The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS MARK MESSNER NAMED TO THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME The College Football Hall of Fame announced Jan. 10 that another Wolverine great will be added to its family. Former defensive tackle Mark Messner was included in the 21-man class announced the afternoon of the College Football Playoff championship game. Messner is the 33rd player and 39th individual from the Michigan football program to be selected. He started all 49 games for the Wolverines from 1985-88 and holds career records in tackles for loss (70) and sacks (36) from his time in Ann Arbor. Messner (1987-88) and Brandon Graham (2008-09) are the only players in school history that had consecutive seasons of 20-plus tackles for loss. Messner holds the Michi- gan game record for sacks with five against Northwestern in 1987. Messner is one of three players in Big Ten history to be named first- team All-Big Ten in all four seasons as a player. The others are former Wolverines Steve Hutchinson (1997-2000) and Michigan State punter Ray Stachowicz (1977- 80). He was also the 1988 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year, a two-time first-team All-American (1987-88) and a finalist for the 1988 Rotary Lombardi Award. His other accomplishments in- clude being a member of two Big Ten championship teams (1986, 1988) and part of four squads that finished in the top 20 of the final national polls. Messner's presence helped the Wolverines to three bowl wins — the 1896 Fiesta Bowl, the 1988 Hall of Fame Bowl and the 1989 Rose Bowl. He was also the Co-MVP of the Fiesta Bowl victory over Nebraska. Messner was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round of the 1989 NFL Draft. However, his career was cut short after one sea- son due to a knee injury suffered in the NFC Championship Game. Messner's induction will take place on Dec. 6 at the 64th National Football Foundation (NFF) Annual Awards Dinner. He will also be honored this fall at a Michigan home football game for the NFF's Hall of Fame On-Campus Salute. — Anthony Broome U-M STUDENT-ATHLETES EARN RECORD NUMBER OF ACADEMIC ALL-BIG TEN HONORS It was a banner fall academically for student-athletes at the University of Michigan. On Dec. 14, the Big Ten announced its 2021 Academic All- Big Ten teams for the fall, and a record-setting 171 Wolverine student-athletes were honored. That broke the previous mark of 148 that was set in 2020. Academic All-Big Ten criteria include being at least a second- year student and maintaining a 3.0 or higher grade-point aver- age. Michigan had four students represented with a 4.0 GPA, including Elijah Pierre (football), Joel Harrison (men's soccer), Sarah Bridenstine (women's soccer) and Alice Hill (women's cross country). The honored athletes included 19 selections from field hockey, 60 from football, 19 from men's cross country, 15 from women's cross country, 24 from women's soccer, 20 from men's soccer and 14 from volleyball. The Big Ten cumulatively had 161 field hockey honorees, 699 football players, 151 from men's cross country, 221 from women's cross country, 157 from men's soccer, 281 from women's soccer and 154 from women's volley- ball. A total of 67 student-athletes had perfect GPAs. Football leads the way given the number of spots on the ros- ter. Some of its most notable names on the list include Blake Corum, Brad Hawkins, Ryan Hayes, Dax- ton Hill, Christopher Hinton, Aidan Hutchinson, Cornelius Johnson, Trevor Keegan, Cade McNamara, Jake Moody, David Ojabo, Brad Rob- bins, Mazi Smith, Andrew Stueber, Andrew Vastardis, Roman Wilson and Zak Zinter, among others. The Big Ten will award Academic All-Big Ten honors for winter and spring sports after those seasons. The conference's Distinguished Scholar Award will be handed out at the end of the academic year. Students eligible for the Distin- guished Scholar Award have to be letterwinners in their second year at the institution they are enrolled. Those who qualify must also earn a GPA of 3.7 or higher for the year, excluding summer school. — Anthony Broome FORMER MICHIGAN DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR PASSES AWAY Longtime college football and NFL coach Greg Robinson died at the age of 70 on Jan. 5. His son, Domi- nic, said that his father died from a form of Alzheimer's disease in Carpinteria, Calif. Robinson coached football for four decades, winning two Su- per Bowls as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos. He spent time at Michigan from 2009-10 for two seasons under former head coach Rich Rodriguez. Robinson spent the preced- ing four years as the head coach at the University of Syracuse. Robinson's other notable coaching stops included NC State, UCLA, the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Texas and San Jose State. He retired from coaching in 2015 after his stint at SJSU. Robinson is survived by his wife, Laura; his son, Dominic (Jon- nell); his daughters, Lindsay Kupper (Jeff ) and Leslie Mathew- son (Chris); four siblings and six grandchildren. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK Messner, a four-time first-team All-Big Ten defensive tackle for the Wolverines from 1985-88, is the 33rd player and 39th individual from the Michigan football pro- gram to earn a spot in the College Football Hall of Fame. PHOTO COURTESY U-M ATHLETICS