Ask a Question: James Rogers

Tag: interviews

26Feb 2012
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Ask a Question: James Rogers


While at Michigan, James Rogers switched back and forth between the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, acclimated himself to a new head coach and two new defensive coordinators, and ended his career as a starting cornerback. His is one of the more interesting journeys for a Michigan player in recent memory. I’ll be talking with James later in the week, so if you have a question for him, leave it below and I’ll try to address it in the interview.

23Feb 2012
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Ask a Question: Ben Braden

Ben Braden is a large man.
It’s only been eleven months since Ben Braden became the first verbal commitment of the 2012 class, but a lot has happened since then. For one, Michigan gained an additional 35 commitments. For another, Ben grew an inch or two and added about 40 pounds of mostly muscle, putting him at 6’7” 325 pounds as of November 1. I’ll be talking with Ben this Sunday, so feel free to leave a question for him in the “comments” section if you have any Ben Braden related catching up to do.
21Feb 2012
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Jehu Chesson Answers Your Questions

Jehu Chesson
(image via stlhighschoolsports.com)
If you’ve seen the results of the latest TTB poll, glanced at the roster, or read Jehu’s “Ask a Question” post, then you know that Michigan has a need at wide receiver. Enter Mr. Jehu Chesson. Although Chesson is a 3-star player to the four major recruiting sites, there remain dissenting evaluations forecasting a higher ceiling, including his TTB commitment post and updated TTB rating. Chesson is currently working hard to reach his potential by training at Velocity Sports performance with former Detroit Lion Brett Fischer while running track in the latter part of his senior year. He also takes time to communicate with the media, study Michigan football history, and answer questions from Michigan fans.
Reasons for choosing Michigan: “It came down to Northwestern and Michigan. They’re both very good academic institutions, and I felt that both of their football programs were on the rise. But Michigan’s the school where I felt I could do more at because of their status. If Northwestern had the alumni base behind it, then I feel they could be just like Michigan, but that’s what they lack. . . . The thing that really separated Michigan were the kids in the recruiting class. I felt way closer with them than I did with any other group. I mean, I just related with them almost immediately.”
A workin’ man: “I work for my community center. Yesterday what I was doing was being a referee for basketball, and then on Friday night I was a DJ for a father-daughter dance . . . and then over the summer and spring break – a lot of kids go out of town for spring break – but I usually volunteer to be a camp counselor and hang out with the kids, which is pretty fun.
Parallels with Amara Darboh: “Well, right off the bat, we were both born in Western Africa, so we both thought that was really neat because we really haven’t seen anyone like our age since the war . . . .and we both have similar personalities; we both like to have fun, be a little goofy sometimes.”

Physical Development: “From a physical standpoint, I understand that I do need to get bigger, so I’m working on that. . . . I’m 185 lbs., and right now I’m running track, and I probably won’t virtually put on any weight, but if I do it’ll be only two to three solid pounds because of track. But when track is over, I really have about three weeks, and then I leave for Michigan, so hopefully I’ll be about 188 lbs. and then when I get down there, they’ll probably get me up to 195 lbs. or something before the first game. I don’t know; we’ll see. I talked to Coach Hoke and he said [the ideal playing weight will be] 210/215 lbs. I’ve heard from other coaches from other schools anywhere from 210 – 225 lbs.”
Hitting another gear senior year: “Well, it really is all mental. . . . My junior year, they [the coaches] never really put me on special teams because they didn’t want me to get hurt. But then they put me on special teams my senior year, actually in the last couple of games, and every time I got the ball I would score, except for once. Those [plays] aren’t even on my highlight tape because I couldn’t figure out how to put them on. But it was just what the team demanded of me mentally and physically because every single game I played both ways. I played safety on defense; I was sometimes the kicker, and then on kickoffs I was the return man. I just played what the team needed me to play, and that leadership role just kind of took over.”
The #1 jersey: “Yeah, I know a lot about the #1 jersey. . . . The last to wear it was Braylon Edwards. He wore #80 before he wore the #1 jersey. But it might draw attention that might not be necessary also. It’s very positive and negative at the same time. A positive is that you deserve to wear it. . . . A negative is that if you do something wrong, it’s magnified. It’s like a blessing and a curse. . . “

Goals/ambitions at Michigan: “I want to maximize my potential and be the best player I can be. A lot of people ask me about the NFL, but that’s in the background; it’s not in the foreground. Because right now I’m just trying to get to each step to try to get to that point. . . . I’m just looking forward to being a part of Michigan’s future.”
7Feb 2012
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Ask a Question: Jehu Chesson

Jehu Chesson joins the Michigan football team at a position in need of another playmaker. Chesson is a three-star wide receiver to the primary recruiting sites, yet many scouts and coaches believe that Jehu is a much better player than those three stars indicate. Take his TTB commitment post and updated rating as examples. I’ll be talking with Jehu this Saturday, so if you have a question for him, leave it the “comments” section below, and I’ll address it in the interview.
7Feb 2012
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Amara Darboh Answers Your Questions

West Des Moines (IA) Dowling Catholic WR Amara Darboh
Four-star wide receiver Amara Darboh recently signed his National Letter of Intent for Michigan on February 1st, which was also his birthday. Less than 48 hours before his big day, Amara was nice enough to give us an update and answer several reader questions.

Experiences in Ann Arbor: “I’ve been there twice. I went there last summer and then I went there for the Ohio State game. When I went there in the summer, I got to see a lot of the town and it’s a really fun atmosphere. And then the Ohio State game was just unbelievable. The atmosphere was great; the fans were great. We sat in the front row on the 50-yard line. . . There seems like a lot to do there.”

Reasons for choosing Michigan: “When I went there it seemed like I connected with the players right away. And I was just talking to the coaches, and I had just got done talking with Coach Hoke and I looked out – because he has this balcony place outside his office – and I saw Devin Gardner and Jeremy Gallon playing catch. . . . Then I saw Roy [Roundtree] and I talked to him and Devin and Jeremy and we all got along great. That was one of the biggest things because you want to get along with the guys that you’ll be playing with next year, especially the older ones because they’re going to be the leaders. . . . And after I met all of the coaches, I had great feelings about them, and I can see why all of the players love them.”
Positive recruiting: “There were coaches at other schools that would say stuff about other schools and ask questions about other schools. But it seemed like Michigan didn’t really worry about other schools and just recruited me, so that was something I liked, too.”
Early playing time: “That’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’m not an impatient person, but I feel with my body type, I’m kind of like a mid-year guy already. . . . So yeah, that’s something that I saw the chance for at Michigan.”
Role at Michigan: “They [they coaches] are telling me that I’m more like the new Michigan type of receiver. Like an outside sort of a receiver, I have a bigger frame, and I weigh like 205 lbs. now. I’m a pretty big receiver, so I’ll be playing outside. So what [the coaches] were telling me was about the direction that they’re taking the program, and they like taking receivers like me. . . . They were comparing me to Hemingway and stuff; we’re both big receivers.”
Shoulder surgery: “I’m on the basketball team, but I had surgery during the year, so I only got a chance to play in a couple of games. . . . The surgery was on my labrum; I had dislocated my shoulder. So I decided to have [the surgery] early in basketball season so I could have time to recover and be ready by the time I go to Ann Arbor. It’s feeling pretty good right now. It’s been like a month since I’ve had the surgery. I don’t have the sling anymore and I can move it, but I don’t have full range of motion yet, but I’m going to physical therapy and it’s getting better every day. I should be good by March. So I’ll definitely be ready by the time July comes around.”
Roommate: “I think I’ll be rooming – at least during the summer – with Jehu Chesson. We took our official [visit] together and like talking.”
The #1 Jersey: “Yeah, I’ve heard about it. We’ve got a few Michigan fans around here, so I’ve heard about it. Braylon Edwards wore it last, I think. It’s one of my goals while I’m at Michigan, but it’s not like my first goal. My first goal is to get there, earn a spot and some playing time.”
College major: “I’m going to try to go into the business school. I don’t know if it’ll be like marketing, financing, or managing or what, so I’ll take some basic business classes and take it from there.”
The NFL: “That’s a goal of mine. That’s one of my goals for sure. I’ve worked hard before and I’m working hard now and in the end, that’s where I’m hoping to get to. . . . I like watching Brandon Marshall and other guys like Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson. . . . I really like watching Brandon Marshall, so if he wasn’t on the Dolphins, I wouldn’t really like the Dolphins, so I guess I don’t really have a favorite [NFL] team.”
Leisure: “I play a lot of video games with my friends, like Madden and NCAA. And then we get ping-pong going, and we play pick up games, football and basketball. . .”
Managing criticism and feedback: “I like my coaches to be honest with me, but then there are some people who will just say things and they don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m the type of person who if you say something and you don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ll tell you. I won’t be rude about it, but I’ll tell you. But with my coaches, I feel like I’m a coachable player and I try to learn every day.”
Dunkin’: “I grew up liking basketball. I liked football, too, but basketball was more my thing back then. . .Yeah, I can dunk. I think that’s [one of the reasons] why I like basketball. Going into eighth grade, that’s the first time I dunked the ball. The one that I used to do all the time back in eighth is I’d throw it off the backboard. And then, have you seen when LeBron puts his hand behind his head and then dunks it? Yeah, I’d do that one a lot, too.”
Read more about Amara and learn about his unique personal journey in an AnnArbor.com story titled “War-time orphan to big-time football: Michigan recruit Amara Darboh survives to become Freetown’s finest.” Make sure to also check out his TTB commitment post.