The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1396591
10 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2021 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS THREE WOLVERINES CONSIDERED TOP-50 WIDE RECEIVERS OF LAST 50 YEARS ESPN.com staff writer Bill Connelly ranked the top 50 college football wide receivers of the last 50 years, and three Michigan Wolverines made the cut. 1991 Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard (1989- 91) slotted fifth, the highest out of the trio, while Anthony Carter (1979-82) checked in 11th and Braylon Edwards (2001-04) ranked 26th. Howard, who registered 134 catches for 2,146 yards and 32 touchdowns at U-M, while also posting 249 rushing yards and two rushing scores, two kick return touch- downs and one punt return score, was a load for opposing defenses to handle once he got the ball in his hands. "When a college football fan hears the words 'Heisman moment,' his or her imagi- nation likely shoots immediately to one spe- cific image: Howard striking the Heisman pose after returning a punt 93 yards for a touchdown against rival Ohio State," Con- nelly wrote. "It was the ultimate punctuation mark after two dominant seasons in Ann Arbor. The Cleveland native scored on nearly one-quarter of his career receptions (nearly one-third in 1991), and he was an absolute terror, whether fielding a kick, going deep or taking a handoff behind the line." One of only two players to be named an All-American three times in his Michigan career, Carter — who accumulated 161 catches for 3,076 yards and 37 touchdowns in a winged helmet — was also electric with the ball. "One of the most consistent stars ever at the position, Carter was a three-time All-American who finished 10th in the Heis- man voting in 1980, seventh in 1981 and fourth in 1982 while averaging the mod- ern-day equivalent of about 60 catches for 1,100 yards per season," Connelly wrote. "And that was after he had already become a Michigan legend as a freshman, catching a 45-yard game-winner against Indiana as time expired." Michigan's all-time leader in receiving yards, Edwards is the only Wolverine to amass more than 1,000 receiving yards in three separate seasons. "The Detroit product and track star could either out-jump or run past outclassed defenders," Connelly wrote. "He produced three masterful seasons — 67 catches for 1,035 yards and 10 scores, then 85 for 1,138 and 14, then 97 for 1,330 and 15 — and helped Michigan to two Rose Bowls." — Clayton Sayfie U-M Is On The Right Track, But Still A Year Or Two Away By Chris Balas For all the heat former defensive coordinator Don Brown took in his final season, folks forget he put up elite numbers in his first three campaigns and was very good each year but one — his last. Teams seemed to figure out his tendencies — Ohio State certainly did a while ago — and that led to his downfall. New coordinator Mike Macdonald appears to be a great fit, having helped design the defense the Baltimore Ravens are using now (per Ravens head coach John Harbaugh), and he promises to mix it up and be "unpredictable." He's got an energetic young staff and the complete support of his head coach. At the same time, the first-year coordinator still has some deficiencies in personnel to overcome. The front seven isn't deep enough, and none of the linemen are proven. The cornerbacks won't play as much man cover- age as in recent years, but they still have a lot to prove, and there's only one proven pass rusher on the team in junior Aidan Hutchinson. Macdonald would do well to get this group into the top third of the NCAA this year (40-45) and build upon it in the next few years when the players get used to his system. Mike Macdonald Will Make An Immediate Impact By Clayton Sayfie Michigan ranked among the top five nationally in total defense during each of former coordinator Don Brown's first three seasons in Ann Arbor, before slipping to No. 11 in 2019 and No. 84 in 2020, his final campaign with the Maize and Blue. While it will certainly be a challenge to turn things around in such a dras- tic way, it's important to note that injuries to junior end Aidan Hutchinson, 2021 first-round draft pick Kwity Paye, fifth-round selection Cameron Mc- Grone and others, plagued the unit and played a major factor a year ago. What those ailments did, though, was allow for players behind them to gain valuable experience. New coordinator Mike Macdonald inherits a de- fense that returns 70 percent of its production from a year ago, according to ESPN.com. The two cornerstones are the aforementioned Hutchinson, a preseason second-team All- American (Sporting News), and sophomore safety and former five-star recruit Daxton Hill, the team's second-leading returning tackler, who is ex- pected to take his game to another level this fall. The addition of defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator Steve Clinkscale from Ken- tucky should not be over- looked, either, with the vet- eran coach possessing a long track record of developing talent in the back end. POINT ❙ COUNTERPOINT WILL MICHIGAN FINISH IN THE NATION'S TOP 25 FOR TOTAL DEFENSE? F i r s t - y e a r d e f e n s i v e c o o r d i n a t o r M i ke Macdonald inherits a unit that returns 70 per- cent of its production from a year ago accord- ing to ESPN.com. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND