The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2020 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS BY THE NUMBERS 2nd 2nd Is where Rivals.com ranked Michigan's group of 2020 defensive ends nationally, behind only Miami (before the Big Ten and Pac-12 called off fall football). "KWITY PAYE (right) is a freak off of the edge and AIDAN HUTCHINSON is so well- rounded that the Wolverines have an amaz- ing combination here," the website noted. Two is also the number of Wolverines that made Pro Football Focus' top 50 of the best overall 2021 NFL Draft pros- pects. The junior Hutchinson checked in at No. 37, followed closely behind by his senior counterpart Paye at No. 39. Hutchinson was the fourth-highest- ranked edge player, while Paye checked in sixth at this position. The Wolverines were one of just seven schools to have two of the top 40 prospects in the countdown, joining Alabama (six), Ohio State (four), Clemson (three), Oregon (two), Florida State (two) and TCU (two). Only three programs produced two defensive linemen listed among the top 50 prospects — Michigan, Miami (with Nos. 10 and 47) and Florida State (Nos. 9 and 45). He came in and said to me, 'I'm getting all kinds of calls and emails … ev- eryone wants to fire you; a lot of people want me to fire you.' I said, 'I understand that.' We were 1-6 in the Big Ten; I get that. Then he says, 'But that would be stupid. Why would I fire you? Because I'd hire you the next day. You're the right guy to coach here.' Those were his exact words. I still get choked up thinking about this. He said, 'You go home and tell [wife] Kathleen, you tell your assistant coaches to tell their wives — you're the coaching staff. Let's go get it done.'" — Former Michigan basketball head coach John Beilein in a conversation with The Wolverine's Chris Balas this summer, recalling the vote of confidence former U-M director of athletics Dave Brandon gave him in 2011 when the Wolverines got off to a rocky start Is where Michigan men's basketball ranks for the highest all-time NCAA Tournament winning percentage (minimum 20 games) with a 68.4 percent mark. It was the highest success rate of any Big Ten team, just edg- ing out Michigan State's 68.3. 7th PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN