Closer Look

Breaston wakes up the echoes with big returns

By Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Steve Breaston didn't have to catch any passes to make an impact against the Irish. AP

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- There will be no Heismans in his immediate future, but Steve Breaston did his best Desmond Howard impression against Notre Dame.

The sophomore return man provided the first spark to Michigan's eventual 38-0 rout Saturday with 6:29 left in the first quarter when he returned Nick Setta's punt 55 yards to the Irish 2. Chris Perry cashed in with the Wolverines' first touchdown on the next play.

His body turned in the wrong direction when he fielded Setta's booming 50-yard kick, the speedster Breaston took a second to position himself before taking off, weaving first away from the sideline and then back, and nearly taking it to the house if not for a tackle by Setta.

"I saw good blocking, hit holes and made a play," said Breaston (pronounced breast-en). "When they block like that, I have to finish the job. You just have to hit the hole."

He followed it up with a 25-yard return on the next series, setting up a field goal.

"[The two returns] were very important," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "It's a lot easier to play offensive football when you've got the ball on their end of the field."

The North Braddock, Penn., native finished with four returns for 105 yards in his third career game. The former Gatorade Pennsylvania player of the year came into the season with plenty of hype and turned some heads in the Wolverines' first two games against Central Michigan and Houston, but this was his first real chance to shine.

His only disappointment: seeing limited action at receiver and finishing without a catch. When asked about it afterward, he took the safe route, saying ... nothing.

However, it's not like he doesn't have a chance to make an impact.

His 105 yards tied for the fifth-best performance in Michigan history, and in just three games he now has 12 returns for 235 yards, a robust 19.6-yard average.

Michigan has a strong history of dangerous return men -- Howard, Derrick Alexander, Charles Woodson, to name a few  but have been lacking a true game-breaker in recent years. Enter Breaston, a sleek 6-1, 176-pound receiver, who flashed remarkable acceleration on his first-half returns, enough that Setta started kicking out of bounds as the game went on.

"It was a great motivator to see him go out there and run it down to the 2," said Perry. "He's very talented. Whenever you have a punt returner who can break one on any play, it's always a plus."

The soft-spoken Breaston downplayed his role afterward, despite much prodding from the media.

"I know the history of great return men here, but I have to just go out there and do my job," he said. "It was exciting being out there."