The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Hiter walks into a situation ripe for opportunity. The Wolverines will need playmakers to take the pres- sure off QB Bryce Underwood, and Hiter is a perfect freshman running mate alongside returning tailback Jordan Marshall. Hiter is quite explosive for a 200-pound back with impressive lateral ability who should fit Kyle Whittingham's rushing scheme and impressed teammates and coaches this spring." — ESPN writer Billy Tucker ranking U-M running back SAVION HITER the No. 1 impact freshman in the Big Ten I think at all levels of basketball, guard play is really important. I'd argue we have one of the top three to five backcourts in the country." — Michigan basketball head coach Mike Boynton Jr. I've seen Benny do some wild stuff. I think the other day, we were just doing our four-rep max, and he hit like 550 pounds or some- thing crazy, over 500. He's ridiculous. I think he easily hit 30 on bench press [for 225 pounds]. He's huge, but he's still an edge. He's fast enough to play outside — he's a freak show." — Senior defensive tackle Trey Pierce on sophomore defensive end BENNY PATTERSON III It's a blessing to be in. Very physi- cal. It's all-around taxing men- tally, physically. You've got to stay strong physically, you've got to stay strong mentally. You can't quit, can't give up. … My goal is to be 1-0 every day — Saturdays I want to be 1-0, Sundays I want to be 1-0, Mondays I want to be 1-0. That's what drives me. It's just another game, just with guys in a different color. That's how I see it." — Sophomore quarterback Bryce Underwood to NBC on the rivalry game with Ohio State I just think that last year's team choosing to be completely differ- ent, where they didn't care about winning individual awards or accolades … I'm sure they did deep down … but it was never a priority, and because of that, I think what we did was really good for the sport of basketball. [Forward] Yaxel [Lendeborg] and those guys all sacrificed as much as any players on an indi - vidual level in the country, and then they were also able to win a couple championships along the way." — Former Michigan head coach Dusty May on the 2026 national champion- ship team (via "Defend The Block") 93 Overall rating for former Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson in the initial release of EA Sports' Madden NFL 27. The Detroit Li- ons star is tied with Pittsburgh Steelers stand- out T.J. Watt as the sixth-highest rated edge rusher in the game, behind Myles Garrett of the Los Angeles Rams (99 overall), Micah Parsons of the Green Bay Packers (98), Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders (97), Will An- derson Jr. of the Houston Texans (95) and Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers (94). 78th Is where Michigan sophomore long snap- per Gavin Magorien appeared on The Ath- letic writer Bruce Feldman's annual "freaks list," recognizing the best athletes in college football. The Erie, Pa., native transferred from Marshall to U-M this offseason. "Magorien spent 2025 as Marshall's long snapper before transferring to Ann Arbor, but he also played wide receiver and DB in high school in Erie, Pa," Feldman wrote. "The 6-0, 202-pound sophomore broad-jumped 10-10, did 26 reps on the bench press at 225 and squatted 550 pounds, making a case to be one of the strongest players pound-for- pound in college football. His 6.87 3-cone time is exceptional." 25-39 Record for Michigan's Kyle Whittingham against Associated Press ranked opponents in his career as a head coach, with all 21 years coming at Utah. That .390 winning percentage checks in sixth in the Big Ten, behind Indiana's Curt Cignetti (.750), Ohio State's Ryan Day (.710), Oregon's Dan Lan- ning (.652), USC's Lincoln Riley (.540) and Washington's Jedd Fisch (.400). SEPTEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 17 PHOTO BY PATRICK BARRON