the defense had improved markedly from the prior season, he and fellow safety Thomas Gordon were credited as being the "leaders of the defense". On October 8, against Northwestern, Kovacs posted two solo tackles for a loss, both on fourth down. Kovacs suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the October 29 game against Purdue. Kovacs had been one of twenty quarterfinalists for the Lott impact player of the year. Kovacs was named as one of 10 semifinalists for the 2011 Burlsworth Trophy on November 22. Following the 2011 Big Ten Conference football season, he earned All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention recognition from the media and was selected as the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient for the Michigan program. Kovacs earned 2011 Fall Academic All-Big Ten recognition along with 10 teammates. In the January 3, 2012 Sugar Bowl 23–20 overtime victory against Virginia Tech, he led the team with 11 tackles. Kovacs finished among the conference leaders in several statistics: sacks/game (.33, 17th), tackles/game (6.2, 30th) and fumbles forced/game (.17, t-9th). Senior (2012) Kovacs was elected team captain. He was selected to the preseason watchlist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (best defensive player). At a ceremony on November 10, Kovacs' jersey number was changed from 32 to the previously retired number 11 which was recirculated as a "Michigan Football Legend" jersey in honor of Francis ("Whitey), Albert and Alvin Wistert. He was interviewed as part of a 13-minute segment that appeared on the edition of November 18 of 60 Minutes about the business of college football. Kovacs was a second team All-Big Ten selection by the coaches and an honorable mention selection by the media. On November 27, he was named a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. At the December 3 team banquet, Kovacs earned team MVP for the season. He earned Academic All-Big Ten recognition in 2012. Following the season, he participated in the February 2, 2013 Texas vs. the Nation All-Star Bowl. Professional career Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles Kovacs signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Miami Dolphins following the 2013 NFL Draft. Kovacs was assigned to the Dolphins' practice squad to start the 2013 NFL season. Kovacs was promoted to the 53-man roster in week 5 of 2013. Kovacs had a tackle in his debut against the Baltimore Ravens on October 6. He was released at the end of training camp in 2014. He