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

Tom Dienhart

Duan Bracey isn't walking with a limp. He's eating an apple, so he must not have lost any teeth. And forget the fake beard and sunglasses ... Bracey has no reason to hide as he strolls toward the Eastern Michigan bus with a big black duffel bag slung over a shoulder.

Bracey made it. He survived one of college football's ultimate tests: He wasn't burned by Michigan's Steve Breaston, one of college football's ultimate weapons.

Sure, the Eagles lost, 55-0, to the Wolverines--honestly, it wasn't even that close--and there were lots of things for the EMU coaches to circle in red on the final stat sheet. But they could put the pen down when they got to Bracey. He was nicked here and dented there, but it was difficult to find many cleat marks on his back as he emerged from the shadow of Michigan Stadium last Saturday afternoon.

Bracey survived Breaston.

"He wasn't as fast as I thought he would be," says Bracey. "He didn't impress me that much."

Maybe Bracey got lucky. Maybe not. One thing is certain: Breaston has wowed before--and he'll wow again. He was the co-Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2003. He caught 72 passes his first two years at Michigan. And he has been every bit as deadly as a return man, taking back three punts for touchdowns in his college career. That's enough to make any MAC cornerback run for cover.

And get this: Breaston is aiming to be the first Big Ten player ever to accumulate 1,000 career yards as a receiver, as a punt returner and as a kickoff returner.

Breaston will get his stats--he just didn't against Bracey. And here's how a too-small, too-slow cornerback from a school that has too little of everything survived Breaston.

Bracey leans forward in his chair as he prepares for the Breaston barrage. Michigan's 1 No. 15 is one of college football's "haves," and he has a lot of it. High school hero, heralded recruit, cover boy. Heck, coeds probably even coo over him. Bracey knows all that. Has a headful of Breaston. Could start his own scrapbook on the guy. "He's not just a receiver; he's an athlete," says Bracey, a sophomore who switched to corner from wide receiver just this season. "He's a speedster who can do multiple things." All that's left is for Breaston to be stamped an All-American and forwarded to the NFL with a briefcase full of money.

Bracey nods. It's Thursday, and practice is an hour away. He knows what's coming: more Breaston for his brain. It began on Monday, which is supposed to be an off-day. Didn't stop Bracey from coming in on his own to watch No. 15. Rewind, play; rewind, play.

Tuesday? Different day, same deal. More film. Rewind, play; rewind, play. Bracey also practiced and got the Michigan scouting report from his coaches. No doubt, Bracey highlighted the parts about No. 15. Just in case he got bored while on campus, Bracey jammed the report into his backpack. Might as well get used to having Breaston on his hip ... he was going to be there on Saturday.

"Sometimes after I make a play in practice, I'll say 'da-da-da ... da-da-da' just like the song they play on SportsCenter," says Bracey. He smiles, leans back and tugs at the green muscle shirt that barely contains his muscles. "In practice on Tuesday, my intensity turned up," Bracey says. "I told our receivers they weren't going to catch a pass. Things went well yesterday, too."

They ended up catching a couple. No big deal. Wednesday was the last intense day of preparation. It went well for Bracey--and then Thursday stares him in the face. And Breaston still hasn't beaten Bracey. Breaston still is in front of him, right there in color on the video screen and over there in black and white in the scouting report. Bracey still has a chance. It's time for another meeting before practice. It's time to get more lowdown on the guy who could make Bracey feel low down.

Bracey nestles in a cramped meeting room in a deep, dark corner of EMU's Convocation Center. He grabs a seat up front. Good idea. On this Thursday afternoon, all eyes are on cornerbacks coach Joe Palka. He points. He scribbles. He questions. So, what's the plan, Coach? EMU will press Breaston and the Michigan wideouts, playing zone behind them to offer help. The idea is to disrupt Breaston's timing. It seems risky. Then there's another revelation: Breaston isn't EMU's biggest worry ... it's Jason Avant.

Avant has been the main man in Michigan's first two games, catching a team-high 14 passes for 217 yards with one touchdown. EMU will roll a safety to whatever side of the field Avant is lined up. Breaston? Mr. All-American? Before the season, some touted Breaston as the nation's best receiver, but he has only three catches for 24 yards and no touchdowns.

Bracey knows a frustrated Breaston could be a dangerous Breaston. Bracey likely will be on Breaston for just 15 or so plays on Saturday. Still, Bracey knows the danger involved. Avant is good now, but Breaston likely will be great at some point this season. Will it start Saturday?

It's Friday in Ypsilanti--"Ypsi" to the natives--and Bracey feels good. In fact, he says he's sleeping well. No thrashing in the sheets. No screaming in the night. No giant No. 15s eating him alive. But how can that be? Doesn't Bracey know what's about to go down in The Big House? Doesn't he know about the 100,000 people? The TV cameras? The winged helmets? "Hail to the Victors" and all that Big Blue hullabaloo? Worse yet, doesn't he know he's in peril of quickly morphing into a Saturday night highlight? Imagine the exchanges on couches around the country.

Potato 1: Wow, did you see that? Breaston went long and jumped a mile in the air to catch that TD pass! What a play!

Potato 2: Incredible! Boy, I sure wouldn't want to be that poor schlub for Eastern Michigan who was trying to cover him. Look at him! Ha! Ha!

This thought makes Bracey chuckle. He's a good guy and a good sport. "No, I visualize myself making a play," he says. "I see myself making the highlights."

Hmmm. Guess we'll mark "10" next to the Confidence box on his resume.

But why not? What does Bracey have to lose? He's at Eastern Michigan for a reason. Coming out of Murray Wright High in Detroit, Bracey had offers from EMU, Cincinnati and Indiana--not the schools kids dream of while playing backyard football. Michigan never called, never sent a letter. National powers pass on 5-9, 187-pound wide receivers who play on what essentially are dirt fields in the Detroit Public School League.

Two buses carrying the Eastern Michigan team chug along Washtenaw Avenue. Past the Ypsi-Arbor bowling alley, past the Pita Hut. Cars zoom by with no idea of the cargo making the short drive from Ypsilanti to Ann Arbor for EMU's Friday walk-through. Bracey naps in his seat on the lead bus. And then, there it is: The Big House.

Bracey seems unmoved as he walks under a "Go Blue" sign and down a ramp that spills onto the field. Decked out in a shiny green Adidas Eastern Michigan sweatsuit with an EMU green cap flipped in reverse, Bracey meanders toward midfield, squats and feels the turf. He stands and soaks in the vast emptiness that surrounds him. It's quiet, except for the sound of the Michigan band practicing somewhere nearby.

"Now's the time to be spectators, men!" coach Jeff Genyk shouts. "Check it out! Get it over with!"

Bracey swivels around. He never has buckled up his chin strap in Michigan Stadium. He has played at Ford Field. He has played at the Silverdome. But not here. Bracey jams his hands into his pockets and continues his self-guided tour. Game time can't get here soon enough. Classmates jabbed him with questions this morning: "You going to win tomorrow?" Bracey even got a call from a coach from his youth days: "Are you still 'Big Play' Bracey?"

"I thought about football a lot today during classes," he says. "More than usual. I thought about making plays, taking the ball from Breaston."

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.

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."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

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