The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW "When you first meet a freshman, nobody ever thinks this kid is going to lead us to a Big Ten championship or he's going to be the greatest quarterback of all time in the NFL," Jansen said. "He had the tools, but you've got nothing to back it up. All you have is maybe some stars by his name. "Until you see them perform on the field, until you see them in practice, in a spring game, playing against another opponent, you don't know if a kid is going to be special. "He was recruited because they thought he could be, but you would have never thought he was going to be the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL." Nobody knew he would even stand out from the rest of the quarterbacks, Jansen added. "When you come to Michigan, you have dreams," Jansen explained. "You think, 'I'm going to come in and rewrite Michigan football history. I'm going to be the greatest tackle, the greatest linebacker, the greatest quarterback.' "Then when you get there, you realize that everybody has that same dream, those same expectations. The guys that are in front of you are really frickin' good. They've been there, they've got the experience, they've got the weight training and conditioning, and they know the playbook. "You quickly understand there is going to be a great competition for your position." Tom Brady, future Lord of the Rings, took his place among the forgotten, the redshirting freshmen. Twelve months of grinding, just to get ready for a chance to sub in at some point. When it arrived, Brady still hadn't arrived in the minds of onlookers. He got onto the field in the fourth game of his redshirt freshman year. A 38-9 blowout of UCLA at The Big House provided oppor- tunity for the California kid, who was itching to toss his first touchdown pass. He tossed it to the wrong team. The Bruins slammed into Brady as he at- tempted the third-and-seven throw, his first ever as a Michigan quarterback. It tumbled into the hands of UCLA's Phillip Ward, who returned it for a touchdown. The breakthrough would have to wait. Brady fired four other passes all season, completing three for 26 yards. Meanwhile, Griese took over early in the year when Dreisbach caught his finger on a hel- met and injured it. Dreisbach returned later in the season, only to be driven from the '96 game at Ohio State by a hard hit from the Buckeyes. Griese again stepped in, with the Wolver- ines trailing 9-0 at the half. He led the 17-point underdogs to a 13-9 victory, changing his U-M career and putting Brady's in doubt. "Brian went to Columbus in '96 with the idea that he was done at Michigan," former U-M head coach Lloyd Carr recalled. "He wasn't coming back [as a fifth-year senior in 1997]. "In the course of a little more than 30 min- utes at Ohio State, he changed his career." The effort became a game-changer for Michigan as well, Carr pointed out. "Winning down in Ohio had an unbeliev- able impact on our players," he said. "We were a big underdog. We had lost the previ- ous weeks to Purdue and Penn State. "When Griese came off the bench, for a guy that had not played much … we had a confidence that was borne of that success in Ohio Stadium. It gave every guy on our team a great confidence." Moments Of Truth It gave one guy a big decision to make. Once again, Brady's tenure as a Wolverine stood in doubt. "He came in to see me one day in his soph- omore season," Carr recounted. "He said, 'Coach, I think I'm going to transfer.' I said, 'Why,' and he said, "I don't think I'm getting a chance. I don't think I'll ever play here.' "We talked about it, and I said, 'Why don't you sleep on it, and come back tomor- row and let me know.'" This exercise wasn't unprecedented in Carr's office, with young players finding their way. "Lloyd did that with a lot of people — Braylon Edwards, Charles Woodson, Sam Sword," Flannelly offered. "He would have the transfer forms on the desk. You'd be con- cerned if you didn't get his speech." Still, Brady could have called an audible on his Michigan career. He didn't, and the rest is history. "Tom came back the next day and sat down in a chair directly in front of me," Carr recalled. "He leaned forward, and he said, 'Coach, I've decided I'm going to stay at Michigan, and I'm going to prove to you that I'm a great quarterback.' "He did that." Flannelly acknowledged everything changed thereafter. "Tom came back the next day and sat down in a chair directly in front of me. He leaned forward and said, 'Coach, I've decided I'm going to stay at Michigan, and I'm going to prove to you that I'm a great quarterback.' He did that." FORMER MICHIGAN HEAD COACH LLOYD CARR ON HIS TALK WITH BRADY ABOUT TRANSFERRING In his first three seasons with the Wolverines (counting his redshirt year in 1995), Brady only threw 20 passes, completing 15 of them for 129 yards with an interception. Despite splitting time, he would throw at least 10 passes in every game his final two seasons. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY