The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 101 Devin Gil is one of many Floridians to have made the trek to Ann Arbor over the last several years, and he'll have a chance to leave his mark on the program like so many others have. Here's the best of the best of U-M's Sunshine State hauls: 1. Anthony Carter, WR (1979-82) The 1982 Big Ten Most Valuable Player made an immediate impact for head coach Bo Schembechler in 1979 and was considered by many the most dominant player at his position during his tenure. He was simply electric with the ball in his hands, becoming just the eighth three-time All American in Big Ten history (the first in 36 years) and the first receiver to surpass 3,000 receiving yards. Carter was voted captain of the 1982 team and was twice the Wolverines' Most Valuable Player (1980 and 1982). He shattered virtually every Michigan career receiving, kick return and scoring record, including touchdowns (40), points (244), receptions (161), yards (3,076) and touchdown catches (37), the latter also a Big Ten record. Carter finished fourth in the 1982 Heisman Trophy balloting, receiving more votes than any player other than running backs and quarterbacks, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2001. 2. Steve Hutchinson, OG (1997-2000) The first and only four-time first-team All-Big Ten selection from Michigan's offen - sive line, Hutchinson was a consensus All-American in 2000 after earning first-team accolades from CNN/Sports Illustrated during the 1999 season. The two-time captain was a four-year starter and letterman at left guard. He made 45 career starts and did not allow a sack during his final two seasons. Hutchinson became only the fourth player in Big Ten history to be named first- team all-conference all four years, joining Mark Messner as the only other Wolver - ine to achieve the honor. He was named the Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year and was a finalist for the Outland Trophy Award in 2000. The No. 17 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft went on to an All-Pro NFL career with Seattle and Minnesota, was included on the league's All-Decade team for the 2000s, and has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist in his first two years of eligibility. 3. Denard Robinson, QB (2008-11) One of the most dynamic players in Michigan history, Robinson set the single- season Division I Football Bowl Subdivision record for rushing yards by a quarter - back in 2010 and became the only player in NCAA history to both pass and rush for 1,500 yards in a season. Robinson also broke the Big Ten season record with 4,272 yards of total offense (2,570 passing and 1,702 rushing) and led the conference in rushing. He set the Michigan single-game record with 502 yards of total offense in his second start, a 28-24 road win at Notre Dame. He was awarded the 2010 Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten and was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team All-American. Robinson still holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards by a quarterback (4,495), eclipsing the previous mark set by West Virginia signal-caller Pat White (4,480, 2005-08). He also holds the NCAA season record for rushing yards by a quarterback (1,702). 4. Devin Bush Jr., LB (2016-18) The 2018 captain started 25 games and was one of the best sideline-to-sideline linebackers the Wolverines has ever had, if not the best. He twice won Michigan's Roger Zatkoff Award as the team's best at his position and earned consensus All- America honors in 2018. He was a two-time Walter Camp (first team, 2018; second team, 2017) and Asso - ciated Press All-American (second team, 2018; third team, 2017), a two-time Butkus Award finalist (2017-18), and was the Big Ten Woodson-Nagurski Defensive Player of the Year and Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year (2018). Bush finished his career with 194 total stops, 20 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks, and was taken No. 10 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. 5. Steve Everitt, C (1989-92) Everitt gets the nod over three other linemen — Stefan Humphries, David Baas and Rod Payne — even though he didn't earn All-America honors like the latter two (in part because the All-America teams then chose only one center). He started all 12 games at center for the 1989 Big Ten champs that compiled a 10-2 record in Schembechler's last season as Michigan's head coach. Everitt came back from a broken jaw suffered in 1991 against Notre Dame to play with his mouth wired shut, and started all 12 games for the undefeated 1992 squad that compiled a 9-0-3 record and defeated Washington in the 1993 Rose Bowl. He was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 1992, and many believe he was the best center in the country that year. The first-round pick (No. 14 overall) went on to play eight seasons in the NFL. — Chris Balas Michigan's Top Five Players Ever From The State Of Florida Wideout Anthony Carter (No. 1) shattered virtually every school receiving record — including career receptions (161), receiving yards (3,076) and touchdown catches (37) — en route to becoming just the eighth three-time All-American in Big Ten history. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY