The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/50790
about how he came to be at the Uni- versity of Michigan, playing for the football program. "I grew up in Ann Arbor, and when I was 5 years old I watched Tyrone Wheatley run through Buckeyes, and Tim Biakabutuka drag them behind him," he said. "And I would take the little Michigan football and dive through our living room, and end up on our parents' bed, and pretend I scored the winning touchdown against Ohio State. "And then 1997 came, and Coach [Lloyd] Carr, and a national title, and that sealed the deal — I was 8 years old and knew where I was going to college. Senior center David Molk "But the reality is that, this is Michigan. We come back. We're a team that continues. There is nothing that can stop Michigan." "But it wasn't until I got to Michi- gan and truly knew how special this place was. Coach Carr was my hero growing up, and to play for him for a year, I am forever thankful for letting me be a part of this family. "Our support staff … on a daily ba- sis I deal with people that are the best at what they do, from our strength staff, to trainers, to academics, to our coaching staff. 'The Leaders and Best' isn't just a saying, but the motto we live by here at Michigan. "As I go out into the real world, I see this as not an end but as a begin- ning, as I can finally give back to the university that has given so much to me." • Funniest Speech: When long Senior defensive tackle Mike Martin said to Brady Hoke, "Coach Hoke and his staff, thank you for taking Team 132 and this senior class where it hasn't been." PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN the first time. However, the decibel level reached its highest point when former head coach Gary Moeller was asked to stand to be recognized. Bo Schembechler's heir, Moeller went 44-13-3 from 1990-94, winning con- ference championships in 1990, 1991 and 1992. • Best Speech: Though on a full scholarship this past year, and since 2009 overall, defensive tackle Will Heininger represented the nine walk- ons with his heart-warming story snapper Tom Pomarico took to the po- dium, his long hair partially blocked his face, which was fitting for a player at the position almost no one knows, or should know. "I'm hoping that most of you don't recognize my name because that means I did a pretty decent job this year," Pomarico joked. During his two minutes, he earned some of the largest laughs, and the most sustained, usually by poking fun at himself. "When I was playing junior foot- ball, my dad told me, 'If you work at throwing the ball between your legs a lot, you can get a scholarship to a major university,'" he relayed. "This idea seemed quite strange to me at the time, but 10 years later I got • Most Memorable Moment: Cen- ter and captain David Molk doesn't mince his words. He is brutally hon- est when he speaks to the media, often about his disdain for the me- dia, and he wouldn't sugarcoat how he felt about the way this team was treated the past few years, knowing there were many in the crowd who abandoned the Wolverines when they needed their supporters the most. "Going through what we have these past few years, it's kind of hard to put into words — what it meant, what we've been through," he said. "Frankly, I don't think there are many people in this room, in this country, that understand. "Unless you're a fifth-year senior here, you don't know. You didn't live it, you didn't feel it, you didn't see the pain, you didn't feel the anguish, you didn't feel the hate. There was a time when we got booed by you guys. That hurts. That hurts a man who has been here for four years. "But the reality is that, this is Mich- igan. We come back. We're a team that continues. There is nothing that can stop Michigan." Molk then went through his thanks, stopping near the end to say I love you to his dad, Tom, who, in a hushed room, loudly replied, "I love you, too." And then Molk, who lost his mother to cancer before he ever ar- rived at U-M, finished: "And I know we're both thinking about someone else we wish could be here." JANUARY 2012 THE WOLVERINE 21 pretty good at it, and I got a scholar- ship. But the idea still seems a little strange to me." • Funniest Moment: Tailback Mi- chael Shaw began his speech thank- ing running backs coach Fred Jackson for the life lessons he taught, but his compliment quickly turned into an impersonation of Jackson, complete with his gruff Southern drawl. Shaw lowered his glasses down to the brim of his nose, and tried to explain why the wisdom Jackson passes on often doesn't reach its audience. "When I was 54 years old," Shaw said, doing his best old-man voice. "Wait, how old am I? When you get in your 50s, you forget.'"