Jordan Kovacs - Freshman All-America Second Team by CollegeFootballNews.com
This was included in Kovacs' write up in Tim's excellent diary post (found here: http://mgoblog.com/diaries/forcier-kovacs-roh-and-roundtree-named-fresh…) about Forcier, Kovacs, Roh, and Roundtree being named Freshmen All-Big Ten, but I really thought this deserved special mention and discussion on its own because of how much Jordan Kovacs accomplished this year as a WALK ON. That's just an awesome accomplishment!
Article: http://cfn.scout.com/2/927274.html
December 16th, 2009 at 7:42 PM ^
Kovacs > Rudy.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:51 PM ^
CFN is, in general, not very good. Kovacs played very well for a walk-on, but he probably isn't one of the best freshman safeties in the country.
December 17th, 2009 at 5:55 AM ^
Perhaps he isn't one of the best freshman safeties, but he did rack up a lot of tackles. If they wanted to name the "best" freshman safeties, then they might as well go by recruiting rankings, because a lot of very good athletes don't start as freshmen. On the field, Kovacs finished second on the team (I think) in tackles for a Big Ten program. That's somewhat noteworthy.
December 16th, 2009 at 7:55 PM ^
He can tackle, and he comes up and makes plays. He lacks elite speed. If he doesn't play for Michigan, I doubt he gets this type of mention.
December 16th, 2009 at 8:48 PM ^
... he had a lot of exposure and his numbers are probably better than most freshmen because he played more often. That makes him 1) more noticed and 2) more compelling because you can justify it with numbers.
Regardless, this is a great honor for him, so congrats!
December 16th, 2009 at 8:56 PM ^
That is all, great work men!!!
December 16th, 2009 at 10:44 PM ^
Nice catch, I completely missed that in the article!
December 17th, 2009 at 12:48 AM ^
I thought defensive backs played pass defense .
December 17th, 2009 at 10:44 AM ^
Safeties are just as much run stoppers as they are pass defenders. When the defense lines up with 8 men in the box to stop the run, the 8th man is usually a safety. That's why the NFL analysts freak out about run defense whenever a Bob Sanders (S Colts) or Troy Polamalu (S, Steelers) get hurt.
December 17th, 2009 at 9:53 AM ^
Considering he is a walk-on, he had a very good season. One of the few bright spots for a terrible defensive team. That being said, I'll feel a lot better about this defense when he is a back-up.
December 17th, 2009 at 10:23 AM ^
Erlacker (sp?) was a safety in college that made the jump in the NFL. Does Kovacs have the frame to do it in college? I don't want to see him as a backup because the kid is just a flat-out football player and seems to give 100% all the time. That's more than can be said for some of the team last year (I'm looking at you Ezeh).
December 17th, 2009 at 10:39 AM ^
Urlacher was 6'4". Kovacs is 5'10" or 5'11" and about 195 lbs. There's no middle linebacking in his future.
December 17th, 2009 at 8:16 PM ^
well...the freshman all-american credential just lost all credibility.