The Wolverine

April 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 63   WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Edwards turned his incredible se- nior season into a big paycheck, going third overall to the Cleveland Browns in the 2005 NFL Draft. He racked up 5,522 receiving yards and 40 touch- downs in his nine-year career, earn- ing second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors in 2007 after catching 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns. It seemed only natural when Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh asked him and a few of his former teammates to help introduce the next wave of Wolverines at the Signing of the Stars event. He'd laid the founda- tion as soon as he returned to Ann Arbor, paying the coach a visit. "I told Coach [Harbaugh], 'I'm up here,'" Edwards said. "I actually don't have class on Tuesdays, Thurs- days and the weekend, so whatever I can do, I'll be there. "I was telling those guys earlier, we had our time in the sun. The Ian Golds and LaMarr Woodleys and Braylon Edwards and Marlin Jack- sons, we had our four years … now it's time for us to give back to these kids that are here now." Signing of the Stars is another way, he added. "I like it," he said. "I think you're marketing our culture. You guys want better recruits, you guys want better football, you want a better product, and that's one of the ways to go about doing it." When he signed his letter of intent out of Harper Woods (Mich.) Bishop Gallagher, there was nobody live streaming his event through a web- site (ThePlayersTribune.com) owned by former New York Yankees stand- out Derek Jeter. "I was telling Marlin Jackson I think we caught the short end of the stick as it relates to signing day,'" he said. "[Former Michigan receiver] Devin Funchess [of the Carolina Pan- thers] was sitting next to me, and he's only three years removed from the program. Then you have the younger guys, so it was really nice seeing the eras mix and match. "Then you think, 'This is what Michigan does now. We bring every- one together so that we can continue to give what we've learned.' As long as they're willing to listen, there's a lot of knowledge there." And plenty of respect for the Mich- igan tradition, too, from a guy who helped shape it. ❏ The Braylon Edwards File Michigan Accomplishments: Consensus All-American and All-Big Ten, 2004, after catching 97 passes for 1,330 yards and 15 touchdowns … Fred Biletnikoff winner as the nation's top receiver, 2004 … Big Ten MVP and Offensive Player of the Year, 2004 … All Big Ten, 2003, after catching 85 passes for 1,138 yards and 14 touchdowns … Second-team All-Big Ten, 2002, after hauling in 67 receptions for 1,035 yards and 10 scores. Professional Accomplishments: First-round draft pick, No. 3 overall, of the Cleveland Browns in 2005 … Caught 359 passes fro 5,522 yards and 40 touch- downs in a nine-year career with the Browns (2005-09), New York Jets (2009-10, 2012), San Francisco 49ers (2011) and Seattle Seahawks (2012) … Made the Pro Bowl and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2007 after catching 80 passes fro 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns for Cleveland. Education: Edwards is 24 credits short of a Bachelor of Arts degree. He is cur- rently finishing the winter semester and is set to officially graduate this summer. Michigan Memory: Edwards endowed a scholarship for the player wearing the No. 1 jersey he sported in Ann Arbor. He hopes the number remains special and admits he'd like it to be "earned" in the future. Freshman Kekoa Crawford started wearing the number last year. "I don't want to take away from Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and his program. I'm here to support whatever he does," Edwards said. "I just think it needs to be truly, truly, truly earned. When somebody puts that number on, fans, media players on the team know this is a special situation; a special person. Somebody we can lean on. Anthony Carter, Derrick Alexander, David Terrell … you can lean on this person." He's not taking anything away from Crawford, he added. He's talked to him and told him to "just do your thing." Family: Edwards is single and resides in Ann Arbor. Edwards set school records for career receiving yards (3,541) and touchdown catches (39), and eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his last three seasons in Ann Arbor. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN

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