JohnnyV123

December 24th, 2012 at 6:18 AM ^

Someone should ask him how often people call him Northfleet.

Seeing him early in the year I had called he was going to score at least two kick return TDs this season which is tough for a first year guy. I was sad to be wrong. Excited to have him in the kick return game going forward, but now after reading that article I'm even less excited to have him in the secondary than I was.

DGDestroys

December 24th, 2012 at 10:41 AM ^

I had called he was going to score at least two kick return TDs this season which is tough for a first year guy

Why? I mean, I guess everything's tough for a first year guy, but returning kicks relies more on  natural athleticism and ability more than....well really any position. I guess it takes time to understand how your blocks are supposed to develop, but other than that I can't really see how experience helps all that much. The top 4 kick returners in the country (based on average yards) are all either sophomores or freshmen. In fact, none of the top 10 are seniors.

Magnus

December 24th, 2012 at 10:45 AM ^

That sort of goes along with your point, but it seems like most guys move away from returning punts and kickoffs as they get older.  One reason is that coaches probably want to avoid getting them injured, and I think the athletically gifted players eventually find a niche at RB, WR, or DB that takes some technical development, learning the playbook, etc.

There aren't many seniors on the list, because now those guys are playing every down at a more critical position.

UMgradMSUdad

December 24th, 2012 at 6:49 AM ^

He sounds like a great young man.  Let's see, he never gives up, he is really fast, people say he is too small for his position, and he smiles all the time.  That kind of reminds me of somebody else on the team.

B1G_Fan

December 24th, 2012 at 7:00 AM ^

 I love this kids intensity. Before every kickoff this year you would see him waiting and talking to himself and getting all jacked up on the goal line.

hackattack13

December 24th, 2012 at 7:24 AM ^

Sounds like a great young man.  Over coming a learning disability is extremely difficult.  If he can over come that, no doubt he can learn to play corner and be successful wherever life takes him.

Go Blue from OH

December 24th, 2012 at 7:41 AM ^

I'm impressed by this young man's willingness to own his shortcomings (no pun intended) and overcome them. Truth be told, I believe there are a lot of college football players with some type of learning disability that we just don't hear about. It's amazing that they get the opportunity to attend four-year colleges and receive the necessary assistance they need to succeed.

EGD

December 24th, 2012 at 7:43 AM ^

You don't hear about it often, but lead poisoning is probably one of the worst problems the City of Detroit has. Tragic how many thousands of kids have been damaged by paint chips and paint dust. I'll certainly be pulling for Northfleet--not only to do well on the field, but in the classroom as well.

TyrannousLex

December 24th, 2012 at 10:00 AM ^

Industrial hygienist here, i'd imagine that lead is the most common and well known health issue that Detroiters (especially kids) face, but off the top of my head, i'd suspect that there are issues with a host of heavy metals, asbestos, and industrial pollutants. Some won't be found without top-flight medical care, and others have longer latency periods that will keep them hidden. I've read that the urban agriculture boom in Detroit could be problematic because of industrial contamination of the soil and uptake by garden crops (also former professional horticulturist). Heavy metals don't go away, they just recycle.

And of course the problem with these pollutants in residential areas is that removing them is time consuming and expensive. Arson and standard demolition are likely to spread rather than remove the problem.

StephenRKass

December 24th, 2012 at 1:38 PM ^

What a wonderful woman Norfleet's grandmother is. It's great to see the strong relationship Norfleet has with her. How sad that not only his father but his mother were either absent, incompetent, incapable, irresponsible, negligent, or some combination thereof.

The statistics are brutal for the prospects of children of single mothers. Young, single motherhood is the single largest factor leading to failure in children. Children of single moms are:

  • Twice as likely to drop out of High School.
  • One and a half times as likely to be idle.
  • have a Lower GPA.
  • Lower college aspirations.
  • Poorer attendance records.
  • Higher rate of divorce.
  • 1/3 less income (higher rate of poverty.)

It would be interesting to know what percentage of Michigan students come from one or two parent households (regardless of marital status.) For Norfleet to make it out of Detroit to UofM, he already is a huge success story.

LSAClassOf2000

December 24th, 2012 at 8:58 AM ^

"During his senior year, Norfleet played running back, slot receiver, returned kicks and punted and kicked. Harvel told The News at the time, just "Call him Jim Thorpe."

I will say that this line made me chuckle, but in all honesty, Norfleet seems just that tenacious and team-oriented. It obviously hasn't been an easy road to Michigan, per the article, but I admire how he has lived up to his high school nickname "Pit" in the academic sense as well and worked to overcome a learning disability.

I really like the reason behind his choice of majors too - in his own words, "I want to influence kids to let them know that football is not the only way out, it's just another way to get away and enjoy doing what you're doing,"

Great read, and thanks for sharing, OP. 

Dutch Ferbert

December 24th, 2012 at 9:20 AM ^

...both on and off the field. Sounds like a great all around kid.

I really want him to take a few kicks back for TDs to make his grandmother proud, but I bet she would be even prouder if he gets his degree.

Jinjooappa

December 24th, 2012 at 9:34 AM ^

I don't get guys like you. Are you looking for a homogenous student body?

Norfleet sounds like a wonderful young man. It sounds like he's got a plan and will do anything he can to execute it. He will be a productive member of society and make us proud to call him a fellow alumn. That's more than you can say about the bevy of "smart" students you get every year that get lost and flame out.

ChopBlock

December 24th, 2012 at 10:14 AM ^

Funny that somebody questioning Norfleet's qualifications confuses the phrase "raises the question" with a technical term for a specific type of informal logical fallacy.

Glass houses, my friend. As a less snarky response, don't confuse reading disabilities with a lack of intelligence. Think about people with, say, dyslexia. They're no less intelligent on the whole than your average person, and someone with outstanding intelligence might very well not be able to read well. You might say "if you can't read well, you're gonna have a bad time", and that might be true, but doesn't the same thing apply to the blind? But yet surely you wouldn't say that no blind people should get into Michigan. We're so much more judgmental about disabilities when we can't see physical manifestations of them; we assume that they just boil down to unintelligence.

West is Best

December 24th, 2012 at 11:44 AM ^

I had a teacher in high school who had dyslexia. He would always spell words wrong when writing them up on the board in class, but he was very intelligent and would tell us that spelling isn't the most important thing in life. He taught functions, stats, and trig as well as physics.

bronxblue

December 24th, 2012 at 10:34 AM ^

Shockingly, people can improve their lives through hard work and assistance from others, even those with learning disabilities. I'm sure it helped that Norfleet it's an elite athlete, but schools were once designed to actually help all people learn, not just those with the best skill set.

Blerg

December 24th, 2012 at 12:39 PM ^

I did some work with Michigan's Services for Students with Disabilities while I was at UofM.  There are THOUSANDS of students at Michigan that have some sort of "disability." These deficiencies range from paralysis, to blindness, from ADHD, anxiety, to mild autism.  Outside of those students with ovious physical limitations there is no way to tell who these students are. Many of them are involved in research and some have gone on to law and medical schools.  It's not a question of intelligence, as many here have already mentioned.  These students just need a different way to digest/learn/obtain information before they can put it to practical use.  Standard books and notes are not for everyone.

Tater

December 24th, 2012 at 1:38 PM ^

Roy Roundtree has already disproven the tired, outdated stereotype that students with learning disabilities "don't deserve to go to the University of Michigan."

Norfleet obviously had to work his ass off to get to where he is now.  If you are going to be so critical of a student like Norfleet, maybe you should consult a style manual and learn the difference between "begging a question" and raising a question.

MGoStrength

December 24th, 2012 at 9:38 AM ^

I love seeing kids with a positive attitude, are willing to do whatever the coaches ask, and are very positive and supportive of his teammates.  I also really like his confidence and intensity for a little guy.  I recall him getting in the faces of a number of guys in the OSU game.  A true freshman that is that small playing at OSU for the first time and he was not a bit intimidated.  I like that kid.

Sione's Flow

December 24th, 2012 at 11:18 AM ^

Good luck to that young man. Michigan has some great people associated with it's program. From the story of Quinton Washington, to the Hecklinski's battle with cancer, and now this story, it's amazing how this team and university come together for each other.

Smitdog6767

December 24th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^

Stories like this just make me even more amazed at the quality of recruits that Brady has brought in so far.  Not only are they exceptional athletically but almost to a man, they are great, hardworking, and down to earth people.  It's guys like this that make me proud to call myself a Michigan Man.

ihateMichigan

December 24th, 2012 at 1:51 PM ^

Interesting that he can't read but can get into Michigan. Why is this not surprising? Yeah I'm sure he's not getting any extra "help" in his classes....or steered in any certain direction. Jim Harbaugh would be proud...lol