Amara Darboh Interview
Since the Ondre Pipkins interview was so well received, I thought I'd post my recent one with Amara Darboh as well. He's a great story and easy to root for. Enjoy: Amara Darboh
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:15 AM ^
what is that thing on his face? I am sorry if this is a silly question.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:26 AM ^
What's it matter?
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^
I know there are dicks all over the world.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:32 AM ^
I negged you. I thought your question was childish, rude and completely off topic.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:13 PM ^
You appear to be one of them.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
Umm, maybe It's his jaw muscle. The picture probably caught him mid-chew on a piece of bubble gum, or cheetah meat, or the testicles of the person who last posted a stupid comment about him on a blog thread. Or, something like that, I'm assuming.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:05 PM ^
I don't see anything (other than your ignorance)...he's of African descent...meaning he's likely to have have extremely defined features (which he does). Nothing is on his face, it's just the muscle/bone from his jaw.
Who gives a shit? Especially when EVERYONE has it, it's just a matter of the definition of your facial structure. Maybe you should do some jaw exercises, lol
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:20 AM ^
Tremendous interview. I like the instant hatred for the hicks down south.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^
In particular, this line:
' The day I decided I was going to Michigan was the day I decided I didn't like those guys over there.'
This is almost on par with just saying "Ohio". I think we should use "those guys over there' now and again too. Welcome aboard, Amara.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:27 AM ^
Great work! Your contributions over the past few months are much appreciated.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:28 AM ^
Amara seems to be a mature and goal oriented kid..excited to see him get better over the next few years.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:30 AM ^
... I want to be the first Amara Darboh, not the next "this guy".
I love these kids that are wise beyond their years, that know work is the key, and especially the ones that realize the opportunities they have in front of them.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:34 AM ^
That's my favorite quote too. This was the first interview I had seen on him and instantly liked him. I had the same instant like for Joe Bolden and I can't wait to see them play!
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^
The kids got all the raw materials to be forged into a fine young Michigan Man.
It will be a blast to cheer him on.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^
He sounds like a real humble and well-rounded kid.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:35 AM ^
He seems like an asset and credit to Michigan. It also speaks very well of our coaches to not only recruit players like this but also getting them to commit.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
i love how the first thing that comes to mind when we hear our recruits speak is maturity. hoke's clearly done his hw on the type of kids he recruits.
January 2nd, 2012 at 11:42 AM ^
I like how he realizes that he has to work on some things he didn't have to in high school. I think that's a problem for a lot of players coming to college or to the nfl. They have to realize that when they were in high school they were the best on their team or even in their state, but when they get to college everyone was that.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:14 PM ^
I'm sure multiple people deserve credit for it, but we just seem to have a lot of good people associated with the U-M football program. It makes me proud to have guys like Darboh, like Kalis, like James Ross and others sign up to play for us and continue to build the character that I truly believe separates Michigan from other programs. We've never had the most talented athletes among the elite programs in the country, but we win because we have good kids with character and smarts who understand how to build community and play as a team. At every level of sports, chemistry and teamwork trump raw talent.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^
I'm going to get negged, but I hate Facebook stalking kids...so I feel dirty if I just read that interview and it was from a fan who decided to create a blog and start facebook chatting recruits for interviews...
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:12 PM ^
At all.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^
As someone who works with Aquaman, I know that he does not stalk the recruits. He politely asks a kid for an interview and if they decline or don't respond then he will respect that and let it go. And it's not like these are kids, most of them are 18 or older (aka adults).
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:38 PM ^
For all that you and Aquaman provide in terms of recuriting news. I find your reporting/posting to be quite informative.
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:46 PM ^
Sooooo he IS a fan that does it via Facebook? I wasn't questioning whether it was polite or not. I could tell by the interview that the person isn't one of this crazy fans that thinks they're doing Michigan a favor by recruiting for it. However, if he's a fan that's "Facebooking/Twittering" kids, that makes me uncomfortable. I don't care if you're Dan Rather.
January 2nd, 2012 at 6:15 PM ^
I don't know anything about aquaman or how he contacts recruits, but it depends on the reasons why you're doing this type of work. I do interviews with Michigan prospects for Midnight Maize all the time. I'm doing it because I want to become a journalist, and this can help me prepare for my career interests.
January 2nd, 2012 at 8:03 PM ^
I frankly don't really care if it makes you uncomfortable. The response to these interviews has been overwhelmingly positive. They'll obviously continue. Using simple logic, if how I contact players makes you uncomfortable, then how TomVH contacts players makes you uncomfortable. That's something I can live with.
EDIT: I'd also echo what SimplyComplex said. I interviewed with Brian for the job that Ace eventually got (Ace has been great so far btw). My assumption was that I didn't have enough experience and that's why I didn't get it. I'm mostly doing this to gain that experience but also because I know people like to read about it.
Frankly, I shouldn't have responded to such a stupid comment, but oh well.
January 3rd, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^
Soon everyone looking to be a journalist is going to be trying to recruit for Michigan. I apologize for those that I've offended, but I feel the way I feel. I work in college athletics and coaches HATE when fans contact recruits. I've heard of many recruits be swayed by the fans and fanbases. Is it smart? No. But to some 16, 17, and 18 year olds...it can be wait tips the scale.
We also started to get more and more fans involved with recruits...its going to turn into fans paying recruits without anyone on the football staff knowing. This already happens. Especially in the south.
Sure the kids could stay off Facebook and Twitter if they don't like it. But should the really get punished for being a kid and wanted to use these services like 90% of other kids their age just because they're good at football?
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:50 PM ^
How is that different that what Tom VH or Ace might do? How is it acceptable for some reporter, who in reality might be a creep, to interview them?
You do realize that Tremendous is MGoBlog's very own Aquaman2342, right?
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:44 PM ^
You are out of touch with today's youth. That is how kids communicate, either Facebook or via text. If you want to communicate with then you must use the mediums they do.
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<br>I have a hard time accepting that while dating today, most conversations are done mostly via text and not on the phone.
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<br>Your comment reminds me of my parents when they first heard of email.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:33 PM ^
You're right Darboh is someone you just want to cheer for.
January 2nd, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
Seems like a class act. Well spoken and already a passionate hatred for the turds.
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:10 PM ^
Kid's amazing! Makes me want to root on the guy!
January 2nd, 2012 at 1:40 PM ^
What an amazing story. It's unfortunate that Amara has had to experience so much adversity in his young life, but I'm impressed by him and by those people around him who have helped him. I'd pull for this kid, no matter what school he chose to attend, but it makes it so much easier that he chose MICHIGAN! Go Blue!
P.S. Great work, Aquaman! I love reading these interviews with the recruits. Thanks!
January 2nd, 2012 at 5:36 PM ^
I live in West Des Moines where his high school is located and had a chance to see him play. I can see the Arrington similarities a little bit but Darboh has a little more speed. It's a little hard to gauge though since the competition is not great. And he is right he does have great hands. I didn't think he would get him initially with the Notre Dame catholic school connection but I guess we have Brian Kelly to thank for that.