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Pity M's Jim Young, His Job A Toughie

Pity M's Jim Young, His Job A Toughie image
Parent Issue
Ann Arbor News, September 22, 1969
Article Author
Wayne DeNeff
Day
22
Month
September
Year
1969
Copyright
Copyright Protected
Rights Held By
Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

PITY M’S JIM YOUNG, HIS JOB A TOUGHIE

By Wayne DeNeff

Who has the toughest job in Ann Arbor?

University President Robben Fleming in these days of student revolt? Mayor Robert Harris? Police Chief Walt Krasny?

Here’s a vote for Jim Young, 34-year-old defensive coordinator for the Michigan football team.

Young is the man who each Saturday must come up with the answers to the whiz-bang brand of offensive football which is sweeping the nation’s colleges.

Take another look at the scores of the games involving Big Ten teams and it’s obvious most of the games were nightmares for a defensive coach. Minnesota, a school which prides itself on defense, fell to Arizona State, 48-26. Oklahoma ran up 48 points on Wisconsin while Purdue and Texas Christian combined for 77. Indiana and Kentucky played perhaps the wildest game of a wild, wild miswest weekend with the Hoosiers coming out on top, 58-30.

It was the same story throughout the nation, highlighted by Florida’s 59-34 victory over Houston and Stanford’s 63-21 triumph over San Jose State.

Young was the man in the yellow shirt and a white card in his hand pacing up and down in front of the Michigan bench Saturday as the Wolverines decked Vanderbilt, 42-14, in the season’s opener at Michigan stadium.

Young’s Wolverine defenders did a good job against Vandy but it’s bound to get a lot tougher in the Saturdays ahead with Washington, Missouri and then Purdue scheduled for successive visits to Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines stopped Vanderbilt with just 55 yards gained on the ground and if there was an area where the Wolverines appeared a bit vulnerable it was through the air. The Commodores gained 127 yards via passing, (25 passes and 10 completions) and scored a touchdown at the start of the second half on a drive which included four completions.

But the defensive secondary is generally regarded as one of Michigan’s strong areas in view of the return of such excellent regulars as Tom Curtis, Brian Healy and Barry Pierson. Young also gets a fourth defensive back, sophomore Bruce Elliott, into the game in certain situations.

It’s an old baseball truism that the game is never over until the last man is out and the way things are going in college football it’s probably safe to say that a football game is never over until that last minute has ticked off.

A two-touchdown lead used to be pretty safe but not anymore. Even a three-touchdown lead can be wiped out in a hurry. Indiana, for instance, jumped off to a 24-0 advantage over Kentucky but at the end of the half the lead was a precarious 24-17.

So include Jim Young’s name among those in the city who have jobs which can make for a sleepless night. The ever more talented quarterbacks who can run and pass, the triple-option offenses and the split ends and splits backs are making things tough for the man who coaches defense.

PHOTO CAPTION: Airborne Wolverine: Michigan tailback Glenn Doughty flies through the air for a short gain after being hit by Vanderbilt’s Lyndal Kennedy (55). Doughty, a sophomore, launched his career as a Wolverine by gaining 138 yards in 15 tries including an 80-yard touchdown run. Doughty was leading ballcarrier of the season opener.