European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday december 28, 1992 sports the stars and stripes b Page 21a&m coach frets Over loss of Hill by Arnie Stapleton Dallas a Texas a amp a coach . Slocum is on the defensive and worried about his offence following an internal investigation that led to the suspension of Star running Back Greg Hill one week before the Cotton bowl. A a in a extremely disappointed to be in this situation a Slocum said saturday. A avoiding this has been More of an objective for me than winning  Hill who rushed for 1,339 Yards and 15 touchdowns on 267 carries was suspended along with backup offensive linemen James Brooks and Darius Smith and backup receiver Percy Singleton All freshmen after a school probe revealed Mcaa rules violations following a published report. The Dallas morning news reported on dec. 20 that Texas a amp a players had received payment for work not done at apartment Sites owned by aggie Booster Warren Gilbert of Dallas. The newspaper said Gilbert wrote the payments off As maintenance fees at his Low income units. Gilbert played for the aggie in 1946-47. The schools investigation revealed that the four players were overpaid at their summer jobs but found no evidence of exorbitant or year round payments As alleged in the article Slocum said. A this is in no Way an indictment of our program a he said adding that the University a Quick action demonstrates Texas a amp mrs dedication to complying with Mcaa regulations. Slocum said the school will ask the Mcaa to restore the players eligibility on an individual basis but will make no Effort to have them reinstated in time for the Cotton bowl on Friday where no. 4 Texas a amp a 12-0 will face no. 5 notre Dame 9-1-1. Slocum said the aggie have been Hurt both physically and psychologically by the suspensions. He said Sophomore wide receiver Wilbert Biggens who played running Back in High school would switch to the Backfield to Back up Rodney Thomas who gained 856 Yards and scored 13 touchdowns on 154 carries this year. Slocum said he also would consider activating freshman tailback Leeland Mcelroy who has re shirted this season. A i will this week visit with Leeland and Leeland a parents and say a in the event that we lost Rodney would you want to Trade Cotton bowl exposure for a years eligibility a a Slocum said. Wolverines aim to erase in Rosy bowl reputation by Harry Atkins Huntington Beach Calif. Apr it was Only their first Day in California yet already you could see the Michigan football players had an attitude. And rightly so. When the no. 7 wolverines 8-0-3 play loth ranked Washington 9-2 in the Rose bowl on Friday it will be the huskies who Are favored. Its almost always that Way when Michigan comes West for the holidays. The wolverines have played in 15 Rose bowls and lost nine of them. Worse yet is the fact that Michigan is 2-9 in its last 11 Rose bowl games. This is the second straight Rose bowl appearance for Michigan which has won five consecutive big ten titles. In the last Rose bowl the wolverines sustained a 34-14 defeat at the hands of Washington. And the game Wasny to that close. What happens to the wolverines a maybe teams in the past lost their focus a safety Shonte Peoples said. A for maybe they were satisfied just to be Here. But this years team wont Settle for anything less than a win. A a we re focused on winning the Rose bowl. Our teams chemistry is better. We be got Good athletes. We know we re a Good  the Washington team has had several Well publicized distractions. A washing ton team physician says some players have sold medication issued to them. And quarterback Billy Joe Hubert was ruled ineligible for violating Mcaa rules by accepting a $50,000 personal loan. But the huskies get no sympathy from the wolverines. A we done to really care about the problems they re having. We re ready to win a Peoples said. A we done to care if they re ready to be plucked. We re going to Pluck  add to the dismal Rose bowl record the fact that Michigan was tied three times this season and you have a lot of frustration building up. The tics have caused a few snickers among football insiders. Many experts Are saying Michigan can twin the big games. A the team is very frustrated about the ties a Peoples said. A it will motivate us More. We re mad  coach Gary Moeller says there is no simple explanation for Michigan a problems in Pasadena. He does hint however that the Pacific 10 conference is ahead of the big ten. A i just think we meet some Good football teams basically Quot Moeller said. �?o1 done to think we re As bad As we looked last  in that game the huskies rolled up 404 total Yards while their Quick defense led by a America tackle Steve Eminian held Michigan to just 205 Yards Only 72 of which came on the ground. A we have to get used to coping with that Speed a Moeller said. A my football team is quicker now. It was a lot quicker when the season started before injuries began to set in. A we done to meet As Many Quick teams in the big ten a Moeller insists the wolverines Are still a Good football team in spite of the three ties. Michigan tied notre Dame 17-17 in the first game of the season then ran off eight straight wins. The wolverines had six turnovers in a 22-22 tie with Illinois then finished with a 10-10 tie at Ohio state. A a in a proud of the Way this team stuck together a Moeller said. Quot against Illinois we were an offensive machine. We ran up and Down the Field but we  put the Ball in the end zone because we kept dropping it. A against Ohio state 1 got conservative and rightfully  the team arrived Here on Christmas Day. The wolverines had excellent weather for a workout saturday at Orange coast College in Costa Mesa. A regaining the focus is a problem every year a Moeller said. A but its not like pulling Teeth to get our kids ready to play. They have a Good work  5-9 Illinois a a sizing up pro opportunities minis Jason Verduzco. Ends career in Holiday san Diego Apas he Heads into his final collegiate game at the Holiday bowl the Illinois quarterback once considered too Small to play is measuring his opportunities at the pro level. Jason Verduzco a a 5-foot-9, 190-Pounder a enters wednesday nights game against Hawaii ranked seventh among big ten quarterbacks in career passing yardage. He does no to consider his diminutive size a big impairment at the pro level at least in the Canadian league. A i Haven to ruled out the nil but the nil has probably ruled me out a Verduzco said following practice saturday. A it All has to do with my size and that a it. Verduzco has heard for years How he reminds football fans of Doug Flutie a past Heisman trophy Winner at Boston College who became a Star North of the Border. A anyone who has the Chance to play pro Ball anywhere would jump at it a said Verduzco. But before possible joining Flutie in playing Canadian football Verduzco wants to close his collegiate career with a Victory after quarterbacking two losses in previous bowls. A a in a taking it As a Normal game but the last two times we Haven to done Well a Verduzco said. A so this year we really want to show the country that we can do Well in a bowl  Illinois 6-4-1 secured a bid against Hawaii 10-2 of the Western athletic conference by closing the regular season with three big ten victories and a tie with Michigan the league Champion. Verduzco sizzled during those four games completing 45 of 63 passes for 381 Yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Over his career Verduzco has thrown for 7,284 Yards and with another 264 Yards in the Holiday bowl he can climb two spots past Art Schlichter of Ohio state into fifth place on the big tends All time passing list. A if you weigh and measure him Jason is a reject Quot Zillini coach Lou Tepper said. A the is an atypical quarterback. His mind set is that of a linebacker. He has such a Short lever. That body just should not be Able to do  Verduzco overcame a Low Point this season when he was benched after throwing an interception in the second Quarter against Minnesota in the Illinik a fourth game. He also sat out the next contest. A it was something that i  do anything about a Verduzco said. A if coach wants to put me on the Bench i can to go against what he  Dame fullback May miss Cotton bowl Dallas a notre Dame backup fullback Dean Lytle probably will miss the Cotton bowl because of a pulled thigh muscle coach Lou Holtz said saturday. Holtz who said Lytle pulled the muscle in practice before the Christmas break added that the Junior s absence further depletes notre Dame s Backfield depth. A we were hoping he would recover in time but he did no to Holtz said. A a it a a big disappointment because we have so few backs to begin with. Holtz was further disappointed with his teams first workout in the final phase of preparation for the fridays Cotton bowl game against no. 4 Texas a amp a. The no. 5 fighting Irish last practice on dec. 21 in South Bend before breaking for the holidays. The team gathered in Dallas on Christmas night. A it was one of the poorer practices we be had a Holtz said. A just the Tempo the crispness. A a we be had a lot of poor first practices before bowl games but this was worse than  Holtz said he has empathy for the aggie who on Friday night suspended four players including running Back Greg Hill after an internal investigation revealed Mcaa rules violations. A the team rallies together a Holtz said. A a in be been on the Side where we be had to suspend some Star athletes and we did pretty Well. A i can sympathize with what they re going through but it wont affect their performance. We re concerned that we play Well. We can Only control our football