The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN FOOTBALL not look like the best decision to any- one else because I'm not playing still, but it was a very good learning expe- rience. I went from the top to the bot- tom, and I learned so much. I am now in a position to help other athletes and educate them on the process. "That's how I started my company, so it's a blessing to be in the position I am in now." TY ISAAC WILL HELP THIS YEAR, OR NEXT While Michigan and running back Ty Isaac await word from the NCAA on whether he will receive a hard- ship waiver, thus allowing him to play this season after transferring from Southern Cal, his former posi- tion coach at USC shared that the 6-3, 225-pound back will definitely be a force for the Wolverines this season, or beginning in 2015 if that is the de- cision made by the NCAA. "We had him right around 238 and that was a great weight for him be- cause he's a downhill runner that really gets moving after two or three steps," said Tommie Robinson, who now coaches for Texas. "By the time he hit the line of scrimmage, he was trucking forward, and then his feet were so good, and his hips, and his ability to show you something with his body but he's thinking about zag- ging with his eyes — you think you have him wrapped up and he's slip- ping through your grasp. "I don't know that many kids that are that big and have that much wig- gle, and when he needed it, he had an extra gear that you wouldn't ex- pect. I can tell you those defensive backs and linebackers sure didn't ex- pect because they were left grabbing a lot of air." Robinson felt privileged to coach Isaac, noting the Shorewood, Ill., na- tive approached the game with a de- sire to learn. "He's not shy in terms of if he has a question, he will ask. He won't sit back and be confused," Robinson said. "He's very meticulous about what he's doing. He's very mature. "In meeting rooms, he understands football. He gets it. He's going to ask a question sometimes that you would think he should know, but he's just making sure, and I liked that. "He's going to ask follow-up ques- tions because he's constantly think- ing about defenses and the way they defend us. He wants to have every possible scenario figured out. And that was a true freshman. Most of the time those kids are just quiet and sit there. "He'll pick up Michigan's offense. He's a smart kid that has football intelligence, and because he wants to learn. He doesn't want to sit back and wait. He understands the less he asks, the more he doesn't know, and that keeps him from seeing the field. "He wants to play." Appearing in 14 games a year ago for the Trojans, Isaac rushed for 236 yards and two touchdowns on 40 carries (5.9 yards per rush), but he decided after USC's winter term that he needed to be closer to home and to a mother who suffers from an ear condition that makes flying a terrible