The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 11 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS THEY SAID IT PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Ice hockey freshman forward Thomas Bordeleau: He was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week Nov. 25 after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Michigan's 2-1 triumph at then-No. 14 Wisconsin Nov. 20. The fresh- man's dagger served as the top play on ESPN's SportsCen- ter that evening. It was the second game-winner Bordeleau had registered on the year, the first occurred on a power play in the season opener, an 8-1 win over then-No. 15 Arizona State. Basketball junior forward Naz Hillmon: She was selected to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll Dec. 7, thanks to a pair of double- doubles against Notre Dame Dec. 3 and Wright State Dec. 6. The junior compiled 20 points and 11 rebounds in U- M's 76-66 win over the Irish, before notching 18 points, 10 boards and five assists in an 82-59 triumph over the Raiders. Hillmon also connected on 20 of her 22 free throw attempts (90 percent) throughout the two games. Football sophomore wide receiver Giles Jackson: He was pegged as the Big Ten's Spe- cial Teams Player of the Week Nov. 23, after taking a kickoff 95 yards to the house in Mich- igan's 48-42 triumph at Rut- gers Nov. 21. It was the sec- ond kickoff return for a score in Jackson's short career, with the other occurring from 97 yards out last season in a 38-7 win at Maryland. Both aforementioned touchdowns are among the seven longest kick returns in Wolverine his- tory. The honor, meanwhile, was the first such award of Jackson's career. Wrestling alum Alec Pantaleo: Michigan's Cliff Keen Wrestling Club was in action at the Regional Training Center (RTC) Cup Dec. 4-5, and won it thanks to an undefeated performance from this 2019 graduate and t h re e - t i m e A l l - A m e r i c a n . Pantaleo, a native of Canton, Mich., went 4-0 at 65 kilograms against elite competition and was one of just six wrestlers from the six teams in action to finish the event unbeaten. He won twice by technical fall and topped his four foes by a combined score of 35-8. — Austin Fox PHOTO BY BRANDON BRWON "I'm not trying to make ex- cuses for them, but they're very young. Most teams in football this year were also injury- plagued with the shorter warm- ups and no games against Group of Five teams. Second- guessing my commitment would have been shortsighted and ignoring all the positives Michigan has to offer. This is the first year U-M hasn't won a home game in the existence of the program. That just goes to show the excellence they've put forth in the past. I be- lieve they'll continue putting it forth in the future, and I'm excited to be a part of it. — Michigan four-star offensive tackle signee TRISTAN BOUNDS, when asked if he ever thought about looking elsewhere during U-M's on-field struggles "The first game I scouted Edwards in live was when he broke his leg sophomore year. Even though he had a strong performance that day leading up to the injury, what stood out most to me was that on the play he broke his ankle Edwards did not stay on the ground. He got up and tried to run/hobble off the field. He got about halfway to the sideline before having to crawl the rest of the way. That showed me just how tough he was." — Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt on U-M four-star running back signee DONOVAN EDWARDS 50 Academic All-Big Ten honorees for Michigan football this year, which are the most in program history. The 148 total student-athletes that landed on the honored list across all U-M sports are also a department record, eclipsing the previous best of 124 set in 2018. Criteria for making the Academic All-Big Ten team include athletes being in at least their second academic year at their institution and maintain- ing a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.