Black Leaves His Past Way Behind

Michael Black eludes tacklers better than most running backs. Some day, perhaps he’ll escape his past.

Washington State’s 23-year-old tailback has grown weary of incessant questioning about his involvement in an armed robbery seven years ago. It’s an old story for those who have followed WSU closely, but many outsiders remain curious.

“It’s kind of a burden with people constantly bringing it up,” said Black, who spent more than a year in a juvenile correctional facility, “but as far as facing reality, it’s here. It’s something that happened and I had to pay the price.

“I came out a better person overall, a more mature person, developed into someone that society is supposed to raise you up to be,” Black added. “It shows a great success for someone who grew up in the struggle in the community where gangs and violence and drugs was always a constant.

“To overcome that, go to JC for two years and do it on your own with no one pushing you, to get a scholarship and come here and excel too, it’s great.”

Young and the Restless

By now, the names Charles Woodson, Marcus Ray, Tommy Hendricks and Andre Weathers probably sound familiar.

They make up Michigan’s starting secondary, charged with derailing Washington State’s intricate passing offense.

Get used to the names DeWayne Patmon, William Peterson, LeAundre Brown and Brent Washington, the Wolverines’ backup defensive backs. Several or all might be pressed into service in the Rose Bowl because WSU occasionally employs as many as five receivers.

Washington’s a sophomore; the rest are freshmen. They’ve played against teams such as Colorado, which uses a multiple-receiver system, but most Big Ten teams don’t flood receiving lanes. Patmon started against Colorado at outside linebacker, generally a coverage position, and became only the fourth true freshman ever at Michigan to start his first game. Peterson is usually the fifth DB.

The inexperience of the backups makes them likely targets.

“If we can keep their offense off the field, get them to go three-and-out, we’ll be all right,” Ray said “We have some great athletes in the secondary who will make plays. That’s just the confidence we play with.”

Woodson isn’t worried about the youngsters.

“We have enough good athletes to play with Washington State and all the receivers,” he said. “These guys are great defenders and I know they’ll be ready to play on Jan. 1.”

Bowled over

Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr vividly recalled his first trip to the Rose Bowl as a Michigan assistant under Bo Schembechler.

“The first time you go in and look over the rim of that stadium and see the mountains… we’ve all seen it on TV, but there’s nothing quite like going out there yourself,” he said. “The team colors on the sides, the turf is perfectly manicured and you say to yourself, ‘How lucky I am to be here.”’

Quarterback Brian Griese would like to be inside the stadium sooner than later.

“Coming out here we were very excited and anxious,” he said. “Now we’ve been out here (11 days) and everybody is anxious to quit practicing and start playing. It’s a different game because you have so much time to practice.”

Backus against the knife

Michigan offensive lineman Jeff Backus is at the Rose Bowl, which beats the operating table he was stretched out on last January. Backus had emergency surgery after his appendix ruptured.

He came out of surgery with a foot-long scar across his stomach and one regret.

“I told them I wish they had taken a picture. That would have been neat,” he said. “Once they found out it had ruptured, they had to sit me up and pull out my intestines and wash them off.”

Backus lost 37 pounds during his hospital stay. But the redshirt freshman quickly ate his way back up to 285 pounds and earned second-team all-Big Ten honors.

What next?

Woodson hasn’t announced whether he’ll return for his senior season or make himself eligible for the NFL draft. The junior cornerback, also a threat as a receiver and punt returner, has been projected to go among the top five picks.

“It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used at the next level,” said Carr.

Notes

Black grew up in the same neighborhood as Michigan receiver Russell Shaw. It seems odd that Black, a running back, ended up at pass-oriented Washington State, while Shaw, a receiver, chose run-oriented Michigan. … Overheard on the evening news in Los Angeles: “It’s cooled off to 72. The wind chill is 71.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo