The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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16 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2023 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS NUMBERS AND QUOTES You can see the confidence and the twinkle in his eye when he's in the game. He's got a little bit of swagger, understands the game more, understands the offense more. He turns it up a little bit, so I'm excited to see him as a receiver this year." — Offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore on senior wide receiver Roman Wilson 4 Michigan players were named to The Athletic reporter Bruce Feldman's annual "Freaks List," led by senior defensive tackle KRIS JENKINS at No. 6. The Wolverines have had a top-10 "freak" in five of the last six seasons, including three No. 1 selections (Rashan Gary in 2018, Kwity Paye in 2020 and Mazi Smith in 2022) and one ranked No. 2 (Aidan Hutchinson in 2021). "People inside the Michigan program think he's now ready to take a huge step forward as an impact guy," Feldman wrote about Jenkins. "He's up to 307 pounds and is more powerful and explo- sive than ever. He did 32 reps of 225 on the bench and did 760 pounds on the combo twist. Only last year's top Freak, Mazi Smith, some 30 pounds heavier, did more slinging around 800 pounds. "Jenkins recently did a Turkish get-up with a 170-pound dumbbell — the heaviest [head strength coach Ben] Herbert has ever witnessed. Jenkins does pull-ups with a 100-pound weight strapped to his waist. He also moves incredibly well for being a 300-plus pounder, running a 7.16 3-cone, a 4.33 shuttle, broad jumping 9-8 and vertical-jumping 34 inches. "Jenkins' shuttle and 3-cone times are both almost two-tenths of a sec- ond faster than the quickest interior defensive lineman did at this year's NFL Combine. His broad jump would be tied for the best. His vertical jump would be second best, and only Smith topped his number on the bench press." Joining Jenkins on this year's Freaks List were sophomore cornerback Amorion Walker at No. 12, sophomore quarterback Alex Orji at No. 50 and senior wide receiver Roman Wilson at No. 73. 8-5 Record for Michigan football against new Big Ten member Washington. The Wol- verines hold a 3-2 edge in matchups with Oregon, which will also join the league in 2024. 15 NFL Draft picks for Georgia in 2022, the all-time record for most selec- tions by a school in one year. Mich- igan head coach JIM HARBAUGH believes his team can shatter that, though, telling The Athletic he be- lieves his team will have 20 NFL draftees in 2024. "I bet we break that record," Harbaugh said. Michigan's program record for most draft picks in a season is 11 in 2017. The Wolverines had 10 in 2020 and nine in 2023. Fifty-three Wolverines have been picked during Harbaugh's tenure as head coach, including 24 in the top 100 and eight in the first round. 22 Pounds gained by sophomore offensive lineman Connor Jones from the 2022 ros- ter to the one released at the beginning of August, going from 298 to 320, marking the largest weight change on the team. Other notable weight differ- ences came from sophomore edge Derrick Moore (down from 279 to 258), senior defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (up from 285 to 305), freshman run- ning back Cole Cabana (up from 180 in the spring to 198) and sophomore defensive tackle Kenneth Grant (down from 359 to 339). 1,999 Miles on an airplane from Detroit (DTW) to Eugene (EUG), home of future Big Ten member Oregon, which will join the league along with Washington in 2024. Seattle (SEA) is a 1,927-mile trip from Detroit. The airline distance from Detroit to Los Angeles, home to UCLA and USC, is 1,975 miles. It's to the point where I had to make a poster person for who I thought re- ally defined enthusiasm unknown to mankind. I looked at every player, I looked at every coach, even considered myself. By the power vested in me as the head coach, the poster person for 'Enthusiasm Unknown To Mankind' for the 2023 year is [senior defen- sive tackle] Kris Jenkins. Made a nice little sticker, 'EUTM,' that's now on the helmet." — Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh "Drake's got that dawg in him. He goes out there and grinds his butt off. When everyone's hurting, he's got that extra gear where he gets going. I don't know exactly where it comes from, but he's definitely got it in him." — Senior right guard Zak Zinter on graduate center Drake Nugent PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL