The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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the friendship. We spent about four or five days with each other. Both of us figured out we have like personalities." They've been friends ever since, in a bond approaching three decades. When Hoke served as an assistant at Michigan, Smith worked the Michigan football camp a number of times. When Hoke eventually took over at Ball State, Smith came on board, later following Hoke to San Diego State and back to Ann Arbor in 2011. "We know each other very well, as much as probably anybody on the staff," Smith said. "Through the years of him being at this school and me being at that school, we always talked about working together. Brady has always had the goal to be a head coach. We talked about if he became a head coach, whether I'd come to work for him. "I said, 'Yeah, just let me know when.' Obviously, that happened in 2003, when he took the job at Ball State. I didn't hesitate. I left a job that I'd been at for 15 years and went to work for Brady." That move has paid off on several levels, Smith indicated. "You can't find a better person to work for," Smith said. "He's the same guy I met in 1983 that he is today. He hasn't changed. You and I both know a lot of people who, as they work their way up the ladder, they change. They become different people. They become power hungry, or an 'I' guy. "That's as far from Brady as it can possibly be. I count myself fortunate and blessed every day that I work for Brady Hoke." — John Borton Roy Manning Outside Linebackers Hoke jumped at the chance to bring Manning on board when the opportunity arose. The former Michigan player showed plenty as a graduate assistant in Schembechler Hall during Hoke's first season in Ann Arbor. Manning moved on to Cincinnati for a year, and was going to be the running backs coach at Northern Illinois this year until an old mentor came calling. The newest U-M coach is indeed living his dream. "Anyone that knows me, anyone that worked here with me a few years ago, knows how much I love Michigan, how much I love the Michigan Men, the people that make this thing go," Manning said. "Not just the current ones, but the former coaches and mentors and players and everyone associated with the program. "From that standpoint, I think it would be pretty easy to say that guy is a Michigan guy, and that's the type of guy you would want back here. Now, it's just a matter of how does that happen? Manning is the newest member of the U-M coaching staff, and he played for the Wolverines from 2001-04, earning the Roger Zatkoff Award as Michigan's top linebacker as a senior. photo by tim sullivan "This is a fairly new staff, only going into the third year. That was the deal in the back of my head. I always hoped and dreamed and prayed that one day I would get back here. I just didn't expect it to happen this soon." Manning fast-tracked nicely to a coaching spot in Schembechler Hall, after a playing career as a Wolverine that covered 200104. He earned the Roger Zatkoff Award as Michigan's top linebacker as a senior, and knows he has the eyes of a number of former Wolverines on him. "I'm really fortunate and blessed and thankful — not just to Coach Hoke, but to all those coaches that helped me along the way," Manning said. "And players, too. Being a former player, I'm representing them, too, in how we play. It's a huge, huge milestone in my life and career, to be here. I couldn't ask for more." Manning has known Hoke as both an assistant coach and a head coach. He hasn't changed much, the U-M assistant affirmed, including in one way that produced a broad smile. "When I think about Brady Hoke, the first thing I instantly think about is him breaking up fights," Manning said, chuckling. "Coming here as a freshman from Saginaw, the older guys kind of tell you, 'Hey, you don't want to mess with that guy on the team.' "We had a guy by the name of Norman Heuer, and they used to say, 'Man, Norman Heuer rips facemasks off. You don't want to 44 ■ The Wolverine 2013 Football Preview mess with him.' You get all these ideas about all these guys. "Then practice happens, and offense and defense get after it, and guys get into it. Then here it goes — a fight breaks out, or a scuffle. And no other coach wants any part of it, running the risk of getting knocked out. "Here's Brady Hoke, every single time, in the middle of it, breaking it up. He's actually living out both his dreams — one to be the head coach at Michigan, and the other to be a policeman. He loves that stuff. Any opportunity he gets to act like the law, he jumps all over that." It works, Manning noted, not just because Hoke has authority, but because he builds relationships like few can. Manning's relationship with Hoke hasn't really changed over the years, the assistant insisted. "He has the innate ability to not make you feel like he's the head coach and he's this figure that's looking down on you," Manning explained. "As a position coach, you could go to any position on our football team — offense or defense — and they would know Coach Hoke, know his wife. "He made it a point when he was an assistant coach to get to know guys, to bust guys' chops. Not just his guys in his room, but everybody. You'd be hard-pressed to find a guy that doesn't have good things to say about Brady. "That has worked for him. I believe he knows that has worked for him. Having