Troy Woolfolk Answers Your Questions

Troy with his dad, former Michigan running back Butch.  (Image via DetNews.com)

Former defensive back, Troy Woolfolk, answered quickly and emphatically when I asked him if his Michigan career went according to expectation.

"Not at all," Troy said.  "I would say it was nothing like I thought it was going to be."

In retrospect, his answer should have been obvious.  During his time at Michigan, Troy experienced a career-altering injury and frequent position changes while acclimating himself to three different head coaches and four separate defensive coordinators.  Of course, Troy made significant contributions both in the locker room and on the field, despite all of the unpredictability and adversity.  He finished his Michigan career with 91 tackles, five pass breakups, and 45 game appearances, including 23 as a starter.  He was recently kind enough to take some time out of his evening to reflect on his career, talk about his future, and answer many reader questions.

Being the son of Butch:  "It put a lot of pressure on me.  Everybody knows he was extremely good, and they would think that his son would go and do the same thing.  But it was also good because he was able to give advice because he had been down the same road.  And he got hurt as well, so he walked me through that and helped me keep a level head."

Coming to Michigan:  "I really didn't have an interest in coming to Michigan initially.  I thought I was going to stay in Texas with all the variety of schools there, or possibly Nebraska.  But right around the time I was thinking about signing, Michigan had a camp.  And he [Butch Woolfolk] was like, 'Just go check it out and see how you like it.'  And when I went to the camp, that's when I fell in love with the atmosphere in Ann Arbor and the coaches.  And at the end of the camp, Lloyd Carr offered me on the spot, and it was kind of a spontaneous decision, so I just went with it.  It's kind of funny because a week before that, I wasn't even considering Michigan and then a week later I became a Wolverine."

Switching between corner and safety:  "It helped me with the knowledge part of the game. . . . But I think it also hurt me because I never got the chance to craft the art of playing either of those two positions.  So like I was never really comfortable in my corner stance nor comfortable being back there at safety.  I even played some nickel, so I never really got comfortable because I was always switching. . . . I preferred corner because it was much easier.  With corner you're just worried about one guy whereas with safety, you have to scan the whole field, see if it's run or pass, call calls.  So I'd say corner, even though it's one of the most physically demanding positions.  I'd rather do that than think; I just want to play football."

Constant coaching changes:  "It's the same thing as with the positions:  it was hard to ever get comfortable with the coaches. . . . [As a player] you have to allow yourself to be coached, and it's hard to do that with someone you're not comfortable with and not trusting - which is why I think when Rich Rod was here we had a lot of trust issues and a lot of individuals on the field who didn't want to listen to the coach and didn't think he knew what he was talking about. . . . When Coach Hoke got here, he got a sense of trust already installed in us because he was already a coach at Michigan, and he was more able to connect with the players. . . . The main difference between the coaching staffs is that Coach Hoke stresses physicality.  We would do drills that had nothing to do with football, but just to see the toughness in the player.  We'd do this one drill where there was just this towel on a mat.  And at the beginning there're two people holding it, and one person had to eventually take it from the other person.  It gets really rough down there; people get bloody noses and stuff.  It teaches you into becoming a man and how to hold yours. . . . [If Coach Hoke came to Michigan in 2008], we probably would have won a National Championship in 2011."

The injury:  "I feel like I either didn't properly rehab it or came back too early because throughout the whole [2011] season, it was giving me problems.  I just knew it wasn't how it used to be, and it's just really unfortunate because I was in the best shape of my life before that happened. . . . In the Dallas [Cowboys] camp, we did two-a-days, and on the first practice everything was good, but on the second practice it got fatigued and sore, and the more I practice on it, the stiffer it gets."

The future:  "Right now Plan A is to use my Michigan degree to get a job. I'm still working out and keeping football on the back burner so that if my ankle ever does get right again then maybe, but right now that's the B Plan."

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2012 breakout Michigan player:  "Jake Ryan.  He's extremely athletic.  He's fast for his size, too."

Most impressive Michigan teammate:  "Mario Manningham.  To watch that boy play was crazy.  He's always finding some way to get open.  To see someone that quick and that fast and that athletic is just a crazy thing.  I'd say he's the best athlete I've seen since I've been at Michigan."

Most difficult player to tackle:  "The only one I can really think about is the Iowa running back this year (Marcus Coker).  You needed to get some help to bring that boy down."