The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/152358
He was deep in thought, seemingly reading stats of the final scrimmage. Coach Brown broke the ice by saying, 'This kid's got a story for you, Bo.' I heard a booming voice say, 'Okay, let's hear it.' I started out nervously about the OSU game in 1969 and when I got to the part about moving to La Jolla he boomed again: 'Nothing good ever came out outta La Jolla except golfers and surfers, damn sure no good football players. You can't weigh more than 140 pounds [How he knew that I'll never know … my heart sank about 10 feet]. What in the world can you offer this team?' "I was mortified and didn't know what to say, but somehow I said I could kick better than anyone he had. After all, I was the second-string kicker behind Rolf Benirschke at La Jolla High [but Bo didn't need to know that]. So he gave me that much too familiar Bo stare, the one that burns multiple holes through your soul. He finally growled, 'Brownie, he can watch practice on Monday and if he still wants to try after that we'll see.' "I don't know how it happened but the blood began to flow in my veins again and I felt good. I couldn't wait until Monday." That Monday led to scores of other Mondays at a Michigan football practice, Stephenson going from backup kicker to an eventual starting position at split end on the 1976 Big Ten champion Wolverines. He still marvels at all he learned from Schembechler and Michigan football, and how it touches his life daily as a real estate developer in Stephenson Paves The Way For More Wolverines When Curt Stephenson first arrived at Michigan, he faced a tall order just getting head coach Bo Schembechler to let him walk onto the team. The youngster persevered through all of that, eventually carving a key niche among the Wolverines, including catching a 76-yard touchdown pass from Rick Leach in the 1978 Rose Bowl. Now, he's helping future Wolverines live their own football dreams by investing in Michigan athletics. "I really wanted to help fund a scholarship for a walk-on, so that if Brady Hoke happens to believe in some young kid, a kid that was a walk-on but who is deserving of a scholarship at the University of Michigan, my goal was that the Curtis J. Stephenson Endowed Fund would help pay for his scholarship," he noted. In other words, Stephenson, who has traveled the difficult walk-on road before, stands more than willing to help the next Jordan Kovacs. "I was a walk-on, and I have a special place in my heart for those guys," Stephenson acknowledged. "When Brady makes an announcement, hopefully it will be to a walkon where he can say, 'Hey, we had a former walk-on who endowed this and we're happy to give it to you, to continue your career and experience at Michigan.'" — John Borton