The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1525654
❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS SEPTEMBER 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 17 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN 10 Michigan players on offense have started at least one game in college, despite the Wolverines only returning one individ- ual on that side of the ball that opened at least half of U-M's contests in 2023 (junior tight end Colston Loveland, 12). 46th 46th In the 2025 espnW H o o p G u r l z re c r u i t- ing rankings is where Michigan women's basketball commit MCKENZIE MATHURIN checks in. Mathurin, who committed to the Wolverines on Aug. 7, is a 5-foot-10 guard out of Broken Arrow (Okla.) High. As a junior, she averaged 21.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.3 assists per game. She led her team to an 18-9 record a year ago, earning Dis- trict MVP honors for 6A along the way. 88 Overall rating for former Michigan defensive end and current Detroit Lion Aidan Hutchinson in the initial release of Madden NFL 25 — tied for 10th at his position and first among former U-M players. Six Wolverines have 80-plus overall ratings, with Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Rashan Gary (85), New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (85), Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (83), New England Patriots offensive lineman Mike Onwenu (82) and Philadelphia Eagles de- fensive end Brandon Graham (80) being the others. Michigan saw 13 of its players picked in the 2024 NFL Draft — a program record — and sent other rookies to the league as undrafted free agents. The Wolverines' highest-rated rookie is Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum (75). 5,194 Miles of travel for the Michigan football team during the 2024 regular season, just the 16th- most out of 18 Big Ten teams, per Bookies.com. The Wolverines have road trips at Washington (Oct. 5), Illinois (Oct. 19), Indiana (Nov. 9) and Ohio State (Nov. 30). Four Big Ten teams will surpass 10,000 travel miles this season: UCLA (22,048), Washington (17,522), USC (12,711) and Oregon (12,521). Rutgers is next up and the first non-West Coast school at 9,278 miles. "I'm just going to say: This de - fense is going to be scary, for real. Nobody's going to know where it's coming from, nobody is going to know what we're doing. It's going to be so fun. Everybody is going to have a turn to eat. Everybody is going to have stats. It's going to be fun — so fun. … We were good last year; we're going to get even better than last year." — Senior edge TJ GUY I really wanted to just commit on the spot when I was there, but my parents held me back for a little bit longer. I just knew, especially when I was on campus, I just had that feel- ing. This is where I belong." — 2025 guard McKenzie Mathurin to On3 on committing to Michigan women's basketball The thing that impresses me the most with Jaishawn is the way he plays. There's a certain physi- cality, a certain standard that he sets for himself. He fit right in with this defense with how tough he plays. And I think that's one thing that I'm most impressed about, and then the way he's picked up the defense, as well." — Junior linebacker Ernest Hausmann on class- and position-mate Jaishawn Barham, a Maryland transfer who joined the team this past winter We w a n t t h a t block 'M' to be on national television and in the biggest games as frequently as we can — and we want to re - cruit players that want to play in those games." — Head basketball coach Dusty May I do think that Champions Circle and what we have at Michigan and the framework that we operate NIL with is the best in the country." — Graduate safety Quinten Johnson It's preseason, so I haven't done anything yet. I look at it like that means nothing to me, because we haven't done anything." — Junior tight end Colston Loveland on preseason accolades PHOTO COURTESY MCKENZIE MATHURIN