MHSA(Q&)A: Detroit Lions rookie Chris Greenwood
May 25, 2012
By Brian Spencer
Second Half
Five years ago, Chris Greenwood was No. 28 for the Detroit Martin Luther King football team, a key contributor for a Crusaders as they finished 7-3 and made the playoffs.
These days, he's a national sports story.
Greenwood, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound cornerback, is attempting the rare jump from Division III college football to the NFL. A standout at Albion College, he was selected in the fifth round of last month's NFL draft by the Detroit Lions.
His round-trip travels from his hometown and back again also included a stop at Northwood University. Greenwood played his final three college seasons for the Britons, last fall being named the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Defensive Player of the Year.
What is your favorite high school memory?
Winning the city championship senior year at Ford Field.
Were there any life/football lessons that you learned in high school that you’ve carried with you through college and now to the league?
Work hard; don’t let anything distract you. You are capable of doing anything that you put your mind to, and then some.
What is the biggest transition you’ve seen from DIII football at Albion to the Lions?
The talent difference I’ve had to get acclimated to, as well as technique. Technique has a much heavier emphasis now. I’ve also noticed a difference in speed and different terminology. For example, simple names for coverages have changed.
If you could trade places with anyone in the world right now, who would it be?
Nobody! I feel like I am in the best position possible. I’m living the dream.
What advice would you give to aspiring athletes who want to make the jump from high school to college? College to professional?
Never give up. Don’t ever quit. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do something. If you work hard and have the ability, they will find you.
What wide receiver tested you most to get to where you are at today?
My older brother (Doug Greenwood); growing up he was always stronger. We used to play, just him and I. He was pretty good. I had to figure out what way I was going to cover him because he was that much faster and stronger. This all took place just in the backyard or the park.
Would you say that your past at a Division III college has helped or hurt you more in the transition from college to professional ball?
It didn’t hurt, as far as what I have to do and what I’m doing now (in practice or off the field), but I feel like it affected my draft position. I could have gotten more exposure at bigger schools. At this point none of that matters; I’m glad to be where I am. Very happy.
Who was your favorite football player growing up?
Charles Woodson (former University of Michigan and current Green Bay Packers cornerback)
Is Donald Driver (Packers WR) more or less intimidating now that he has won "Dancing with the Stars?" If asked, would you be on "Dancing with the Stars?"
No way, he is not more intimidating because of that. If I were asked to do that, I wouldn’t right now. Maybe later on in my career I would do that, but right now I've got to stay focused.
PHOTOS courtesy of Albion College. Note about the interviewer: Brian Spencer is an MHSAA intern this summer, and was an Albion College football teammate of Greenwood's the last three seasons.
Superb Seniors Bringing Gladwin to Ford Field as 1st-Time Football Finalist
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
November 23, 2022
Nick Wheeler had a feeling growing up that he and his Gladwin classmates could have some success when it was their time to lead the Flying Gs varsity football program.
He just had no idea how much.
“I never saw the state championship,” the Gladwin senior quarterback and safety said. “I saw us winning the Jack Pine Conference, which was something that hadn’t been done in a while.”
Wheeler and his teammates have blown past those expectations and are now one win away from what once felt impossible.
Led by a strong senior class, Gladwin will play in an MHSAA Football Final for the first time Saturday. In Division 5, the Flying Gs will take on Frankenmuth, which is also seeking its first football title.
“This has been our dream since we’ve been in high school,” senior linebacker and running back Logan Kokotovich said. “We went down (to Ford Field) to watch games my freshman year, and it was amazing. Back before high school, we were blowing teams out of the water. Everyone thought we could be good, but we knew we had to really work hard to get there.”
Gladwin football was in a much different place when Wheeler, Kokotovich and their classmates entered high school. The program had won just six games total over the previous three seasons, and hadn’t been to the postseason since 2014.
“I remember going to games when I was young and we would always lose,” Kokotovich said. “I would tell my dad, ‘That’s not a surprise.’”
As the Class of 2023 entered the high school, the Flying Gs were getting new leadership. Marc Jarstfer took over as head coach in 2019 after being an assistant at his alma mater – and Gladwin’s arch rival – Clare.
“I had no idea of what was coming up,” Jarstfer said. “I didn’t really pay attention to the youth programs (at Gladwin) or that sort of thing. I was familiar with the current situation. I think in that first year our staff was here, we saw that group had pretty significant potential. They went undefeated on JV with two freshmen playing on varsity. We figured if they continue to work hard and do the right things, they could be very good.”
Kokotovich and receiver/safety Kaden McDonald both played varsity as freshmen, and 10 members of the Class of 2023 played varsity as sophomores.
It was during that 2020 season that the turnaround started to feel more like reality. Gladwin went 4-4, but its three regular-season losses were by a combined 24 points. It also had a win against Division 2 Dexter, which featured multiple college prospects.
“That’s when I started noticing it,” Wheeler said. “We were in close games with teams that we were never close with before, like Clare and Beaverton. And we were just young sophomores.”
The following year was a true breakthrough, as Gladwin went 9-0, claiming its first Jack Pine title in 20 years and winning it outright for the first time ever. Gladwin got there by defeating Clare for the first time in 40 years.
Then, in the first round of the playoffs, the Flying Gs’ season came to an abrupt halt, with a loss to that same Clare team.
It was humbling, but also motivating.
“We just thought we were the best,” Wheeler said. “That really put us down and made us work even harder for next season to achieve our goal. The coaches, they put pictures right in front of our squat rack of Clare beating us. So that’s looking at us every time we lift.”
The motivation clearly worked, as Gladwin repeated its 9-0 regular season, winning a second-straight Jack Pine title. This time, however, the Flying Gs were even more dominant. They outscored their regular-season opponents by a combined 444-48, with 27 of those points allowed coming in their 33-27 win at Pontiac Notre Dame Prep.
But nothing Gladwin accomplished could compare to its 28-21 Semifinal win against Grand Rapids Catholic Central. The Cougars had won Finals titles in four of the past five seasons, including the past two Division 5 titles. It was the first postseason loss for Catholic Central since 2018.
“Everybody doubted us going into that game,” Wheeler said. “Grand Rapids Catholic Central, everybody thinks they’re just the best, but we just took it as they were another team. We didn’t think of them any differently. Everybody (on the team) believed. It was probably the best feeling of my life.”
The Flying Gs are now one win away from an even better feeling. But no matter what happens at Ford Field on Saturday, they’ve already established themselves as the group that turned the program around.
That’s a feeling that’s made even more special by the fact they’ve been able to do it with their lifelong friends.
“It is definitely going to be something I remember for the rest of my life,” Kokotovich said. “This group of guys is everything. We’ve pushed each other so much, and it’s all just falling together. This is awesome.”
Paul Costanzo served as a sportswriter at The Port Huron Times Herald from 2006-15, including three years as lead sportswriter, and prior to that as sports editor at the Hillsdale Daily News from 2005-06. He can be reached at [email protected] with story ideas for Genesee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Sanilac, Huron, Tuscola, Saginaw, Bay, Arenac, Midland and Gladwin counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Gladwin's Logan Kokotovich (12) holds onto the ball during Saturday's Semifinal win over Grand Rapids Catholic Central. (Middle) Senior Lincoln McKinnon works to shed a blocker and get to the GRCC quarterback. (Below) Earl Esiline keeps his feet on the icy turf. (Photos by Mike Kolleth.)