Michigan Wolverines Football: Mike Zordich – ‘No Secret To Success’
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh praised cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich Monday for his work with his group over the last several years. Players have come and gone, but the corners have remained one of the best position groups on the team.
“Every year, he's really developed that position extremely well,” Harbaugh said. “It seems like everybody that plays corner ends up being really good here, goes on to be pro players.”
They saw it in the first cycle of guys, Harbaugh continued — Jourdan Lewis, an All-American, and the underrated Channing Stribling.
“It’s been very successful that way,” he said. “David Long, Lavert Hill … and Vince Gray seems to be on a great path, as well. Ambry Thomas. They’ve been really good.
“Mike’s done a great job coaching at a very tough position on our defense. The corner position is not one where they get a lot of help. They’re called on to wear the big sombrero down after down.”
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Zordich seemed pleased with the praise. Asked what his secret was, however, he said there really wasn’t one.
“I don’t know if I have a secret,” he said. “I just know it takes a lot of work, discipline, a lot of energy. If you want to excel through Sundays, I’ve been there, done that. I just want what I know … just kind of let them know anything is possible if you work hard enough for it. That’s what I try to get through to the kids.
“It’s not all about physical, either. There’s a lot of mental, too.”
He doesn’t sugarcoat anything, either.
A few years ago, now-senior Lavert Hill was sidelined for a long period of time. Zordich made no secret of the fact that he needed his standout back on the field. Hill is now one of the defense’s unequivocal leaders, having been outstanding through last season and the beginning of 2018.
“’’Vert has been awesome — a, great leader in the classroom,” Zordich said. “These guys have just come here and want to attack — ‘I want to learn, want to get better, and that’s what I’m trying to do.’ I’m not saying they’re all perfect, but they’re definitely working to get to a higher level.”
That includes the freshmen, who are learning patience in addition to being educated on Don Brown’s defense. One of the challenges in today’s recruitments, Zordich said, was convincing kids they needed to focus on the here and now rather than four years down the road. They have to play well on Fridays and Saturdays to get to Sunday, he tells them, and he hopes they’ll listen
One of last year’s top recruits, Myles Sims, wasn’t ready to wait his turn, entering the transfer portal and going to Georgia Tech. Freshmen Jalen Perry and DJ Turner are in a similar position in that they’re learning.
“Jalen’s coming along. He’s working with scout team, and I think he’s got to embrace that, learn that he can get better doing that,” Zordich said. “Once he understands that, I think it will help him go to the next level.
“DJ, him coming here in the summer is very difficult, especially at Michigan with the bridge program, going to school and trying to practice fall ball, and it’s just very difficult. That being said, he’s taken a bigger leap than I’ve ever seen any one of our freshmen do at my position. It looks very good. I think the kid has a lot of promise; he just has to learn the defense. He’s young, has to grow up in some sense, and take responsibility a little better than he does.”
NOTES
• Zordich confirmed he wasn’t expecting junior cornerback Ambry Thomas (colitis) back until this week at the earliest.
“Hats off to him. He’s had a hell of a recovery, and to spend as many days as he had in the hospital, just have everything intact … it really didn’t even look like he missed a beat,” Zordich said. “We worked him in slowly, but man, once he was allowed to go full go, he picked up right were he left off in the spring.
“The plan was we though he’d actually be back for this game. We actually did have him in the plans, but he just got back sooner than we thought."
• Freshman safety Daxton Hill continues to make strides in his quest to play more at safety.
“Wow. He’s going to be something else,” Zordich said. “He fits in with DJ. Once he gets it, he’ll be lights out.
“He’s so talented, so extremely talented; very little wasted motion for him. Like the rest of the guys in June, he’s getting settled in with school, ball, learning the system. Once they get that under the belt, guys like Daxton Hill are going to be very dangerous.”
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