The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS "This game really sucks, but wow it's fun watching the 2016 Michigan team play together. Never been on a closer or better team." — Former Michigan quarterback/holder Garrett Moores on Twitter April 30 as ESPN was re-airing U-M's 2016 double-overtime loss at Ohio State 2 Highest-graded returning Big Ten edge defenders both play for Michigan, according to Pro Football Focus: junior AIDAN HUTCHINSON (No. 1, 82.9 grade) and senior Kwity Paye (No. 2, 80.9). BY THE NUMBERS PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL 1 ST Is where former Wolverine Tom Brady ranked on Pro Football Focus' (PFF) countdown of the top 101 players of the decade (2010-19). "Arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen is also the best player of the 2010s," they wrote. "Brady owns the high- est single-season grade PFF has ever given to a quarterback for his 2016 season, and his four-year stretch of play from 2015-18 was the greatest four-year run of play we have seen at the position. Brady defines clutch — in the fourth quarter and overtime, he still has the highest PFF grade of the decade." One other former Wolverine made the cut — No. 42 Brandon Graham, the defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles, who they noted may not generate gaudy sack totals but still pressures the quarterback at an impressive rate. "He owns two of the top three pass-rush win rates of the decade, and only two edge rushers have a higher pressure rate over the past 10 years," PFF wrote. 14 th Is where redshirt sophomore offensive tackle Jalen Mayfield debuted on Mel Kiper's initial big board of the best avail- able prospects for the 2021 NFL Draft. Only four players from the Big Ten were ranked higher, and he checked in third among all offensive tackles. "There is some projection here be- cause Mayfield has started only 13 col- lege games at right tackle," Kiper wrote. "But I really liked what I saw from him in the biggest games, including when he was lined up against No. 2 overall pick Chase Young in the Wolverines' loss to Ohio State in the regular-season finale. Mayfield has some upside, and I'll be watching closely this season." Several other draft exper ts have dubbed Mayfield a future first-rounder in their too-early mock drafts, including Bleacher Report's Matt Miller (No. 27), CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson (No. 24) and WalterFootball.com (No. 8). Two others from U-M made Kiper's po- sitional rankings of draft-eligible play- ers: Ben Mason was listed as the No. 1 fullback, while Kwity Paye was declared the No. 5 defensive end. 3 U-M offensive line commits are ranked among Rivals.com's top 150 prospects nationally, as of late-May — No. 51 GIOVANNI EL-HADI, No. 136 Greg Crippen and No. 149 Raheem Anderson. Each is a four-star recruit per the website. In the Rivals era (2002-present), the Wolver- ines have only once before signed three front-line blockers listed among Rivals' top 150 overall recruits in the land — in 2013, when they actually boasted four in the top 165. In seven of those 19 previous classes Michigan inked at least three four-star offensive linemen, but only twice have at least three been included in the Rivals250 (2013 and 2019). PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN