The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1516256
NUMBERS AND QUOTES ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 16 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2024 18 Michigan draft hopefuls re- ceived an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine, break- ing the record for most by a single school that LSU set with 16 in 2020. The Wol- verines who earned bids are: quarter- back J.J. MCCARTHY, running back Blake Corum, wide receiver Cornelius Johnson, wide receiver Roman Wilson, tight end AJ Barner, offensive lineman Karsen Barn- hart, offensive lineman LaDarius Hender- son, offensive lineman Trente Jones, of- fensive lineman Trevor Keegan, offensive lineman Drake Nugent, offensive line- man Zak Zinter, edge Jaylen Harrell, edge Braiden McGregor, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, linebacker Michael Barrett, line- backer Junior Colson, nickel back Mike Sainristil and cornerback Josh Wallace. 23rd Overall NFL Draft prospect is where quarterback J.J. Mc- Carthy checked in on ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.'s "Big Board" released Feb. 9, the fourth signal-caller listed behind USC's Caleb Williams (No. 1), LSU's Jayden Daniels (No. 3) and North Carolina's Drake Maye. "McCarthy has first-round arm talent and can beat defenses with his legs too," Kiper wrote. "He ranked third in the country in Total QBR (89.2) and completion percentage (72.3 per- cent) in 2023. Since he took over as the Wol- verines' starter in 2022, he threw 44 touch- down passes and nine interceptions. Five of $521 Was the average purchase price of a ticket to the Michigan women's basketball game at Iowa Feb. 15, according to TickPick. That made it the second-most expensive women's basketball game of all time, college or WNBA. The reason? Iowa's All-America guard Caitlin Clark entered the night 8 points away from breaking the NCAA women's all-time scoring record. She finished with a career-high 49 points in a 106-89 win against the Wolverines in front of a crowd of 14,998 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. $1.3 Billion Is the annual figure ESPN will pay the College Football Playoff for the rights to televise the CFP for a six-year period from 2026-31, according to multiple media reports. There are still two years remaining on ESPN's current deal, which expires following the 2025 campaign. "The deal would give ESPN control over nearly all Division I college sports championships, out- side of the men's basketball tournament, which is televised by CBS, TNT and their sister networks and platforms through 2032," The Athletic reported. "In early January, ESPN and the NCAA announced a new eight-year, $920 million contract that gives the network the rights to 40 championships, including the women's basketball tournament. That exten- sion begins in September." We found success in just invest- ing in the current roster — not looking to greener pastures to try to find the next five-star receiver or the next five-star player. The strategy that the program and the collective has taken is 'Let's reward our existing players.' And then you want to be able to have that conversation in recruiting that 'Our starting quarterback, our starting running back, that's a seven-figure type of opportunity to be that at Michigan.'" — Jared Wangler, founder and CEO of Valiant Management Group and co-founder of Champions Circle those INTs have come in two games, however; he threw 3 against Bowling Green earlier in 2023, and he had 2 pick sixes in the College Football Playoff semifinal loss to TCU last season. Outside of those two games, he has managed games effectively and made great decisions with the football." Eight other Wolverines appeared on Kiper's posi- tion rankings: Zak Zinter (No. 2 offensive guard), Junior Colson (No. 3 off-ball linebacker), Blake Corum (No. 4 running back), KRIS JENKINS (No. 4 defensive tackle), Drake Nugent (No. 7 center), Jaylen Harrell (No. 8 outside linebacker), Braiden McGregor (No. 8 defensive end) and AJ Barner (No. 10 tight end). PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF PHOTO BY GABRIELLA CERITANO BY CLAYTON SAYFIE