The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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164 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW Name Pos. Years In NFL Current Team Richard Ash DT 1 Jacksonville Jaguars Spent 15 weeks on the 5-11 Jaguars' practice squad before playing in the regular-season finale. Brennen Beyer LB 1 Baltimore Ravens Spent last season on the 5-11 Ravens' practice squad. Tom Brady QB 16 New England Patriots Started all 16 games for the seventh year in a row and helped his club to an AFC East division title at 12-4 while leading the league with 36 touchdown throws. He threw for an additional 612 yards and three touchdowns in the playoffs while also rushing for a score. Alan Branch DT 9 New England Patriots Started 15 times and played in every game for the 12-4 Patriots, notching 35 tackles with one sack, three pass deflections and two forced fumbles. Added six tackles, including a sack, in two playoff starts. Stevie Brown S 5 Kansas City Chiefs Did not appear in a game last year; signed with the Chiefs in April. Frank Clark DE 1 Seattle Seahawks Played in 15 games as a reserve for the 10-6 Seahawks, totaling 16 tackles, three sacks, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. He also posted a sack in the playoffs. Blake Countess S R Philadelphia Eagles After finishing his career at Auburn, he was drafted in the sixth round (196th overall). Devin Funchess WR 1 Carolina Panthers The second-round pick debuted with 31 receptions for 473 yards and five touchdowns in 16 games played and five starts for the 15-1, NFC South champion Panthers. Notched five catches for 73 yards and a score in the playoffs. Graham Glasgow C R Detroit Lions Was the Wolverines' top 2016 draft pick after being selected in the third round (95th overall). Brandon Graham DE 6 Philadelphia Eagles Set career highs with 10 starts, 51 tackles and 6.5 sacks, and also forced three fumbles while ap - pearing in every game for the 7-9 Eagles. David Harris LB 9 New York Jets Started all 16 games for the seventh straight year and led the 10-6 Jets in tackles for the fourth consecutive campaign. He finished with 108 stops, 4.5 sacks, five passes broken up and two forced fumbles. Chad Henne QB 8 Jacksonville Jaguars The veteran signal-caller did not play in a game last year. Willie Henry DT R Baltimore Ravens Selected in the fourth round (132nd overall) of the NFL Draft. Taylor Lewan OT 2 Tennessee Titans Started all 15 games he appeared in for the 3-13 Titans. Mike Martin DT 4 Philadelphia Eagles Appeared in five games last year for 3-13 Tennessee and notched a trio of stops. He signed with the Eagles this April. Patrick Omameh OG 3 Jacksonville Jaguars Played in 14 games with nine starts for the 6-10 Bears. He signed with the Jags in early June. Thomas Rawls RB 1 Seattle Seahawks The undrafted rookie played in 13 games with seven starts and rushed for 830 yards and four scores for 10-6 Seattle. He also caught nine passes for 76 yards and a touchdown before a broken ankle ended his rookie year prematurely. Denard Robinson RB 3 Jacksonville Jaguars Played in 13 contests with three starts for 5-11 Jacksonville, and rushed for 266 yards and one touchdown. He also hauled in 21 passes for 164 yards. Jake Rudock QB R Detroit Lions Chosen in the sixth round (191st overall) of the NFL Draft. Jake Ryan LB 1 Green Bay Packers Started five times while appearing in 14 contests, and notched 50 tackles for 10-6 Green Bay. Added 11 tackles while starting both postseason games. Michael Schofield OT 2 Denver Broncos Made his NFL debut by starting the last 13 regular-season games for the 12-4 Broncos, who won the Super Bowl. He also started all three of the club's playoff contests. Fitzgerald Toussaint RB 2 Pittsburgh Steelers Carried the ball 18 times for 42 yards for the 10-6 Steelers in the regular season. In the playoffs, he rushed 29 times for 97 yards and a score while catching seven passes for 62 yards. Matt Wile K R Dallas Cowboys The 2014 graduate has not played in an NFL game yet. FREE AGENTS (AS OF JUNE 6) Jason Avant WR 10 Played in 16 games with one start for the 11-5 Kansas City Chiefs and posted 15 catches for 119 yards. Enjoyed his best game of the year in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs, a 27-20 loss to New England, by hauling in four passes for 69 yards. Kenny Demens LB 3 Saw action in the first five games for the 13-3, NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals and notched three stops before suffering a season-ending torn ACL. Leon Hall CB 9 Appeared in 14 games with four starts for the 12-4, AFC North champion Bengals. He finished with 55 tackles, nine passes defended and two interceptions, one of which he returned 19 yards for a touchdown. Jake Long OT 8 Appeared in four games as a reserve for 8-8 Atlanta. LaMarr Woodley DE 9 Started seven times and played in 10 games for the 13-3, NFC West champion Arizona Cardinals. He finished with 10 tackles, one sack and a pass deflection before a season-ending chest injury. * Undrafted free agent rookies: FB Sione Houma, New Orleans Saints; FB Joe Kerridge, Washington Redskins; OLB Mario Ojemudia, Baltimore Ravens; LB James Ross, San Diego Chargers; and S Jar- rod Wilson, Jacksonville Jaguars Former Wolverines In The NFL PRO UPDATE BY RYAN TICE Linebacker Jake Ryan contributed 61 tackles while seeing action in 16 of Green Bay's 18 contests (including the postseason) during his rookie campaign. PHOTO COURTESY GREEN BAY PACKERS/JIM BIEVER Name Pos. Years In NFL Current Team