Freshman cornerback has outstanding success so far
By Daily Bruin Staff
Oct. 26, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 Michael Jolivette
By Josh Mason
Daily Bruin Contributor
While most of the talk about Michael Jolivette this week will
center around the vicious blow he received Saturday against Oregon,
the real talk should focus on the amazing season he’s putting
together as a player.
As a cornerback, the redshirt freshman is one of the biggest
surprises in the Pac-10. He has helped bolster a young Arizona
secondary that is part of the heralded “desert swarm”
defense. The defense accounts for an impressive turnover margin of
12, the third best in the nation.
“He’s a talented corner,” said UCLA receivers
coach Ron Caragher. “I’ve seen him make a lot of plays
this season because he has such a good sense of ball judgment. He
is able to make plays even when a good pass is made to the
receiver.”
Jolivette currently leads the Pac-10 and is fourth in the nation
with five interceptions, two of which came in a victory over USC
that garnered him Defensive Player of the Week honors. His
impressive start has fellow cornerback Ricky Manning in a bit of a
stir.
“He’s got more interceptions than me, but he really
shouldn’t,” Manning said jokingly.
“I do have to say that he’s holding his own, though,
for being so small. I’m a small guy too and I think
he’s even smaller. So you’ve got to respect
that.”
Which makes last weekend’s hit on Jolivette that much more
gut-wrenching. Listed at only 5-foot-9 and 175 pounds, Jolivette
was knocked clear off his feet in what many claim was an illegal
and malicious hit by Oregon linebacker Wesley Mallard.
Jolivette was on punt coverage in the first quarter when Mallard
seemed to spear Jolivette in the head with the crown of his helmet
““ an angle that in the NFL would be deemed illegal and worthy
of an excessive fine.
“I think it was a malicious blow,” said Arizona head
coach Dick Tomey. “It is a frightening thing when you see it.
The media has a feeding frenzy about it on TV. The crowd has a
feeding frenzy about it. Michael is so lucky. He could have been
hurt badly.
“But he’s such a trooper. After the trainers
stitched him up, he wanted to get back in there and
play.”
Of course, it’s a little hard to make the hits when
you’ve just received a gash on the chin worthy of 11
stitches. But despite his injury, Jolivette will most likely line
up for action against the Bruins on Saturday.
The freshman Jolivette has a lot in common with Manning, who
became a leader in the secondary last year as a true freshman. Like
Manning, Jolivette is receiving a lot of exposure this season after
being thrown right into the mix. In fact, he has started all seven
of Arizona’s contests, and in addition to leading the team in
picks, he also forced a decisive fumble in the Washington State
game.
Jolivette is also fourth on the team in tackles with 26 and
easily leads the squad with 11 passes defended.
Even Bruin receiver Freddie Mitchell had some positive comments
to make about the young corner, despite referring to Jolivette as
“that guy that got blasted.”
“I definitely think he’s a soldier if he’s
able to play this week,” Mitchell said. Not bad praise from a
guy who claims not to give a thought to who is covering him.
It might be a good idea to take note of the abilities of young
Michael Jolivette, as he seems ready to take the conference by
storm.
