Michael Anthony Joseph Jolly (born March 19, 1958) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. He played professional football as a

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

from 1980 to 1983. He also played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1976 to 1979. He started at weak side

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for Michigan in 35 of 36 games from 1977 to 1979 and was selected as a first-team All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

player in both 1978 and 1979.

Early years

Jolly was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and grew up in

Melvindale, Michigan Melvindale is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city population was 12,851. History Melvindale began as the unincorporated settlement of Oakwood Heights in the northwestern part of Ecorse Township in ...

. He attended Dearborn Sacred Heart High School for three years and one year at Aquinas High School in Southgate Michigan. He played four sports, football, basketball, track and baseball, in high school. He played both tailback and defensive back, and returned punts, in high school.

Michigan

He played for the

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins in college football history. The team is known for its ...

team under head coach

Bo Schembechler Glenn Edward "Bo" Schembechler Jr. ( ; April 1, 1929 – November 17, 2006) was an American football player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Miami University from 1963 to 1968 and at the University of ...

from 1976 to 1979. As a sophomore in 1977, Jolly started 11 of 12 games for Michigan at the weak side cornerback position. On October 1, 1977, in Michigan's 41-3 victory over Texas A&M, Jolly intercepted a pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown. Jolly played in the

1978 Rose Bowl The 1978 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, played on Monday, January 2, and was the 64th Rose Bowl Game. The Washington Huskies, champions of the Pacific-8 Conference, defeated the favored Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Co ...

against the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

on New Year's Day. In the third quarter of the Rose Bowl, he intercepted a pass at the Washington 36-yard line and returned it 25 yards. As a junior in 1978, Jolly started all 12 games at weak side cornerback for the

1978 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 10th season under head coach Bo Schembechler, the Wolverines compiled a ...

and was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference player. In the team's 51-0 victory over Duke, Jolly intercepted two passes. The 1978 team won the

championship, held opponents to an average of 8.75 points per game, played in the 1979 Rose Bowl, and finished the season ranked No. 5 in both the AP and UPI polls. As a senior in 1979, and for the second consecutive season, he started all 12 games at the weak side cornerback position. The 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team held opponents to an average of 12.6 points per game, played in the 1979 Gator Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 18 and 19 in the final AP and UPI polls. For the second consecutive season, Jolly was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference player. Over the three-year period from 1977 to 1979, Jolly started 35 of 36 games for the Wolverines and appeared in two Rose Bowls and a Gator Bowl. In his collegiate career, Jolly totaled 124 tackles and nine interceptions.(To retrieve Marsh's statistics, enter "jolly" in the space for "Enter last name.")

Professional football

Jolly was selected by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

in the fourth round (96th overall pick) of the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. In August 1980, Jolly was cut by the Saints and picked up on waivers by the

. As a rookie, Jolly appeared in all 16 games as a defensive back for the 1980 Packers. As the fifth back in Green Bay's nickel defense, he had two interceptions and knocked down three passes as a rookie. Jolly was slated to be the Packers starting safety in 1981. During his first game as a starter, a preseason game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in August 1981, Jolly sustained an injury to his left knee which required surgery to repair ligaments. Jolly missed the entire 1981 season after the injury. He returned for the 1982 season but appeared in only seven games, none as a starter. In 1983, he appeared in 12 games for the Packers, none as a starter. In May 1984, the Packers released Jolly.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jolly, Mike 1958 births Living people American football cornerbacks Green Bay Packers players Michigan Wolverines football players Players of American football from Detroit People from Melvindale, Michigan