The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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20 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2019 "They pushed me to be better," he said. "They helped me a lot." • Richard Katcher Award (top defensive lineman/outside line- backer): Fifth-year senior defensive end Chase Winovich — Winovich delivered another dominant effort in his final season as a Wolverine, re- cording four sacks among 62 tackles in addition to his team-leading TFL total. Winovich noted one of his disap- pointments from the season involved getting injured against Indiana, since his grandmother gave him $5 for every game he made it through un- scathed. Turning serious, he delivered some encouragement to his teammates. He talked about coming to Michigan at around 200 pounds and at one point playing "seventh-string tight end" before rising through the ranks. • Hugh Rader Award (top of- fensive lineman): Redshirt junior tackle Jon Runyan Jr. — Runyan fol- lowed in the footsteps of his dad, Jon Runyan, who won the award when he played for Michigan. The son talked about Michigan's significant improvement over the course of the season. Offensive line coach Ed Warinner mentioned the fact that all five Michi- gan offensive linemen earned some sort of All-Big Ten recognition, but Runyan was the only one to garner first-team status, doing so from his left tackle spot. • Toughest Player of the Year Award: Junior guard Ben Bredeson — The starter of 32 games over three years for the Wolverines captured the award. A Wisconsin native, Bredeson led a hugely upgraded offensive line in 2018. Michigan strength and condition- ing coach Ben Herbert noted how, in his first conversation with Harbaugh, the head coach expressed the desire for "a team of tough individuals." Bredeson, who became a captain this season, epitomized that designation. • Blue Collar Award (hardest worker): Sophomore linebacker Josh Ross — Ross put a significant stamp on his sophomore season, se- curing 50 tackles (fourth best on the team) in the 12 regular-season games in which he appeared. "This is an amazing feeling, to be chosen by your teammates as the hardest worker on the team," he said. • Offensive Rookie of the Year: Freshman receiver Ronnie Bell — Bell rang up a strong freshman sea- son, even amid a host of very good second-year wideouts. He managed eight catches for 145 yards (18.1 aver- age) and two touchdowns, signaling good efforts on the horizon. • Defensive Rookie of the Year: Freshman defensive end Aidan Hutchinson — Hutchinson dem- onstrated flashes of brilliance as a freshman, notching 1.5 TFLs and a quarterback hurry among 15 stops, playing in all 12 U-M games. • Special Teams Rookie of the Year: Freshman kicker Jake Moody — This rookie came out of nowhere to go 8 for 8 on field goals at the end of the season. He also saw nearly half of his 85 kickoffs (40) go for touch- backs on the year. • Special Teams Player of the Year: Fifth-year senior running back Joe Hewlett — Hewlett recovered a fumble while on the punt unit in the win at Michigan State during his final season as a Wolverine. • Specialist of the Year: Redshirt sophomore punter Will Hart — Hart took over the punting duties by storm this year, becoming the Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year and a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award nationally. He averaged 47.6 yards per punt this season. • Offensive Skill Player of the Year: Sophomore wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones — Peoples- Jones pulled in seven touchdown passes through the regular season, nearly matching the nine Michigan's wideouts caught as a group in 2017. • Defensive Skill Player of the Year: Junior cornerback David Long — Long tied for the team lead with nine passes defended (one intercep- tion, eight pass breakups) and is con- sistently rated among the top cover corners in the nation. • Offensive Player Of The Year: Junior quarterback Shea Patterson — Patterson transformed Michigan's offense this season, taking it from a crew that scored an average of 25.2 points per game in 2017 to one that put up 36.8 this season. He himself came a long way over the course of 12 months, he noted, and assured his experience in Ann Arbor — one which could be ex- tended another year — has been nothing but positive. "I've had the most fun ever in my football career," said Patterson, who threw for 2,364 yards and 21 touch- downs in 12 games, completing 65.1 percent with only five interceptions. "It's been an honor to do it, and I think there's a lot more to be done." Patterson assured he's playing in the bowl game against Florida, and brushed off a question about his thoughts regarding the NFL for next year. "I'm so focused on the Gators right now that I haven't even thought about it," he said. "I'll sit down with Coach Harbaugh pretty soon, maybe after the bowl game, and have a talk with him, maybe talk it over with my family." Junior guard Ben Bredeson was named the team's toughest player, but then was surprised with the photo they showed as he walked on stage to accept his award. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN