The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 19 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL In honor of the Big Ten's 120th anniversary, ESPN.com counted down the conference's top five players at each position group. It looked solely at each players' collegiate career and included all current Big Ten schools, even if the program did not play in the league at the time of the honoree's career. At the end of the series, ESPN also held a roundtable asking which current Big Ten players could eventually make an all-time list, and U-M tight end Jake Butt was Josh Moyer's pick. "Butt was an All-American last season and, if he earns that distinction again this season, he'd be the first Big Ten tight end in 36 years to earn back-to-back honors," he wrote. "That puts Butt in some very elite company, especially among a position group in which it's hard to stand out. "He's already made some truly highlight-worthy catches … and he's incredibly dependable. He had some of the best hands in the conference last season and dropped just 1.3 percent of his passes." A look at the Wolverines who were tabbed among the league's best ever and what ESPN had to say about them: choices: QB: Benny Friedman (1924-26) and Rick Leach (1975-78) were named honorable mentions RB: Willie Heston (1901-04) at No. 4 — "He helped lead the Wolverines to four straight national titles and a 43-0-1 record during his career. He found a spot on four straight All-America teams … and he scored at least 70 touchdowns as part of Fielding Yost's famed "Point-a- Minute" teams. (Yost claimed Heston had 106 scores; the College Football Hall of Fame lists it as 71 and the NCAA as 72). Notre Dame's own Knute Rockne felt Heston was the "greatest back of all-time." Tom Harmon (1938-40) was named an honorable mention WR: Bennie Oosterbaan (1925-27) at No. 1 — "The ultimate Michigan Man, Oosterbaan earned All-America honors in each of his three years as a varsity player — the first and one of just two three-time honorees in Wolver - ines' history. … At the completion of his career, Ooster- baan's jersey was retired, another first in program history." Anthony Carter (1979-82) at No. 3 — "The second Michigan player to earn All-America honors in three seasons, Carter finished 10th in the Heisman voting in 1980, seventh in 1981 and fourth in 1982. … Carter never finished lower than second in the Big Ten in receiv - ing touchdowns in his four seasons." Desmond Howard (1989-91) at No. 4 — "A generation of fans know him from 'College GameDay,' but the Wolverines' second of three Heisman winners was celebrated for his uncanny athleticism and acrobatic grabs." Braylon Edwards (2002-04) was named honorable mention TE: Ron Kramer (1954-56) at No. 1 — "Kramer, a two- time All-American, was among five Michigan players to see his number retired. … Kramer also played quarterback, run - ning back and defensive end, but he distinguished himself as a tight end with physical play that served him well in an 11-year NFL career with the Packers and Lions." Jim Mandich (1967-69) was named an honorable mention DE: LaMarr Woodley (2003-06), Brandon Graham (2006-09) and Neil Snow (1898-1901) were named honorable mentions DT: Mark Messner (1985-88) was named an honorable mention CB: Charles Woodson (1995-97) at No. 1 — "He's not just the best cornerback in the Big Ten; he's the best col - lege cornerback to ever play the game. In 1995, he was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. In 1996, he was the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year. And, in 1997, of course, he became the first — and, so far, only — true defensive player to win the Heisman." S: Tom Curtis (1967-69) at No. 5 — "Another College Football Hall of Fame member, Curtis played quarterback as a freshman in Ann Arbor, learning how to think like a college QB. It helped him notch 25 interceptions, second to [Illinois' Al] Brosky in Big Ten history." Tripp Welbourne (1987-90) was named an honorable mention Charles Woodson was one of three former Michigan players named the Big Ten's best ever at his position by ESPN.com this spring. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN Thanks to sharing pictures of hanging up his own All-America plaque in Schembechler Hall and a night with musician Kenny G and comedian Larry the Cable Guy (yes, in the same photo), Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has become a social media phenomenon with over 461,000 twitter followers. However, some of the most attention-gathering posts have been his twitter musings responding to things that have been said about him and his program. Some of his best shots from this spring: The Big Ten's Best The Tweet Is Mightier … PHOTO COURTESY JIM HARBAUGH VIA TWITTER May 31 on Alabama head coach Nick Saban's criticisms about his satellite camps: "Amazing" to me - Alabama broke NCAA rules & now their HC is lecturing us on the possibility of rules being broken at camps. Truly "amazing." Stats (as of June 7) — 13,958 retweets; 19,586 likes March 22 on Gene Smith after the Ohio State athletics director was quoted as say - ing about Michigan's spring break practices in Florida: "If we were jump starting our program, I'd probably try to do that too.": Good to see Director Smith being relevant again after the tattoo fiasco. Welcome back! Stats (as of June 7) — 6,291 retweets; 9,604 likes March 3 on Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, who made a joke about joining Michigan State's Mark Dantonio and Arkansas' Bret Bielema "for lunch" at U-M's spring practices in Florida: Suggestion to my Rocky Top colleague, rather than lunch in Florida you might spend your time and focus attending to your present team. Stats (as of June 7) — 5,371 retweets; 8,413 likes Feb. 24 on Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, who also did not like the spring break practices: If the Georgia coach is implying any intent on our part to break rules, he is barking up the wrong tree. Stats (as of June 7) — 3,437 likes; 5,849 likes Feb. 10 on no one specific coach, but presumably about SEC head coaches and their shared criticisms of his team's spring break practices in the South: Question of the day: Does anyone find whining to be attractive? Just curious. Stats (as of June 7) — 5,316 retweets; 7,631 likes