The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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5, Charles Woodson, 1996 — Woodson remained a year away from his Heis- man Trophy performance in 1997, but he'd gotten pretty well established in his role as a shutdown cornerback. During his sophomore season, he picked off a pair of passes against UCLA, and one each versus Colorado, Michigan State and Alabama. 5, Brad Cochran, 1984 — The 1984 season wasn't kind to Bo Schembechler's Wolverines overall, but one sophomore defensive back kept giving his team chances. Cochran picked off five passes that year, one apiece against Miami (Fla.), Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Brigham Young. 3, Marlin Jackson, 2002 — Jackson established himself early as a force in Michigan's defensive backfield. During the 2002 season, he kept the Wolverines close in a 25-23 home loss against Notre Dame, picking off a pair of passes against the Irish. He also made an interception against Illinois that season. 2, Thom Darden (1970), Dave Brown (1973), Tripp Welborne (1989) — Three other luminar- ies of Michigan secondaries down through the years ago recorded a pair of intercep- tions apiece as sophomores. Lewis has a chance to move up the list, appearing to grow more confident by the week in his ability to get up and defend man-to-man. What it means for him down the road remains to be seen, but for now, he appears to be fulfilling the preseason talk that pegged him as Michigan's best cover corner. He can run with opponents' best wide- outs, and chase a few iconic Michigan cornerbacks in the process. — John Borton In 2002, Marlin Jackson grabbed two interceptions in a close home loss to Notre Dame, and for the season he posted three picks. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN