Hello ladies and gentlemen I say yo to my noops my noops give throw the yo up there we go brother Ed Cole I am with the Phoenix alumni chapter of Kappa alfasi Fraternity Incorporated and I am honored to have the grand pmark the 35th Grand pmark of our illustrious organization our Noble fraternity
Brother Jimmy McMichael here in the house brother McMichael it’s an honor to have you no thank you so much for taking time out cutting time out of your schedule to join us absolutely glad to be here and looking forward to this conversation with these great noes yes
Sir we got brother keesan Harris brother Jerome Nichols national champions from the uh uh University of Michigan these cats a week ago won the National Championship they beat the Washington Huskies 34-13 in Houston at NRG Stadium and they got their Championship the first one since 1997 brother Harris
Brother Nichols uh welcome to the Welcome to our conversation Brothers congratulations on this honorable achievement yeah thank you appreciate you yeah thank you so much it’s a blessing brother McMichael I will defer to you as the grand paulmark brother all difference to you you started off no listen we talk about achievement in
Every field of human endeavor and clearly winning a national championship is a tremendous achievement so we’re excited to just have a couple moments with you and I think the the first question we got to start off with is just hey man how’s it feel to be a national
Champion um it feels it feels surreal um I’ve I’ve been a huge Michigan fan all my life so this is kind of like a dream come true and a goal mind like I’ve always wanted to to play for Michigan and and play football at Michigan so like this is like like I
Told you I’m still on cloud n so I don’t think it it’s it’s hit me yet so I’m still trying to kind of relax and kind of just enjoy the moment but yeah this is this is truly a blessing brother Nichols uh I completely agree with Kean I mean when I first came
To um of it was covid and it’s kind of crazy because when I first came we were we a section in pods and the coach assigned me to be with key so now that you know key and I went from being two and four my freshman during covid national championships is the real
So yeah it was amazing brother Nichols talk a little bit more about your relationship that you and brother Harris built as you said you you you got together and you built that relationship coming from two and four and eventually you guys rise to the mountain top and you get the national championship the
State the the you got the bling you got the trophy that every college football player wants you guys got there talk about that relationship how you started it from day one to the when you won the championship oh man so I remember day one we were on the field it was
Conditioning uh it was covid too so also you only have so many people in the facility at time times were way different how they were now but you go have so many people in the facility only so many people in the wait room yet have some people on the field and I remember
I came in at a workout group and I read my list and the coach had me right next to Kean so he walked in I had our on everything and basically coach said hey Jerome Jerome’s a freshman he’s new you know he you’re going to be with him so
From there it was just we already clicked but then ke would go to the field get uh I remember we would go to the field workouts would be around 8 n o’clock in the morning we would go back in the evening and I basically wrote his
Coils whatever he did I did I mean they were most time they were DB drills I’m a linebacker I don’t do all that running you know but I did it you know so I always follow from day one won and then we joined the Brotherhood and it’s been
That much better so we only got that much closer so that’s awes it’s cool seeing how it all translated no that’s absolutely awesome and brother Harris you know look this is this is kind of your year of resiliency too right because after the way the the season
Ended last year to disappointment and to be right back here for this year you know you know to say hey that’s just not going to be acceptable the way things ended last year and to battle back and end up right back in the playoffs and to
To go on to Win It man it’s got to make you feel some kind of special as well to just know that you’ve got that in you to just bounce back and and be successful in in the face of tragedy last year yeah I mean it definitely feel good I say
Third time to triarm because you know we lost to Georgia in 21 and lost the T last year and I think after last year just coming and being so close we kind of felt like there was still something that we had to prove so we kind of just
From January from January to January for the whole year kind of just just stayed committed and stuck to the goal to team to team to team and we kind of just kind of just just been riding high on that on our goals and our our principles and
Foundations of that and then you know eventually you know we became National Big 10 championships rosebowl Champions and national champions so I think kind of just just believing in ourselves and and in our coaches and also like if you notice I think we probably were one of
The most spiritual teams that were in the NCAA you know we kind of just you know kept our faith and kind of always kept God first that’s what I kind of you know liked about our team and even our head coach you know Jim Harbaugh you
Know he kind of was you know more more spiritually in tune this season so I think I think really it’s all God I think that kind of you know that sums up our season so noops let me ask you about uh playing under coach Hardball brother Nichols
I’ll start with you then brother Harris you can kick it you can take it after him what was it like playing for Coach hard ball I know we uh brother McMichael we all know that he’s an intense one of the most intense coaches that we’ve seen in college football and in professional
Football but just being under coach hard ball learning and being groomed by him and eventually again ascending to the top and getting that National Championship what was it like playing under him man it was it’s surreal because I remember really Coach Harbaugh first time I really heard of Coach Harbaugh I
Was young I remember he was the coach for the 49ers and he went to Super Bowl with his brother so seeing how it all translates where six seven years later you’re playing under him it was it’s a shock but you also have to stay ready so
Um just having knowing that he has that NFL experience knowing that you just have to trust and buy into what he has the program that he’s about to put on um you just have to trust and believe what he has how how he has a program set and
Sock it all up be patient and what he gives you opportunity take full advantage brother Harris yeah I think coach hard ball is one of the the best coaches I’ve ever had and I think that you don’t you wouldn’t really understand the you’re around him
And just what what kind of guy he is I had a situation my when I first came to Michigan where I uh I was being recruited for track and field as well and I took official visit uh for track and field before I did football and I guess that’s like NCAA violation because
Due to a situation that happened with the Miami her hurricanes where they were recruiting track track athletes to play on the football team so because of that I had to set out two years my freshman and junior year so with the help of Coach Harbaugh we he kind of you know
Helped me through that whole situation and actually you know put me on scholarship and you know and help me to you know see the field and and kind of we petition and wrote letters to NCAA to get me to play my junior year so it’s things that he he’s done for me
Personally that like I will always you know every time I see him I will always always thank him for you know that that specific situation and just even just allowing me to be on this team and play on this team you know what I’m saying so
He’s just he’s just a real a standup guy and who who will do anything for anybody he loves so I just like I said I’m just I’m just grateful that I you know was able to to play Under Coach Harbaugh yeah no that’s awesome man and
You know you you mentioned some some of the support that he’s provided and and I think sometimes people don’t understand the life of a college athlete and the need for those support structures for you guys because college sports on a division one level is a full-time job
And you know you have to find that balance in order to be successful man how have you been able to kind of balance Student Life with athletic life because I mean you’re you’re putting in well more than 40 hours a week just on the athletic thing and uh so how do you
Find balance there um yes it’s it’s it’s difficult it’s it kind of it took me a while especially when when I first came I don’t think I really kind of adjusted probably until like maybe the end of my soft year start my junior year but I
Think for me I’m a I’m a procrastinator so I think me just kind of like having a set schedule like I had to like literally make a like a calendar and then kind of like focus on each specific day and just like you know what time is class what
Assignments I have to do and even put my you know my practice schedule just kind of like so I could stay organized so I think that was the big thing really just staying organized and kind of being ahead each day because I think if you’re ahead and that kind of kind of really
Sets you up for success but yeah it defin definitely took some time but I think just just the the older I got the more mature and the more I took things serious it kind of kind of made things easier for me no that’s awesome brother Nichols how about you man how are you
Balancing creating that bance the the the athletic life versus the student life and uh how’s that going for you um it’s going really well uh it’s it’s difficult but I went to Renaissance High School shout out to my high school D Renaissance High School 6565 West out of
Drive um they pre me for that so I know my coach coach Drake um he always pre me he always told us to always make sure we stay stay on top of our grades um bro he even made the team keep a 2.5 at least
Always have had above a 3.0 but it’s the grooming that he started in high school so I mean it wasn’t really anything new that really caus me any issues um but you just always to stay disciplined you know and always understand that it’s a goal you know you can’t play football if
You don’t have the grades so just make sure you’re on top of everything so just to stay disciplined and noops we all know how important family is to us without family we we are nothing brother Nichols let me kick it back to you talk about your family and the influence and how
Important they are to you and in in this in this process and this journey to you becoming a national champion and then brother Harris you can you can follow on on on his coattails oh man um my fan play a huge influence uh on me even
Since I was younger they were come to my games um so even just seeing how they came to my games Little League high school now in college you know is surreal uh actually I play on a little I play on a team with my little brother so
My little brother J is a sophomore safety so it almost motivated me to go harder in practice just because my little brother’s there so that was it was a blessing because not many people could say to play with their little brother in college and stepping on the
Field with him was amazing but my dad my dad’s a n from G UPS Salon chapter sou Illinois spring 93 shout out pops yo but man he always supported me my mom my mom as well she always supported my she always supported me where they’re at all
My games whatever I need they’re there um everything that I did would not be able to be done without them you know days where I don’t have a good practice they’re people I can lean on they may not understand what I’m going through because they weren’t College athletes
But they’re there to support and then most of all my baby brother Julie um I have two little brothers and right now he’s a junior high school but he’s you know he’s looking up to myself he looking at to my middle brother Josh and he’s almost like my reason why because I
Know man and he he tries everything he does to get to where we’re at and he will be where we’re at he’s going to surpass my brother and I you know the baby’s always got the best but he’s my reason why because I know he looks up to us
And yeah I’m I’m blessed I’m blessed that have my family all my family in the city in Detroit they always came down so shout out to all y I can’t give a shout out to all y’all but shout out to all y’all and but they always they always
Came and they always came deep so oh I appreciate my family and brother Nichols I know your mom’s got to be super happy she’s a u of mum she she graduated back in 96 so I know she’s got to be over the moon that she that that her that her boy
Her boys got championships yes yeah she tells all her friends when we come back you know so it’s actually cool because both ring ceremonies that we had uh always made sure that I gave my ring to her she always put it on first so just because you know I just I appreciate her
But also seeing how she laid the ground work and always make sure you know she’s appreciated and additionally it was kind of crazy that I came to Michigan because I had four older cousins that all played at Michigan State oh wow so seeing that
I was the first one to go to U ofm and kind of break the little family tradition I guess it was kind of funny but I mean it came out in a good way because I got National Championship so that’s right brother Harris you you and your family talk about your family
Brother uh yeah my my my family is everything man I I literally talk to them all day long I think that’s that’s what kind of me and Jerome have in common that we’re we’re big family man like we we do anything for our family but yeah my my whole family is from uh
Lance Michigan both my my parents Jimmy and cinaa Harris from Ben harbard Michigan sweethearts um ended up going to uh Heron University in uh South Dakota and then ended up you know having me um I’m the I’m the oldest I have three siblings um Keenan and jaay uh both in high
School uh Keenan is a senior Jay is a junior they both go to Waverly and then my little sister uh Bria she’s in sixth grade so but yeah I mean I’m just I’m I’m just blessed to have the family that I have because I feel like they they
Give me so much wisdom and I’m also kind of kind of being a a inspiration and a role model for my siblings and that’s I feel like that’s my whole my my whole passion and my whole I feel like that’s my my role that I have to play is to to
Kind of you know just be be a a role model for my for my my siblings and making sure that you know that I’m doing the right thing so when they get to where I’m met or when they get to college that they kind of you know know
What to do and kind of you know what route to take but yeah I just there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my family you know what I’m saying they kind of you know been on me through this this journey that I’ve been on in in college and they were kind of you know
The ones that that helped me to get here and and to stay here even when when times were hard you know my my family were real spiritual so anytime where you know I’ve had a bad day or it was was times where I thought about you know
Maybe I I I should should go back to track and field maybe I shouldn’t do football it was times where you know I talk to my family and they you know talked to me and got my head on straight and you know helped me to to to keep
Moving forward so I would say yeah all my success and everything that I did you know came came from my family so I’m just I just love my family that’s that’s awesome man well listen you guys serve as a source of inspiration for the NES kind of a pride
Factor for us uh to be able to brag a little bit on y’all and uh so I just want y’all just take a quick minute and kind of rep your year and uh talk a little bit about your cap of life and uh we want to hear a little bit about that you’re
Drawing um well first off you know shout out to all my lbs man uh reincarnate so we were the first line since Co we were kind of like the the comeback line so I’m gonna give a shout to all my boys man uh Nick Cash Dorian Jaylen DJ DJ’s
On the Bengals right now Chris Kean myself man um shout out to y’all man because those are my brothers I mean it’s deeper I’m almost closer with them than I am some of my teammates because you know football it’s it’s business you know you gotta eat I gotta eat but like
I said on days where I don’t have my best I could sit down with any of my brothers and talk to them about anything I have going on and they don’t anything but support me so I mean shout out to all my brothers and it doesn’t go
Unnotice so but we’re all really close um but everything else been going really well as far as on campus um we have a few events lined up and I’m really excited so I know we have a a talent show that we do every year I know it was
Something we brought back last year because it died during um when nobody was really on the yard because of Co so we have a talent show coming up I’m really excited excited to do that um we have a few fundraisers coming up so I’m excited to see everything comes together
So I’m excited and brother Nicholas what does it mean to you to be a noop oh man it means a lot uh it’s like a it’s a it’s a it’s a Brotherhood you know it’s it’s like a big emphasis on brotherhood um like I said football is it’s genuine
But at the same time it’s not it’s business you know everyone has to eat so it’s not really always a genuine SCS your friends may not be your friends you know but as South far Sigma chapter from the MP Northern Province I mean it’s always been love you know I have guys
Who I go I went on social media I was posted by the fraternity page and his guys all over the northern Province reposting saying how proud they are of me and they’ve just seen me throughout the years just grow and they’ve always supported me so I mean I’m forever
Blessed I’m blessed for everybody who came along always supported me so brother Harris is on you now brother yeah I will start off saying by you know shout out to Arcade my My Line brothers man but I think just being in this fraternity it just
Kind of it you can even ask Rome it kind of It kind of changed me for for for the better man and it was it was something like with with me like I I didn’t have any any Greek in my family so like my when I when I wanted
To join Kappa I was doing this to kind of you know step out my comfort zone and and do something that that was really never done in my family and to be able to to start a legacy of my own so you know my brothers could do it and and my
Kids can do it and nephews and things like that so with with me joining this fraternity it just kind of just I don’t know it just kind of just just made me to a better person and all the connections I’ve made and and the brothers that I’ve met and I would this
Is this is more than the Brotherhood to me this is this is family this is honestly like family like I know that especially with my L Brothers I know that I can can call them in any time of the day and they’ll pick up and and and
Do anything for me you know what I’m saying and like Jerome is saying like with with football you develop relationship you develop you know close friends but when you’re in the bond it’s it’s completely different you know and me and Dr we had the you know
Opportunity to to you know to be on you know both sides of the spectrum and kind of have the opportunity to kind of you know you know be on the football team and be in the bond but being in the bond it’s just a different different type of
Feel and with me and drum you can just just tell when we’re around our brothers it’s just a different type of feel that you you probably not gonna get anywhere else you know what I’m saying so I’m just I’m just glad that I’m in it and
And I love it so yeah and like I asked brother Nicholls brother Harris what does it mean to you to be a nope uh it means everything it mean it honestly means everything to me and I just I’m I’m just just just blessed to to to be a
Noob you know what I’m saying and I’m I I love all the all the hospitality I get when I when I go different places and meet different brothers so it it honestly honestly means means everything to me I’ve never in my life experienced anything like it
So that’s awesome that is awesome so hey I want to ask you guys man um a little bit about the team Vibe are are you guys talking repeat yet or y’all just still basking in the glory a moment uh you kind of have to bask in it
Just a little bit um but the thing with us is that we don’t really B for long so we had to pray on Saturday workout start next Tuesday I know everybody’s back to everybody’s ready to go back to working out I mean I worked out earlier and
There’s 20 guys you know coming in right behind me and the group after me you know all voluntary stuff um but it’s not really the type of thing where we just let it we won and that’s it parade nah we ready to get right back to it so of
Course we ready to go back to back there going to be a different team next year but I think everybody ready to step up everyone knows what it takes so it’s really no excuse so and then brother Harris doesn’t that speak to the the work ethic and just the attitude and
Mentality of the University of Michigan football team that that brother Nicholls is like all right there’s 20 guys that’s already back in the weight room putting in work because they know hey it it’s you got Target on your back now because you’re national champions you got to step your game up now because
Everybody’s coming after you next season yeah I mean you do have a have a Target on your back and I think that just that just kind of goes back to the to the culture of Michigan because we’re we’re always working hard we’re always we know we got the Target on our back so
We’re ready to get to work now like even though we just won a national championship you know a week ago we’re we’re we’re right back in the weight room trying to trying to get back at it and of course we we want to repeat you know you know who who doesn’t but I
Think for right now like you you do gotta kind of enjoy the moment you know what I’m saying it’s always good to enjoy the moment and kind of just reflect on everything you did because I mean it was a long season you know a lot of things happened and you know
Everybody don’t win The Natty you know what I’m saying nobody experienced the things that we experience so I I think it it is a time where you do kind of just kind of just got to soak it in and kind of just just like I said enjoy the
Moment but no we’re we’re definitely ready to ready to get back to to to work so well you guys enjoy it man you deserve it yes you do I want to one more question we’ll get you guys out of here brother Nichols brother Harris what’s what’s life what’s the step in your life
Once you because brother Harris you’re a grad student brother Nichols you’re a a senior um what is the next step in your life after winning this National Championship I’ll start with you brother Harris then we’ll go to brother Nichols um for me I had I had a couple
Options um I’m still kind of like in the in the midst of kind of deciding what I want to do um I end up getting my my bachelor’s in Communications media back in April um so I kind of I want to do some type of Journalism with that I
Love to write um I I can write all day long I think I got that from my mother she also likes to write but um I would I would I would definitely like to do you know some type of some type of work involving uh journalism but I had the option of
Staying here and training for prod day and getting you know getting ready for that but I think the decisions that I’m trying to make right now is either I have another year of Eligibility so I could either you know come back to Michigan and you know get ready for you
Know another season or I could you know try to you know transfer somewhere else and kind of you know do that do another year and then kind of you know train and get ready for the draft but you know I’m kind of kind of in the in the midst of
Trying to make a decision but you know I definitely have options so I’m in the same boat uh I have the option to come back for a fifth year um at the University and I also have two years left so I do a fifth and sixth
Year here um I do have the option to work out for pro day um I don’t plan on it plan on having more film playing next year and then entering a pro day in the draft and everything um and worst case scenario football isn’t what I want to do which
Is not going to happen but you know things happen unexpectedly you know injuries life hits you things happen um I’ve been doing projects with the University where I did an internship with the offic of University development so I did that over the summer they brought me back and I had a part-time
Very part-time job during first semester and um they gave me an offer to come back and work for the University um next year they’ll pay for half my masters so I have that option and I also had the option to work for Eli Lily pharmaceutical company where I’m doing a
Project for him right now so football or not I think I’ll be pretty good so will key so yeah don’t you love to hear that brother mcmike these brothers they know what they want to do life is it’s just ahead of them they just got to pick and choose
What’s going to come because there there are M multiple opportunities for the brothers yeah and and look once if you can line up options you’re winning so you know to know that you have your pick of of of options puts you in a great position and so listen we we’re proud of
You want you to know that cap Al asai is proud of you guys man you’re continuing to achieve and you represent us well so we’re just excited about in your future we’re going to keep tabes on you um and make sure that we continue to document your journey definitely sounds good and thank
You guys appreciate you I appreciate you absolutely brother McMichael thank you for your time brother Nichols brother Harris thank you so much let’s throw up that yo to the noops yes sir yo yo yo
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