Jordan Kovacs Jordan David Kovacs ( born June 12 , 1990 ) is an American football safety for the Miami Dolphins , who played his redshirt senior season in 2012 for the Michigan Wolverines football team . He was a walk - on who earned 2009 CollegeFootballNews . com Freshman All - America second team recognition and 2009 " Sporting News " Freshman All - Big Ten honors for the 2009 Wolverines while being the second - leading tackler on the team . Granted a scholarship by the 2010 team for his second year , he was the second - leading tackler in the Big Ten Conference and was selected as a 2010 All - Conference honorable mention . He was also a 2011 All - Big Ten honorable mention for the 2011 team . He served the 2012 team as captain and was also a 2012 All - Big Ten second team selection and a 2012 Academic All - Big Ten honoree . Background . Kovacs attended Clay High School , which is the rival high school of former Wolverine teammate Kevin Koger . In high school , he earned varsity letter s in basketball as a sophomore and junior . He also earned All - City recognition in track and field three times ( first team as a senior , second team as a junior and honorable mention as a sophomore ) and was a four - year letterman . He qualified for the Ohio State championships in the 4x400 meter relay . He was a three - year letterman in football , where he earned All - Ohio academic honors and All - district honors as both a wide receiver and defensive back . He was not recruited by any Division I schools as a high school football player , but he was recruited by some Division II schools . Kovacs only had two campus visits : Division II Hillsdale and Toledo ( a school 13 miles from his high school ) . By the time he completed his college applications , even Hillsdale had lost interest in him . His father placed a call to Michigan Director of Football Operations Brad Labadie after Jordan was wait listed and got him to agree to review a homemade highlight reel . As his graduation neared , Kovacs shook hands with Andy Boyd , a Toledo coach , on a preferred walk - on spot . That same afternoon in June 2008 , Labadie called to confirm that Kovacs had been admitted from the wait list . The admission came without an athletic scholarship . Labadie encouraged Jordan to attend walk - on tryouts . College career . Redshirt ( 2008 ) . Kovacs initially passed the walk - on tryouts , but he had to pass the physical with Paul " Schmidty " Schmidt , who had been a trainer since Jordan ' s father Lou had played and been on the coaching staff at Michigan . He had had surgery to repair cartilage damage in high school , but that did not alleviate his problems . When Jordan responded yes to a question about whether he had had any surgeries in the prior 12 months , it triggered a line of questioning about his senior season meniscus surgery . He did not make the 2008 Wolverines due to a knee problem , but was advised to try out again after his knee healed . After discovering a torn meniscus , he had a second knee surgery , which was successful . He attended every game that season in his family ' s season ticket section . Freshman ( 2009 ) . In 2009 , he was one of the most highly regarded walk - ons in the nation , and emerged from a group of Michigan football players who referred to themselves as " The Walk - On Nation " . His debut on September 5 against the Western Michigan was on special teams . The following week he registered 31 plays against Notre Dame after starting safety Michael Williams suffered leg cramps . He made his first start on September 26 against Indiana . On October 3 of that season , he had 17 tackles against Michigan State in the annual Paul Bunyan Trophy . He posted ten tackles and made his first career interception on November 14 against Wisconsin . That season he played free safety before being switched to strong safety . He started one game at free safety and seven at strong safety over the course of the season . He finished the season as the second leading tackler for the 2009 Wolverines . He earned 2009 CollegeFootballNews . com Freshman All - America second team recognition and 2009 " Sporting News " Freshman All - Big Ten honors . He was also a Rudy Award candidate . Sophomore ( 2010 ) . Kovacs earned a scholarship at the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Division I FBS football season . In the second game of the season on September 11 against Notre Dame in the Michigan – Notre Dame football rivalry game , Kovacs recorded his first interception of the season and second of his career as part of a 10 - tackle effort . On October 16 he recorded 2 . 5 tackles for a loss against Iowa . After eight games in the 2010 season he ranked second in the Big Ten Conference in tackles . On November 18 , he was nominated for the Burlsworth Trophy , which was a newly created award for the most outstanding player to have begun his career as a walk on . On November 20 , he posted his first career quarterback sack during a season - high twelve tackle performance against Wisconsin . With one week remaining on the conference schedule , the performance tied Kovacs for third - overall in the Big Ten , gave Kovacs a wide lead among Big Ten underclassman ( 8 . 64 vs . 7 . 55 per game over the next highest performer ) and extended his lead among Big Ten defensive backs ( 8 . 64 vs 8 . 27 ) . In the final game of the regular season on November 27 against Ohio State in the annual Michigan – Ohio State football rivalry game , Kovacs recorded his second interception of the season and third of his career as part of a 17 - tackle effort . He collected a career - best 41 return yards following the interception . In the game , Kovacs tied a career - high with 17 total tackles including a new career - high 9 solo tackles . Kovacs ended the 2010 Big Ten Conference football season ranked second in the conference to teammate Jonas Mouton in total tackles . However , he led the team in solo tackles . Following the Big Ten Conference season , he was selected as an honorable mention All - Conference selection by the media . Junior ( 2011 ) . When Brady Hoke took over as Michigan head coach for the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season , Kovacs impressed him quickly . Kovacs was one of the first five players named as a starter for the 2011 team . In the September 3 , 2011 season opener against Western Michigan at Michigan Stadium , Kovacs forced a fumble that was recovered and advanced for a touchdown . Although the game was ended by mutual agreement in the third quarter due to inclement weather , Kovacs recorded 10 tackles , including two sacks . He was named the Lott Trophy impact player of the week . At first , the stats for the game were considered official by the Big Ten Conference and the University of Michigan , but the NCAA has vacated the statistics for this game because three quarters were not completed . However , at the conclusion of the regular season , the NCAA reversed course and ruled that since the game is counting for win - loss record , the statistics will be counted by the NCAA . On September 10 , against Notre Dame , during the first night game ever played at Michigan Stadium , he talied an interception , and eight tackles . When it became evident that the defense had improved markedly from the prior season , he and fellow safety Thomas Gordon were credited as being the " leaders of the defense " . On October 8 , against Northwestern , Kovacs posted two solo tackles for a loss , both on fourth down . Kovacs suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the October 29 game against Purdue . Kovacs had been one of twenty quarterfinalists for the Lott impact player of the year . Kovacs was named as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2011 Burlsworth Trophy on November 22 . Following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season , he earned All - Big Ten Conference honorable mention recognition from the media and was selected as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for the Michigan program . Kovacs earned 2011 Fall Academic All - Big Ten recognition along with 10 teammates . In the January 3 , 2012 Sugar Bowl 23 – 20 overtime victory against Virginia Tech , he led the team with 11 tackles . Kovacs finished among the conference leaders in several statistics : sacks / game ( . 33 , 17th ) , tackles / game ( 6 . 2 , 30th ) and fumbles forced / game ( . 17 , t - 9th ) . Senior ( 2012 ) . Kovacs was elected team captain . He was selected to the preseason watchlist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy ( best defensive player ) . At a ceremony on November 10 , Kovacs ' jersey number was changed from 32 to the previously retired number 11 which was recirculated as a " Michigan Football Legend " jersey in honor of Francis ( " Whitey ) , Albert and Alvin Wistert . He was interviewed as part of a 13 - minute segment that appeared on the November 18 edition of " 60 Minutes " about the business of college football . Kovacs was a second team All - Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media . On November 27 , he was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy . At the December 3 team banquet , Kovacs earned team MVP for the season . He earned Academic All - Big Ten recognition in 2012 . Following the season , he participated in the February 2 , 2013 Texas vs . the Nation All - Star Bowl . Professional career . Kovacs signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins following the 2013 NFL Draft . Personal . His father Louis , who was a walk - on for Michigan coach Bo Schembechler , lettered for the 1982 Michigan Wolverines football team . He subsequently served two seasons as a graduate assistant for Schembechler . Lou is married to Susan Kovacs . Jordan wears # 32 , the reverse of his father ' s # 23 . Kovacs has three siblings , and his older brother Aaron played his freshman season for the 2007 Toledo Rockets . His family regularly brought him to watch Michigan home games when he was growing up . The family regularly sat in Section 27 of Michigan Stadium , on the north side of the press box . Today the family sits underneath the scoreboard , since they have a son on the team . The first Michigan game Kovacs watched was Lloyd Carr ' s first game as coach of Michigan Wolverines football for the 1995 Wolverines , which was a memorable 18 - point comeback against .