The OFFICIAL MICHIGAN TEAM 146 thread: M COLI CLUB SUPPORTS YOU

[Dem313wayz]

This team is young and improving. There's gonna be bumps along the way like last week but I really like the pieces that are in place

 

[Mister Terrific]

This team is young and improving. There's gonna be bumps along the way like last week but I really like the pieces that are in place

Year 3 Bryce and Marsh and if Hiter is him

 

[papa pimp]

 

[JasoRockStar]

Year 3 Bryce and Marsh and if Hiter is him

 

[dh86]

All MSU gonna do is try to hurt Bryce but I seen their pass rush LOL we good

 

[Dem313wayz]

All MSU gonna do is try to hurt Bryce but I seen their pass rush LOL we good

I hate MSU more than OSU cuz they some dirty SOBs.

With OSU there is never no dirty shyt. Just pure hate between the schools and bragging rights

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

I hate MSU more than OSU cuz they some dirty SOBs.

With OSU there is never no dirty shyt. Just pure hate between the schools and bragging rights

I legitimately think people from michigan hate msu more. I definitely do too. Osu at least beats respect out of you, in game.

 

[Mister Terrific]

I legitimately think people from michigan hate msu more. I definitely do too. Osu at least beats respect out of you, in game.

One of the main reasons OSU has an easy time in the Big Ten is because they have zero instate opposition. Ohio long ago accepted it would play OSU once every few years in Columbus and get destroyed. Cincinnati might as well be Kentucky. Every school in the country has an instate rival who takes recruits and occupies game film. That doesn’t exist for OSU.

Meanwhile we have MSU whose sole existence and how it defines itself is making Michigan’s life horrible. Auburn doesn’t define itself by Alabama. FSU doesn’t define itself by Florida. Most big schools like Oklahoma and Oregon don’t even want to play their instate rival as they know it does nothing for you but can only hurt you:

That’s why it’s more rational to hate MSU over OSU. Honestly Michigan would be smart to de-emphasize the game in the new landscape and play it every so often

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

Former Michigan football DB Zia Combs, whose career ended with neck injury, dead at 44

\

www.freep.com

https://archive.ph/xfPQw

No paywall

This fukks me up breh

Zia was my FRIEND in college. He was a legit fukkin guy. We stayed in touch in and after school. Good dude, great wife...Jesus.

This is awful to read


The school did RIGHT by him too. Stayed around the program, full scholarship honored, helped with career building.

I'm sad.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

RIP Zia Combs. Real brotha. Good man.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

Zia Combs: A Redemption Story | Maize n Brew Zia Combs: A Redemption Story

Zia Combs: A Redemption Story
Former Michigan defensive back Zia Combs was a redshirt sophomore when his football career was cut short by a freak accident leaving him temporarily paralyzed. This is his story of beating the odds.

by Joshua Henschke
Apr 18, 2014, 11:27 AM PDT


Breaking Down Run Blocking Schemes | Urban Analysis

It was a brisk, yet beautiful, afternoon for football at Michigan Stadium on the 12th day of October in 2002. The Penn State Nittany Lions came into Ann Arbor ranked 15th in the nation and ready to play the Wolverines in an early Big Ten conference matchup However, there was something about this day that will live in infamy for one Wolverine. It’s not about the personal statistics and it’s not about the thrilling overtime victory Michigan had either.

It’s much more than that.

For former Michigan defensive back Zia Combs, it’s a second chance at life.

Mid-way through the first quarter, Michigan punter Adam Finley delivered an excellent, yet routine, pooch punt that took a soft bounce at Michigan’s two-yard line. The redshirt sophomore Combs and his "gunner" teammate, defensive back Ernest Shazor, were streaking to the ball attempting to down it before it crossed the goal line.

What happened next is a cruel twist of fate for Combs. Something he worked so hard to achieve was taken from him in an instant. A heartbreaking and unfortunate accident changed his life forever.

As he took an awkward dive for the ball with his head lowered, he did not see Shazor diving in his direction as well. Shazor’s knee clipped the top of Combs’ helmet and like a rag-doll he crumbled to the turf.

Breaking Down Run Blocking Schemes | Urban Analysis


It was a brisk, yet beautiful, afternoon for football at Michigan Stadium on the 12th day of October in 2002. The Penn State Nittany Lions came into Ann Arbor ranked 15th in the nation and ready to play the Wolverines in an early Big Ten conference matchup.

However, there was something about this day that will live in infamy for one Wolverine. It’s not about the personal statistics and it’s not about the thrilling overtime victory Michigan had either.

It’s much more than that.

For former Michigan defensive back Zia Combs, it’s a second chance at life.

Mid-way through the first quarter, Michigan punter Adam Finley delivered an excellent, yet routine, pooch punt that took a soft bounce at Michigan’s two-yard line. The redshirt sophomore Combs and his "gunner" teammate, defensive back Ernest Shazor, were streaking to the ball attempting to down it before it crossed the goal line.

What happened next is a cruel twist of fate for Combs. Something he worked so hard to achieve was taken from him in an instant. A heartbreaking and unfortunate accident changed his life forever.

As he took an awkward dive for the ball with his head lowered, he did not see Shazor diving in his direction as well. Shazor’s knee clipped the top of Combs’ helmet and like a rag-doll he crumbled to the turf.


Longsnapper Joe Sgroi went over to pick Combs up from the turf but he crumbled into a heap once again.

The once charismatic player was now lifeless. He was completely paralyzed. Lying vulnerable and helpless in front of a stadium filled with over 100,000 frantic fans that could hear a pin drop in silence.

"It was one of those situations where you’ve been playing ball for so long you felt invincible to a certain degree," said Combs. "It was scary, but at the same time it wasn’t scary. Because I knew that I was alright."

As Combs was leaving the field strapped to a gurney, he managed to muster up some words to Michigan coach Lloyd Carr that would resonate throughout the team for the remainder of the season.

"Tell them to play hard," said Combs to Carr.

"When Coach Carr come over he made me feel comfortable," said Combs. "He gave me a sense of security. You can’t really explain it unless you’ve been through it. When Lloyd gives you a look or says a certain word to you, you believe more."

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

The route Combs took to the University of Michigan was not an easy one. Growing up in Lexington, he used football as an escape from the violence and drugs that riddled his childhood neighborhood.

"I was a regular inner-city child growing up," Combs said. "I was in a bad neighborhood surrounded by drugs and violence. I had a good family, though. Who showed me the right way."

That family, albeit strong, was torn apart due to a rare condition called Cerebellum Degeneration that took the life Combs’ uncle and mother. The condition is extremely rare and affects the part of the brain that controls muscle coordination and balance. There is no cure and the condition eventually leads to death.

Fortunately for Combs, he had an outlet to escape from the violence and family struggles from the illness. A short moment in time where he could forget who he was and what is going on.

His escape was football.

"Football was my escape," said Combs. "It has shaped me into the man that I am today. I feel like people play sports for different reasons, I did it to get away from all the other things that was going on in my life."

"Some of these kids can go and hug their mom and play with them, I couldn’t do those things."

Combs’ love for football was fueled by his lifelong affinity for the University of Michigan football program. But, in a strange twist of fate, he managed to get in contact with the coaching staff of the Michigan program.

Zia was a country ass hood nikka and football was his out...bro was so raw when I met him. I legit taught him shyt brehs. Even after injury it saved him.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

The very next day, his hand felt as if he never injured it in the first place.

"I did everything they asked me to that the University of Michigan asks in an athlete," said Combs. "I think that’s what, besides my talent, set me apart. Coach Carr ended up offering on the second day of camp."

After receiving his offer, the first thing he did was called his mom. For a inner-city kid where the odds are against him, he had made it.

"I was full of emotions because I know how much I went through," Combs said. "Just sitting there seeing what your parent has gone through."

***

After being placed on the gurney, the feeling started coming back for Combs. It started with a small sensation in his toes, which was prompted by the doctors pinching, and then it grew to more of a tingling sensation in the rest of his body.

Combs thought he was back. The football player inside decided that going out there for the next game was more important than this overall well being.

"I had a huge smile on my face," said Combs with a laugh. "That moment where I start to regain my feeling. In my head I was already thinking about the next game. It was just second nature."

After numerous tests, scans, and continuous poking and prodding’s by numerous doctors, Combs was released from the hospital in a few days. After returning to practice to see the team for the first time since the accident, he delivered an emotional speech to the team. However, most importantly to him, he was preparing for a comeback at some point this season.

Unfortunately for Combs, that moment wouldn’t come for him that season. In fact, the moment to strap on a helmet was never going to happen again.

His career was over.

After an emotional discussion with head athletic trainer Paul Schmidt, Combs learned his fate.

"Zia, your career is over with," Combs recalled Schmidt saying to him.

"From there, there were so many emotions going through my body," said Combs. "You worked so hard for something. As a kid you liked it, and now it’s turned into a lifestyle. It was my life."

"When he (Schmidt) had to break the news to me, it was hard to accept," Combs admitted. "I just stormed out of the office. I remember hitting the Gatorade jug with all the ice in it and I went into the locker room and broke down and cried."

Combs had to go through a strange transition from that day forward. He had to adjust to life without football, his fallback when things were tough.

An outlet that was available to him all of his life was taken away from him in a heartbeat.

***

Transitioning from full-time athlete to full-time student was difficult for Combs. For someone who didn’t place importance on education but instead placed it on athletics, it was a difficult process for him.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

I’m not proud to say this, but at the time football was number one," admitted Combs. "School wasn’t number one, it was number two. I can honestly saying, looking back where I was mentally, if I didn’t have football I probably wouldn’t be in school."

"It was like being born again. I had to change my whole mentality towards life. I had to mature as a young man who had just started becoming a young man. It was like new life and scary."

Combs could’ve easily given up on Michigan and went back to Kentucky to be closer to his ailing mother and family. But, just like the rest of Combs’ story of perseverance, he stayed.

"The thoughts of leaving did run through my head," said Combs. "Not only am I leaving, but what school will allow me to play? I thought about transferring."

It was Combs’ mother who was the driving factor in his decision to stay at Michigan. She told him one simple line that stayed with him throughout his time as a student.

"Son, I just want you to get your degree."

Whenever he was having a bad day or was down on himself, his mother's words picked him back up again.

He owed it to his family to stay. Not only his blood, but also the University of Michigan family he gained during his short time on campus.

"I looked at Coach Carr like a father figure," said Combs. "I felt like whatever Lloyd said, was not wrong."

Just like the great Bo Schembechler said, "Those who stay will be champions."

I know y'all don't care about this like me but this was my nikka for real. I mean he's one of the reasons why I love Michigan football like I do. Idk if a athlete death hit me like this ever. Bro used to talk about how I was smart with computers and tech and shyt and how I had the gift of gab, and I said how he was a smart ass dude on the low and was better with the gab than me. I'm hurt I didn't stay in touch with him when I move.d

 

[R.B.J1]

I know y'all don't care about this like me but this was my nikka for real. I mean he's one of the reasons why I love Michigan football like I do. Idk if a athlete death hit me like this ever. Bro used to talk about how I was smart with computers and tech and shyt and how I had the gift of gab, and I said how he was a smart ass dude on the low and was better with the gab than me. I'm hurt I didn't stay in touch with him when I move.d

Sorry for your loss, may he rest in peace and god bless his family.