The Wolverine

May 2019

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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66 THE WOLVERINE MAY 2019 W hat do you guys think of the transfer portal?" The look in Don Brown's eyes when he directed that question to reporters after a 35-min- ute, post-spring practice interview made it clear he had an opinion on it, and it was one Michigan's defen- sive coordinator definitely wanted to share. Former four-star cornerback Myles "Spider" Sims, the expected gem of a great 2018 DB haul, had just an- nounced his intention to transfer af- ter only one season, the third highly recruited defensive player to leave in the last year before really making an impact (joining four-star linebacker Drew Singleton and five-star defen- sive tackle Aubrey Solomon), when Brown broached the subject. "I'm not talking about any indi- vidual," Brown clarified. "It's the concept. I'm 63 years old, and I'm just not sure this was the way it was supposed to be. But that's just me." No, coach … it's probably not. As head basketball coach John Beilien likes to say — and he's had challenges of his own in keeping kids from leav- ing early — Brown "isn't the Lone Ranger" in his thinking, at least not to guys worried about developing boys into men, in addition to athletes. "I'm not sure it's good for any- body," Brown continued. "Adver- sity introduces a man to himself, but now it's if Don Brown has a problem with me, I'm out. Is that teaching a young man anything? Is he learning anything from it? "I guess every situation is differ- ent. It's just disappointing with all the activity that's going on. I'm not sure that's what we're really search- ing for in college football." He's right. In fact, he'd have to look no further than the building where he works to find the best evidence ever of what perseverance can create. Not long after he'd earned his sec- ond Super Bowl MVP trophy, New England quarterback (and former Wolverine, of course) Tom Brady reportedly returned to Ann Arbor to visit with former teammates. When asked by local reporters how he was able to thrive in the NFL, he said it was the adversity he'd faced at Michigan — specifically, battling elite signal-caller Drew Henson for play- ing time after waiting his turn behind guys like Scott Dreisbach and Brian Griese — that had prepared him most. "It was a great experience, but it had its challenges," Brady told Bos- ton.com and later included in his TB12 autobiography. "The challenges, I think, toughened me up a lot. "Growing up in California and going to Ann Arbor and competing with those guys for as long as we did, it was a great experience. I took a lot of those things that I learned and brought them to the profes- sional level." He was lucky to learn a lot of les- sons at 19, 20 and 21 years old that a lot of guys don't learn until they're 23 or 24, "when it's too late," he added. In hindsight, he admitted, he wouldn't have been the Tom Brady had he run away from the challenge. He almost did, but he stuck it out even when a fan base that loves him now was all about Henson then. In a day and age of "instant gratifica- tion or bust," Brady is the blueprint of what a willingness to fight — and refusal to quit — can accomplish. "Now there are hundreds of trans- fers," Brown said, shaking his head. "That includes people that aren't on scholarship. It's something about it that just makes me feel bad and that we're not still part of the education process. Learning to deal with people and situations that may be adverse, I think. are all things that are impor- tant. "Now it's, 'I'm out of here.'" They might as well call it the "greener pastures portal," one col- league said recently, and coaches are guilty of it, too, Brown noted. Some are even making promises one day and, in some cases, literally wearing rival colors the next (*cough* Greg Mattison). The NCAA hasn't helped, either, rubber stamping immediate eligibil- ity like they're handing out Hallow- een candy. "There's a lot of movement in our profession, too, so I think it's a two-way street," Brown admitted. "But the fear I have is I'm not sure it's good for anybody. That's all. You can get your whole team wiped out. "If there's something that's obvi- ous and there's a problem, that's a different deal. But hundreds? That many unhappy people?" It's a sign of the times, sadly. When the going gets tough, the tough literally get going … else- where. Some will benefit, but many are missing an opportunity. Just ask Brady, whose last words after his U-M revelations summed it up per- fectly: "I wouldn't change a thing." Because then — and still today — anything worth having is worth working for. ❏ Chris Balas has been with The Wolver- ine since 1997, working part time for five years before joining the staff full time in 2002. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @Balas_Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN   CHRIS BALAS When The Going Gets Tough … Tom Brady admits the challenges he faced at Michigan helped make him what he is today — a six-time Super Bowl champion and the greatest quarterback in NFL history. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN "

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