The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Football Graduate Defensive Tackle Cam Goode Cam Goode returned to U-M for a sixth collegiate season in 2023 and not only left as a College Football Playoff national champion but also took care of his business in the classroom. Goode, who was a rotational piece on the Wolverine defensive line, came to Michigan to pursue a master's degree in social work and leaves Ann Arbor as an Academic All-Big Ten honoree for his efforts. He was able to pull it off this season by paying his own way through NIL opportunities with his scholarship going to an underclassman. "I was on scholarship the whole first year, and then the second year I switched to NIL," Goode said at Michigan's pro day March 22. "It was pretty much: 'We're taking your scholarship, and we're giving it to somebody that doesn't have a scholarship in a younger class.' "And since I was a grad transfer, I didn't have the same tuition funds because I'm in grad school. There's other people that need that." The extra COVID year afforded to a number of players provided a bit of a scholarship crunch for the Wolverines, but Goode was among the graduate students to make a sacrifice for the good of the team as it played for the ultimate prize. "I was totally open to it. Not a selfish person at all. If anything, I'm selfless," Goode said. "It was all for the better. I knew they were going to take care of me. I'm a big player, they love me, I've got a great personality. And that's about it. I knew they'd care for me, though, for sure." Goode, who started his career at Virginia Tech before transferring to Central Florida, came to Ann Arbor in 2022 to be part of something special. He had 25 total tackles and 2 sacks last season working in a depth role. "To be a champion, you come here," Goode said. "I also became a better man. It was just them molding me into a blue-collar Michigan man. And that's the dream that I wanted. And I'm happy I got a national championship out of that." Goode participated in U-M's pro day after not receiving any all-star game or NFL Combine invites. The opportunity to show out for over 150 NFL personnel in Ann Arbor has him hoping that life after football can wait for the time being. "It was beautiful, man," he said. "My guys came in there, we started working early. I kind of injured myself but stuck through it. My guys spoke me up, my parents spoke me up, and they told me to just keep going. And that's all I did. And I just thank them for giving me that positive reinforcement, that motivation." — Anthony Broome Goode recorded 25 tackles and 2 sacks for the national champions last season, while pursing a master's degree in social work. PHOTO BY DOMINICK SOKOTOFF MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Ice hockey sophomore Gavin Brindley: The sec- ond-year forward was named the Big Ten Player of the Year along with being a first-team all-conference selection. He's the second Wolverine to earn the honor, which began be- ing handed out in 2013-14, joining forward Kyle Connor in 2015-16. He also became the fifth U-M player in history to capture the Big Ten scoring champion title with 29 points scored versus conference opponents in 23 games. Enter- ing the Frozen Four, Brindley had posted 53 points (25 goals, 28 assists) in 39 games. Women's gymnastics graduate student Sierra Brooks: In being named Big Ten Gymnast of the Year, Brooks be- came the fourth-ever athlete to earn that accolade three times, having also won it in 2022 and 2023. Minnesota's Lexy Ram- ler and Marie Roethlisberger and U-M's Beth Wymer are the other three individuals to ac- complish the feat. Brooks is also the second Wolver- ine in history to earn All-Big Ten first-team honors in five different seasons. She won 22 event titles in the 2024 season, recording 28 scores of 9.900 or better with one perfect 10.0 on floor exercise. Men's lacrosse senior Michael Boehm: The attack- man scored 2 goals and added 3 assists for 5 points in a 15- 11 loss to No. 8 Johns Hopkins March 30, becoming U-M's career leader in points, goals and assists. In 54 career games, Boehm has tallied 217 points, 120 goals and 97 assists. For- mer U-M standout Josh Za- wada (2020-23 before transferring to Duke) was the previous record-holder in all three categories with 213 points, 119 goals and 94 assists in 51 outings. Water polo freshman Emma Gustafsson: The attacker was chosen as Colle- giate Water Polo Association Player of the Week March 27, following a 13-point weekend at the Michigan Invitational March 23-24, which included wins over Toronto (14-3), Bucknell (9-5) and UC Merced (14-4) and a loss to No. 8 Long Beach State (12-9). She recorded 7 goals and 6 as- sists in the Wolverines' 3-1 tournament showing. — Clayton Sayfie