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Bracing for Breaston: a week inside a seemingly overmatched MAC cornerback's preparation to take on a Mac Daddy receiver

Sporting News, The, Sept 30, 2005 by Tom Dienhart

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Does Breaston even know who Bracey is? "He better after watching film this week," says Bracey.

All is quiet in the Eastern Michigan locker room. Necks roll and legs twitch. A clock above a big blue metal door [ticks down the time to kickoff--20:20, 20:19, 20:18 ...

Bracey sits on his stool in front of his locker. The only difference between him and a statue? Bracey blinks every 15 or so seconds. It's no time to lose focus--not with one of the nation's finest groups of receivers waiting across the hall to make him look foolish. Breaston probably is pulling his No. 15 jersey over his shoulder pads about now.

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Fourteen plays. That's it. That's how many times Bracey braced for Breaston, and that's how many times he survived. Breaston was thrown two passes while Bracey was on him. One was a one-hop incompletion. Breaston caught the other for a touch ... out of bounds. Michigan probably didn't need to throw a pass to win the game, but it did. In fact, Avant beat Bracey for a score. "I thought Avant was better," says Bracey. "He's a good route runner. He got me on a stick-and-go route."

But not Breaston. Yeah, he had a 72-yard punt return that set up Michigan's first touchdown, but it wasn't Bracey's fault. The Wolverines wanted to jump-start Breaston against EMU, to get him on track to be their go-to guy for the big games that loom. Didn't happen.

"He was good," says Breaston. That's good enough for Bracey.

STEVE BREASTON

Michigan

Size: 6-1, 179.

Fastest 40 time: 4.37.

Where he plays: wide receiver, kick returner, punt returner.

X's and O's: He has come a long way since his freshman and sophomore seasons, when he was as much a decoy with go routes as he was a threat to go the distance.

Michigan uses motion to free him from jams at the line of scrimmage, giving him a running start and the ability to juke a defender before the jam.

An NFL scout says: "He has to be able to prove he can go across the middle and make a tough catch. There are fast receivers all over this league. You've got to be more than just a dangerous punt returner."

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Bracing for Breaston: a week inside a seemingly overmatched MAC cornerback's preparation to take on a Mac Daddy receiver

Sporting News, The, Sept 30, 2005 by Tom Dienhart

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