The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2024 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Football Junior Tight End Marlin Klein Most college football players face a humbling reality upon arriving on campus. The speed and intensity on the field are cranked up to a whole new level that can make or break the early stages of a career. That applies a thousandfold for a player like junior tight end Marlin Klein, who pushed through a difficult first two seasons in Ann Arbor to position himself for greatness this season. Klein, a German native who played high school football in Georgia, had to wait his turn through some frustrating bumps in the road. Throughout the offseason, he has been labeled as one of the biggest risers with a chance to star. Plenty of hard work has been put in, especially in the classroom. Klein was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree last fall, and he has started to hit his stride in America. "I think I'm ready for [the breakout]," Klein said during fall camp press in Ann Arbor. "It's been a rough two years for me. It's not so rough winning the national championship and Big Ten championships, but I think I've waited my turn… I think it's paid off so far. I am super excited for the season to start." The ego hit of having to wait and work can define a player, and Klein had to push through it upon his arrival ahead of the 2022 season. "Just not playing, just being the competitor that I am and sitting behind guys was tough," Klein said. "But I had the chance to learn so many things from those guys that I sat behind like Luke Schoonmaker, Erick All, AJ Barner. All those guys are playing in the NFL right now. "At first, when I came in as a freshman, I had to grow up real fast and realize I wasn't ready to play and those guys were better. And then just start to be better every day and learn from those guys as much as I can." To succeed at Michigan means the work gets put in that might not show up in a box score or to the naked eye, including balancing football and school. The vigorous attention to detail is a defining trait of both U-M athletics and academics. "That's the reason why I came here, to play with the best, play against the best," Klein said. "Michigan is really a top school in the country. "I had to put my hand in the dirt and just be more physical for the first time. Coming out of high school, I think that was the biggest challenge for me. Being able to learn from those guys that have done that for multiple years has been great." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Men's swimming and diving alum Char- lie Swanson: The for- mer Michigan swimmer (2016-20) earned a gold medal for his swim in the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay preliminary round at the 2024 Paris Olympics. That marked his first career Olympic medal. Swanson swam the breaststroke, clock- ing a 59.65-second split, helping the Ameri- cans post the top time in qualifying (3:40.98). Swanson also earned a silver medal for his preliminary swim in the men's 4x100-meter medley relay. Women's rowing se- nior Abigail Dent: The Kenora, Canada, native rowed in the stroke seat for the Canadian 8+, helping the boat capture a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Canada clocked a time of 5:58.84, trailing only gold medalist Romania (5:54.39). Great Britain claimed bronze (5:59.51). Dent was the Big Ten Athlete of the Year in 2023. Water polo alum Abby Andrews: The for- mer Wolverine (2019) earned a silver medal with Australia, which fell 11-9 to Spain in the 2024 Olympics gold medal game. Andrews notched a goal in the third period to give her at least one goal in all seven of Aus- tralia's games in Paris. She totaled 13 goals, including 7 in three knockout matches (4 of which came in a semifinal win over the United States). The second-place finish was Australia's best since capturing gold in Sydney in 2000. Women's club rugby alum Alena Olsen: The Grand Rapids, Mich., native became the first rugby player in school h i s t o r y t o c l a i m a n Olympic medal, earning bronze with Team USA, which used a last-second score to defeat Austra- lia 14-12 in the bronze medal game. It was the first women's rugby Olympic medal for the United States. Olsen was a two-time All-American at Michigan in 2015-16. — Clayton Sayfie Klein, a German native who played high school football in Georgia, has been labeled as one of the Wolverines' biggest risers this offseason. He led all receivers with 4 catches in the Maize and Blue spring game, totaling 36 yards. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN