The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/230001
had the great pleasure of coaching Jibreel, because at times I act like a defensive line coach, and I'm very proud." Black: "It has been a long journey to get to this point. I remember my freshman year, seeing all the seniors come up here and talk and thinking that it would be forever before I'm up here. But here I am. "I'd like to thank my parents for guiding me to this point in my life. At first, I was committed to two different schools before I committed to the University of Michigan, so it was a whole circus. But they pulled me aside by the ear, and they told me I was coming here. I want to thank them for that. "Even though the season hasn't gone the way we planned, as you can see we played for each other and we never gave up on each other. We have that type of bond. We're family." Wide receiver Drew Dileo Hoke on Dileo: "He's not the biggest guy in the world, but he may be one of the best football players and people I have ever been around." Dileo: "I would like to thank [running backs coach] Fred Jackson for recruiting me from his home state of Louisiana. He has been like a father to me, and his son Jeremy Jackson has been like a brother. I want to thank my position coach, Jeff Hecklinski, for being another father figure to me. And I'd like to especially thank his wife, Miss Tiffany, for all the support and the candy and cookies and cupcakes you have made for us. "Coach Hoke, one of the many things I enjoy about him is that he is the type of coach any player would want to play for. He is a man that can be called a role model. The way he brings energy to everything he does. The way he wears shorts and T-shirts in snowy, 20-degree weather. And the way he secretly wants me to buy him whoppers with cheese and no onions from Burger King every Monday after our receiver meetings. He has been a tremendous coach to play for, and I am truly blessed. "I never thought a small, unathletic — as Jordan Kovacs would call me — boy from the South would get out and experience the things I have. From listening to people tell me the word, 'Y'all' makes me sound like a hick and dumb, to hearing 50-yearold women getting mad at me for calling them ma'am and men getting made at me for calling them sir, to which I always respond, 'I'm sorry sir, my parents raised me that way.' "Adjusting to life in Ann Arbor was not easy. It's a lot different than where I grew up, but I did it. Adjusting to the diverse student groups I sat next to every day in class was not easy, but I did it. Having to wash, dry and fold my laundry while cooking my own dinner was not easy, but I did it. Getting myself in a position to graduate was not easy, but next May I will. "Coming to Michigan at first was only about football. But four years later, it's obvious that God did not put me here just to play the game I love. It gave me the tools, resources and people to follow along the way,