Audio: Jordan Kovacs speech at the Football Bust
Michigan fifth-year senior safety Jordan Kovacs was named the team's MVP Monday at the annual Football Bust. Here is his senior speech in its entirety and a transcription of the highlights ...
Advertisement
Your browser does not support the audio element.
On responding to Brady Hoke's comparison of him to an accountant: "Just for the record, I look better than accountant, and if Coach Hoke keeps humiliating me, I'm no longer going to hold his hand on the sideline."
And the rest of his speech:
"I'd first like to thank Rich Rodriguez for allowing a slow, unathletic and undersized kid a chance to play football at the University of Michigan. That was really nice of him to allow Drew Dileo to play football here.
"I'd like to thank the training staff for all the voodoo they performed on me, and a special thanks to [trainer] Paul Schmidt for kicking me off the team because trying out for this team once simply wasn't enough.
"I'd like to thank Justin Dickens and the rest of the media relations staff for forcing me to talk to the media on a daily basis, and for flying me out to Arkansas -- Springdale, Ark., mind you -- to watch myself lose an award [on Monday].
"I'd like to thank Coach Wellman and the rest of the training staff for molding me into the physical specimen that stands before you tonight.
"I'd like to thank you guys and the rest of the fans as I developed from a young, slow, physically insufficient football player to an old, slow, physically insufficient football player.
"I'm actually going to try to get serious now, so we'll see how this transition goes. I'd like to thank Dave Brandon and the rest of the athletic department for everything they've done for the best university in the nation. I'd like to thank Coach Hoke, Coach Mattison, Coach Mallory and the rest of the staff for furthering my development as a football player. I can honestly say we have the best coaching staff in America, and it's been a privilege playing for them the past two years.
"I'd like to thank my teammates for their commitment to each other over the past four years. We've had our ups and downs, but we've never wavered and I commend them for that. I love each and every one of these guys, and I can't wait to take the field with them one last time.
"And Devin Gardner, please stop texting me. I'm not going to give you a shoutout.
"Last but not least, I'd like to thank my parents, Lou and Sue Kovacs. Several years ago, I was just another kid with a silly dream to play football at the University of Michigan. However, through the values they instilled in me, and through their love and support, that dream became a reality. A dream that is not so silly today.
"These past four years have been a dream for me. They've had their ups and downs, but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way because it was those points of adversity that made me the man I am today -- and I'm pretty damn proud of it.
"There are many things I'm proud to call myself. I'm proud to call myself a Michigan football player. I'm proud to call myself a walk-on. I'm proud to call myself a Sugar Bowl champion. I'm proud to call myself a captain of Team 133. But more than anything -- more than anything -- I'm proud to call myself a Michigan Man."