The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70103
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? high expectations bestowed upon a Schembechler player, and became a valuable option as a blocker and a runner in posting 145 yards and two touchdowns. Injuries would slow his progress, him and it's been one whirlwind after another. "He implemented the things he's starting with a knee injury that side- lined him for the 1980 Ohio State game and the 1981 Rose Bowl win over Washington, Schembechler's first Rose Bowl championship. Fate, though, kept him in football. Ingram was walking home from practice to his off-campus apartment in 1983 when then-assistant Lloyd Carr saw him and offered him a ride. "I thought I was going to work at Proctor and Gamble or something like that, but Lloyd asked me, 'Have you ever thought about getting into coach- ing?'" Ingram recalled. "He said there weren't a lot of African-American players in coaching, and he thought I'd be really good at it. "I'd never thought about it. But he said, 'Go talk to Bo about it.'" In 1984, Ingram joined Mike Trgo- vac, Cam Cameron, Paul Alexander, Bill Sheridan and Jim Herrmann as Schembechler's graduate assistants. In 2011, all of them were NFL assis- tants, well known in their professions. "Somebody told me if you're going to give it a shot, you might as well do it while you're young," Ingram said. "It's worked out. I sat out a year with Tom after Jacksonville, and then he asked me to come to New York with The Jerald Ingram File 1979-81 … Fullback who played through injuries to provide key contributions on two Big Ten championship teams (1980, 1982) … Carried 46 times for 191 yards and three touchdowns in his career … Notched 33 carries for 145 yards in 1980, his best season, adding two touchdowns for the Big Ten champs before suffering a knee injury and miss- ing the last three games … Started his coaching career as a graduate assistant in 1984. Michigan Memory: Ingram moved around as the son of a military man, but played his high school ball in Beaver, Pa. He'd initially committed to Joe Paterno at Penn State after attending the coach's camp three straight years, but fell in love with Michigan on his visit. "On Signing Day, Bo was there [with a letter of intent] and Joe was there. Bo was there a little earlier than Joe," Ingram Michigan Accomplishments: Three-year letterman, recalled with a laugh. "A week before I would say, "I'm going to PSU … nah, I'm going to Michigan, Nah, Penn State. One factor tipped the scales in U-M's favor — the late Bob '" Ufer, Michigan's great radio personality. "I loved Bob Ufer's enthusiasm. He was bleeding blue," Ingram recalled. "They had him there on the recruiting trip, and his enthusiasm and excitement for it — I had never seen that before. When you got done with him, you were ready to sign on the dotted line. it to be. "He could see the game … there were plays he called it Playing for Schembechler was everything Ingram expected " exactly right, would say, 'This play going to happen,' and it would. "He was the non-athletic general. He'd punch you in the always believed in, a lot of things I've been under — hard work ethic, hon- esty and integrity, trying to convey the message to the players. We've been blessed with great players here." That was evident in this year's Su- per Bowl run, one in which few gave the Giants a chance. They responded each time the experts wrote them off, playing their best football in the play- offs they way they did in their 2008 championship run. Ingram has enjoyed the success to the fullest. He's happiest, though, for his players. "I just enjoy giving back what I learned," he said. "We're glorified teachers. You want to not only teach them football, but how to live off the field, as a man. There's a lot of excite- ment in that, and we live through our players. "To watch a young man have suc- Ingram, a three-year letterman, had 46 rush- ing attempts for 191 yards and three touch- downs in his U-M career. PHOTO COURTESY BENTLEY HISTORICAL LIBRARY cess even in the minutest way, watch that man change and grow, you un- derstand what Bo was talking about. It's really about this big picture. It stays with you for life, and stays with that young man for life." So, too does Michigan. There are still plenty of days Ingram visits YouTube.com to watch a legend- ary address he witnessed in person — Schembechler's "The Team, The Team, The Team" speech. He and for- mer U-M wide receiver Mario Man- ningham, one of the Giants' Super Bowl heroes, always share a pregame hug and a 'Go Blue!' and wear their colors proudly. After all, Ingram said, it's Michigan that helped make them who they are today. "When you get there, you take the name off the back and it's about growing up as young men," he said. "That's what Michigan was about. A lot of schools across the country have a lot of ways of winning, different beliefs. Bo believed in one way -— the right way." It's the path Ingram's been follow- ing ever since. ❑ mouth. To watch him on Friday, he' d take a snap every week and run one play on offense. This old man is out there stum- bling around … but God, you loved him. He'd die for you, so why wouldn't you die for him?" Current Occupation: Running backs coach for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, a post he's held since 2004 … Started as a Michigan graduate assistant in 1984, coached for Paul Schudel at Ball State and at Boston College with Tom Coughlin before moving to the NFL ranks, starting with Jacksonville in 1995. Education: Bachelor's degree in general studies, 1983. Family: Ingram and his wife, Kathleen, have been married for 19 years. They have one son, Julian (14). APRIL 2012 THE WOLVERINE 101