SPORTS

“WHEN MY TEAMMATES ASK WHY I’M 
STRUGGLING AT PRACTICE DURING YOM KIPPUR, I 
TELL THEM I HAVEN’T EATEN OR DRANK 

ANYTHING FOR HOURS.”

— MICA GELB

continued from page 29

30 | SEPTEMBER 15 • 2022 

ON THE COVER

With his back to the classroom 
wall, Gelb responded. He got all A’s 
and B’s in the next semester, and he 
hasn’t had a grade lower than C+ 
since then.
His current GPA is 2.998. His goal 
is to raise that number to more than 
3.0, and he’s on track to graduate 
this coming spring.
One of Gelb’s second semester 
classes was pre-calculus. He did 16 
practice finals getting ready for the 
actual final and he got an A on the test.

HIS ROLE ON THE TEAM
Gelb’s main job on the U-M football 
team is to practice hard against the 
guys who do play and prepare them 
for games as part of the scout team.
It isn’t an easy job.
He goes up against big, athletic 
guys at practice like Mazzi Smith, a 
6-3, 337-pound defensive lineman 
from Grand Rapids.
Before this season, Gelb had 
played in only one U-M game. He 
got in on four snaps at right guard 
last season at home vs. Northern 
Illinois.
“That moment was surreal because 
I was facing guys I didn’t know, guys 
I wouldn’t be joking around with 
after the game,” he said. “I lived out 
a dream.”
Playing football for U-M wasn’t on 

ABOVE: Mica Gelb makes a 
point during the U-M spring 
game earlier this year.
RIGHT: It’s a Washington, 
D.C. area reunion as Mica 
Gelb gets together with U-M 
football teammate Quinten 
Johnson, a defensive back 
from Silver Spring, Maryland.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

 GELB FAMILY

