stay tough back there. This Western team is no joke because they have everybody on their defensive line coming back and their linebackers, so it is going to be a great game again."

On watching any of Western's first game ... "I watched a little bit of the film on the Western game today. We can't look past this team because they have a good defense and a good passing attack, so it's going to be a good game."

On doing some homework on Western already ... "Yeah, my main focus is on looking at the secondary, and I think that they did a good job last week against Indiana State."

On focusing on not having a letdown after a game like Washington ... "I think that it is a lot of pressure, but you can't let the pressure get to you. We had a great game against Washington, but we have to keep it up and keep moving."

On coach Erik Campbell being pleased with Butler's performance Saturday ... "Yes, he was pretty pleased. We were catching the balls and we just did a good job, and I think that he felt the same way too."

On his next goal being to get into the end zone ... "Yes, I am trying to get into the end zone, but if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen. That doesn't matter as long as we win."

On the last play, if Coach Carr said anything to him after the game ... "Coach Carr was very happy. He couldn't say anything and he just shook my hand and hugged me so I knew that he liked it."

On the receiving corps being the "X" factor on this year's team ... "I think that this year with the group of guys that we have we have a lot of speed and size. We are able to get the ball, and we can jump. Last year (John) Navarre had a lot of confidence in Marquise (Walker), but this year John is confident in all of us and he is throwing all of us the ball."

On trying to get a field goal or touchdown on the last drive ... "We were thinking about getting the ball into the end zone, but it didn't go that way. The main thing that we were thinking was just to get into the end zone."

On the freshman wideouts not playing because Coach Carr has more faith in the upperclassmen ... "I think so. I think that he has a lot of confidence in all of us and we need to show the freshmen how to play football and to be a wide receiver at Michigan."

On any one of the receivers being able to be the big play receiver ... "Coach (Erik) Campbell always says to be ready because you never know who is going to make the big play and that is what we look forward to is making the big play. We all are an unknown group that has to make an impact."

On the receiving group having a nickname ... "Our nickname has just always been 'The Crew,' the receiving crew, and that is just what we go by."

On having somebody step up and be the go-to receiver ... "I think that we all have the dream of being that go-to guy, and the only way to do that is to make the big plays."

On this passing offense needing a go-to guy ... "I consider all of us go-to guys and playmakers. That is what you have to be as a wide receiver is a playmaker."

Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423