Adam Breneman Answers Your Questions

Tag: interviews

31Jan 2012
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Adam Breneman Answers Your Questions

Class of 2013 tight end Adam Breneman
As stated in his “Ask a Question” post, Adam Breneman is a class 2013 tight end prospect out of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania who holds offers from more than 20 FCS schools, including Alabama, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Miami (FL). He recently took time to answer reader questions on a variety of topics.
Academics: “I was raised my whole life to put academics first. I realize that at some point football is going to end, and I’ll get a job and support a family, and that’s the reason why academics are so important to me. There’s a lot more to life than just football . . . I’m going to major in Business. Michigan’s obviously one of the best academically. They have a great history, a great business school. They might not be on-par with the Stanfords and the Notre Dames and the schools like that, but they’re one of the best options academic-wise out there.”
NFL Ambitions: “One of my goals is to play in the NFL; there’s no doubt about that, but very few people have the chance to play in the NFL. I don’t want to take anything for granted. If you just slide by and assume you’re going to play in the NFL, you might be in for a rude awakening by the time you graduate college . . . My two favorite players are [New England Patriot] Rob Gronkowski and [Philadelphia Eagle] Brent Celek. He [Celek] is actually the reason I started to wear number 87.”
Factors in Recruitment: “When I’m looking at a school, the first thing is academics and where they stand as far as their academic reputation. And then I’m looking at the way I’m going to be used in the offense. I like catching the ball; I like being a play maker – I want to be able to do that in college. And then it’s the relationships that you have with the coaching staff. You’re going to be around those guys a lot, so if you don’t like ’em, it’ll make for a long four years . . . Football is football no matter how hot it is outside or how cold it is, but location will play a little bit of a factor. It’s not a huge thing but a school that is closer to home will have a little bit of an advantage over a school that is farther away . . . I do look at depth charts; I do look at who they have, but the bottom line is that you’re going to have to compete wherever you go . . . .”
Where Michigan Stands: “Right now I’m open to everyone, no matter where they are or what conference they’re in. I mean, I have some opinions on some schools so obviously I have some favorites in my mind, but I’m staying open and I don’t have a top schools list or anything yet . . . But yeah, let’s just say if I had a top schools list, then Michigan would be in it. I really like the coaches, and I think they’ll be in it to the end with me . . . When you have guys like the guys who are at Michigan who are trying to recruit me, it says a lot about U of M and how much they want me. Shane Morris is a great example. He’s been trying to recruit me just as hard as the coaches are. So when there’s an especially developed player like Shane Morris who I know will be throwing me the ball, that’s another advantage . . . .”

Adam holds a 3.9 GPA and is currently 6’5” and 225 lbs. Although he acknowledges that he’s a bit “undersized weight-wise” for a tight end right now, Adam expects to fill out naturally and “go into college around 235-240 lbs.” His hand-timed 40 yard-dash times range between “the high 4.5s and the high 4.6s.” During his discretionary time, Adam enjoys reading – sports books in particular – yet his “favorite book of all time” is To Kill a Mockingbird.
Showing phenomenal perspective throughout the interview, Adam closed our conversation with this thought regarding his demanding schedule and relentless recruitment: “It can be overwhelming and I get stressed out with it sometimes, but then I think about all the kids in the world who dream of being in this position, and I get to live it; it’s a reality for me . . . . This whole process is just such a big blessing.”

Bonus: Check out Thunder’s scouting report on Breneman here.

26Jan 2012
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Ask a Question: Amara Darboh

Amara Darboh
(image via Ongo.com)
Four-star wide receiver Amara Darboh is expected to sign his LOI for Michigan on February 1st, which will also be his birthday. I’ll be having a conversation with him on January 29th, so leave a question in the comments section below if you so desire, and I’ll do my best to get it answered.
24Jan 2012
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Sam Sword Answers Your Questions

Hailing from Saginaw, Sam Sword joined Michigan as an inside linebacker in 1994, became a starter in 1995, and then “never looked back.” Sword graduated as a national champion and the 3rd leading tackler in Michigan history (265), a distinction he still holds. His college statistics included those 265 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, and 1 interception.  Sword later spent four years in the NFL with the Raiders and Colts and now resides in Palm Coast, Florida, while teaching kids life lessons through his emerging youth football and conditioning programs. He recently took time to give us an update and answer a few questions posed by TTB readers.
On youth programs: “I want to give them some of the training that I had at Michigan, like the winter conditioning-type drills. I want to talk to them about mental toughness to help prepare them. We always said at Michigan that it’s 90% mental and 10% physical, so if you can get over that mental hump, you can do anything you want to do. And that doesn’t just apply to athletics; that’s in life. We’re also going to talk to them about finances, and the ACT, the SAT to get them prepared for college and just see where it goes…hopefully it’s the start of something good.”
On being a Michigan Man: “Looking back, my decision to go to the University of Michigan was just the best decision that I’ve made in my life. Michigan took me from an immature kid, and then all the lessons that Lloyd and the coaches taught me and learning from my teammates – it taught me how to be a man, a man of integrity. That means doing things the right way even when people are not watching, and being accountable to your teammates and your family. It was just special…I want my kids to get that education. I tell my son, it’s about the knowledge that you’re going to gain; we want him to go to Michigan.”
On keeping tabs on Michigan Football: “I always watch. Man…the guys that are going to be graduating this year went through all sorts of adversity; adversity builds character, and what a way to go out. And now Michigan’s back on track, back to where we should be.”
On keeping up with former players: “…I talk to a lot of the guys, Larry Foote, Marcus Ray, Chris Singletary, who’s still there; I talk to Lloyd. I got a chance to see Lloyd a couple months ago. He was in Daytona at a quarterback club, so I got to spend some time with him. We’re always family. Even if we don’t keep in touch as much as we should, when we see each other, it’s all love and that’s what it’s all about.”
On the 2011 Michigan defense: “They played with a passion. You have to give credit to Greg Mattison. He understood what a Michigan defense should play like, and the kids did a great job…the thing about a Michigan defense is that you try to get eleven hats to the ball. When you get a lot of people to the ball, you create turnovers, and Coach Mattison knew what a Michigan defense was all about and embraced it.”
On difference between relationships in college and the NFL: “In the NFL, it’s more of a business, and players have families and kids, so the comradery isn’t the same, but some of the guys I still keep in contact with, but not as many as my college days. There is no experience like college…”
On having the “best name for a Michigan linebacker, ever:” “(Laughs) There are a lot of great names at the University of Michigan. If that’s how your readers feel, then it’s an honor.”
23Jan 2012
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Ask a Question: Adam Breneman

Class 2013 tight end Adam Breneman out of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania holds over 20 offers from Division I schools, including Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Miami (FL). He also has an offer from Michigan, which I figure he’ll be giving ample consideration since he has a 3.9 GPA and an emphasis on academics. I’ll be talking with Adam this weekend, so feel free to leave any questions for him in the comments section below. For more information, check out Thunder’s scouting report and Adam’s interview with Ace.
17Jan 2012
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Matt Godin Answers Your Questions

Novi (MI) Catholic Central DE Matt Godin

Before interviewing incoming freshman Matt Godin, we invited readers ask him questions. Here are his responses.

On conditioning, weight, and preparation: “They [the coaches] just told me to go hard in the weight room like I always have. They know because Mike Martin came from my school, so they know about the strength program at our school and how good it is. I work out every day during the week, and [my schedule] switches between my upper and lower body [each day]…Right now I’m 6’6″ and 273 lbs. (EDIT: he’s not 6’8″, as was previously reported; that was a typo), and I’ll probably get to 285 by the season; I don’t know. But I’m going to be able to move; that’s the main thing. And, plus, I don’t look it – I mean, the coaches thought I was 260 lbs. My goal is to add good weight, maybe a little bit of fat in my stomach, but good weight all around.”

On recruitment, recent Hoke in-home: “We’re already close and Coach Jackson came up earlier, too, like two weeks ago. Coach Hoke just keeps telling me how I just need to be ready and stuff. Other than that, we just had fun, ate dinner and talked about things. We kind of put football to the side, which was nice. My parents were there and it was just nice.”

On anticipated role along the d-line: “I’m going to be a guy who’s going to mix it up inside and outside. I mean, that’s what the 5-technique is: you play outside and inside. My run stopping and pass rushing are both pretty much equal, so I’ll be able to mix it up and do both.”

On Michigan’s recruitment of teammate Wyatt Shallman: “I’ll be honest – I have no clue. I mean, I don’t really talk to him that much, though. We’ll see, it’s early….He could be a sophomore right now, too; he’s young. I mean, he is a junior, but he’s really young. It’s kind of unbelievable how big he is naturally for how young he is.”

On the 2012 recruiting class: “I’m excited to play with all of them. On the official visit we all had fun together. I’m excited to play by Mario and Strobel for sure…we’re all already pretty close for not really hanging out that much. Kalis and Strobel and Allen Gant and then the rest of the in-state guys are [who] I’m probably the closest with.”

On Tennessee, Derek Dooley and the Arnett situation: “…Any coach who does that to his players or treats them like that – that’s just obnoxious. I don’t know who he [Dooley] thinks he is with that losing record…I haven’t really talked about it with anyone else. I mean, everyone thinks it’s terrible how DeAnthony has a serious issue going on, and he should have let him go. That’s pretty much what everyone thinks.”