The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2025 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 63 BY CHRIS BALAS I f asked who the most valuable or im- portant pieces on a college football team are, most fans would come to the same conclusion … a skill posi- tion player, of course. The quarterback (if he's good enough) — maybe a running back. Occasionally, even, a Heisman cali- ber cornerback enters the conversation (hello, Charles Woodson), maybe an elite pass rusher or defensive tackle (thank you, Mason Graham). Inside any locker room, though, there's a special appreciation for the guys who do the dirtiest of the dirty work, but don't al- ways get the attention they deserve. Not surprisingly, these guys are often fullbacks or H-backs, lead blockers on the front line who are asked to gain a head of steam and ram their bodies headfirst into whatever's in their way. It takes a special breed not just to do it, but also to embrace it, maybe even joke about the absurdity of it. Fo r m e r f u l l b a c k K e v i n D u d l e y (2001-04), for example, once quipped he arrived at Michigan as a 6-foot-1 back and left at 5-11 after losing a few inches running into people. That guy in the last three years: Max Bredeson, a one-time prep quarterback turned jack-of-all-trades. Already a na- tional champion and team captain, he re- turns for a fifth year as a leader in every sense of the word. "Anytime you have a captain that comes back, especially one that's going to do all the dirty things, players do recognize that," former Michigan captain and All-America offensive lineman Jon Jansen, now the color commentator on the radio, said. "Fans may not see all of it, so I try to talk about it as much as I can on the broadcast. "When you have a guy that is going to do all the dirty deeds, does it to that level with that intensity he brings, he raises the level of expectations for all the other guys that are running the ball or catching passes. They know exactly where Max is going to go and what they can trust with him." And to be clear, Bredeson explained to Jansen on his "In the Trenches" podcast and to the media this spring, that's not as simple as some make it out to be, much more than "run hard and hit someone." For a guy who came in as a wide receiver after playing quarterback in high school, he had to adjust. But he had one thing going for him — the Bredeson DNA. His brother, former Michigan offensive lineman Ben (now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL), played with a nasty streak that made him an All-Big Ten selection three years (2017-19) and a second-team All- American in his last season. With that part ingrained, Max started to learn the position when former Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was in search of a fullback, and his father, Jack — having seen Brede- son take on all comers in drills and even appearing to enjoy it —suggested a move from tight end. "When you first start, it's just turn right or left and run as hard as you can at somebody. Once you really start to hone in on the details, it's what makes certain blocks better, the timing, how guys are going to play blocks, how your first guard pulls, stuff like that," Bredeson said. "That's when you can really put it together and make it a craft rather than a one-play deal." That's when the fun really begins for guys who enjoy the contact regardless of the lack of fanfare. And that's Max Bredeson in a nutshell … the guy every teammate knows will have his back or his front, the reason they voted him captain last season and likely will again in 2025. The Tone-Setter It takes someone special, new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said, to make the sacrifice a fullback does in the Michigan offense, and he knew from Day 1 Bredeson was his guy. He'd already seen some clips of his lead blocking exploits — opponents on their backs, slow to get up, dreading having to face him coming through the hole — but he was even more impressed when they initially met face to face. Bredeson led Michigan in run blocking last season with a 73.4 grade according to Pro Football Focus. In the 2023 national cham- pionship season, he finished second on the team with a 78.0 grade. PHOTO BY GABRIELLA CERITANO "He is the epitome of what our team and program is about. He's blue collar, physical, and he loves Michigan and loves football." OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR CHIP LINDSEY