All the Way!!: Michigan Punt & Kickoff returns for a TD
If you feel like it has been a long time since Michigan returned a kickoff for a touchdown, boy are you correct.
Same goes for a punt that isn't a blocked punt returned by one of the big men.
I'll preface this beforehand: these are all since 1948, when the NCAA began considering statistics official. It's very likely that Michigan could have returned 3 kickoffs for a TD in one game at the turn of the century because old timey football and Fielding Yost Dominance.
Kickoff Returns for a Touchdown
Record when accomplished: 5-4(!)
Date |
Player |
Yards |
Opponent |
Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
10/1/1960 |
Dennis Fitzgerald |
99 |
at Michigan State |
L 17-24 |
10/21/1972 |
Gil Chapman |
73 |
at Illinois |
W 31-7 |
11/4/1989 |
Tony Boles |
85 |
vs Purdue |
W 42-27 |
10/13/1990 |
Desmond Howard |
95 |
vs Michigan State |
L 27-28 |
9/7/1991 |
Desmond Howard |
93 |
at Boston College |
W 35-13 |
9/26/1992 |
Tyrone Wheatley, Sr. |
99 |
vs Houston |
W 61-7 |
10/29/1994 |
Seth Smith |
100 |
vs Wisconsin |
L 19-31 |
10/8/2005 |
Steve Breaston |
95 |
vs Minnesota |
L 20-23 |
9/12/2009 |
Darryl Stonum |
94 |
vs #18 Notre Dame |
W 38-34 |
Date |
Player |
Yards |
Opponent |
Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
11/18/1950 |
Harry Allis |
23 |
vs Northwestern |
W 34-23 |
11/25/1950 |
Anton Momsen |
0 |
at #8 Ohio State |
W 9-3 |
10/27/1951 |
Lowell Perry |
75 |
vs Minnesota |
W 54-27 |
11/6/1954 |
Dave Raimey |
54 |
vs Illinois |
W 14-7 |
11/13/1954 |
Tom Hendricks |
67 |
vs Michigan State |
W 33-7 |
11/13/1954 |
Ron Kramer |
26 |
vs Michigan State |
W 33-7 |
10/8/1955 |
Terry Barr |
82 |
vs #6 Army |
W 26-2 |
11/2/1957 |
Jim Pace |
65 |
vs #3 Iowa |
T 21-21 |
10/24/1959 |
Darrell Harper |
83 |
at Minnesota |
W 14-7 |
11/5/1966 |
Dick Sygar |
64 |
vs Illinois |
L 21-28 |
11/11/1967 |
George Hoey |
60 |
at Illinois |
W 21-14 |
9/20/1969 |
Marty Huff |
31 |
vs Vanderbilt |
W 42-14 |
11/1/1969 |
Barry Pierson |
51 |
vs Wisconsin |
W 35-7 |
9/18/1971 |
Dave Elliott |
10 |
vs Virginia |
W 56-0 |
9/30/1972 |
Gil Chapman |
49 |
vs #18 Tulane |
W 41-7 |
10/7/1972 |
Dave Brown |
83 |
vs Navy |
W 35-7 |
10/6/1973 |
Gil Chapman |
83 |
vs Oregon |
W 24-0 |
10/13/1973 |
Dave Brown |
53 |
at Michigan State |
W 31-0 |
9/21/1974 |
Dave Brown |
88 |
vs Colorado |
W 31-0 |
9/8/1979 |
Anthony Carter |
78 |
vs Northwestern |
W 49-7 |
9/18/1982 |
Anthony Carter |
72 |
at #20 Notre Dame |
L 17-23 |
10/12/1985 |
Edward Hood |
2 |
at Michigan State |
W 31-0 |
11/16/1985 |
Gilvanni Johnson |
84 |
at Minnesota |
W 48-7 |
10/20/1990 |
Dwayne Ware |
7 |
vs #22 Iowa |
L 23-24 |
11/3/1990 |
Dwayne Ware |
17 |
at Purdue |
W 38-13 |
11/23/1991 |
Desmond Howard |
93 |
vs #18 Ohio State |
W 31-3 |
10/10/1992 |
Derrick Alexander |
80 |
vs Michigan State |
W 35-10 |
10/17/1992 |
Derrick Alexander |
70 |
at Indiana |
W 31-3 |
10/16/1993 |
Derrick Alexander |
48 |
at #7 Penn State |
W 21-13 |
1/1/1994 |
Derrick Alexander |
79 |
NC State |
W 42-7 |
10/22/1994 |
Amani Toomer |
72 |
at Illinois |
W 19-14 |
9/2/1995 |
Anthony Williams |
28 |
at #25 Illinois |
W 38-14 |
10/21/1995 |
Amani Toomer |
56 |
at Indiana |
W 34-17 |
11/22/1997 |
Charles Woodson |
78 |
vs #4 Ohio State |
W 20-14 |
10/14/2000 |
Marquise Walker |
41 |
vs Indiana |
W 58-0 |
10/17/2001 |
Roy Manning |
0 |
at Iowa |
W 32-26 |
11/17/2001 |
Marlin Jackson |
43 |
at Wisconsin |
W 20-17 |
10/10/2003 |
Steve Breaston |
69 |
at #17 Minnesota |
W 38-35 |
10/18/2003 |
Steve Breaston |
74 |
vs Illinois |
W 56-14 |
10/2/2004 |
Leon Hall |
76 |
at Indiana |
W 35-14 |
11/13/2004 |
Steve Breaston |
67 |
vs Northwestern |
W 42-20 |
11/11/2006 |
Steve Breaston |
83 |
at Indiana |
W 34-3 |
11/1/2008 |
Martavious Odoms |
73 |
at Purdue |
L 42-48 |
11/15/2008 |
Ricky Reyes |
3 |
vs Northwestern |
L 14-21 |
10/17/2009 |
Brandon Graham |
2 |
vs Delaware State |
W 63-6 |
8/31/2013 |
Joe Reynolds |
30 |
vs Central Michigan |
W 59-9 |
8/30/2014 |
Ben Gedeon |
32 |
vs Appalachian State |
W 52-14 |
Thanks for compiling - interesting data. Maybe Michigan isn't unique in this regard, but it seems to me at first glance that these lists are rather... short. I guess I would have thought we would have had way more fumble returns for a touchdown in our school history, for example. Same with kickoff returns for a touchdown.
Shhh!! You weren't supposed to see the fumble returns for a TD!!
I'm still doing some research into that since the list I had originally found seemed very short. I'm going to be double checking through the historical box scores to make sure that info is all correct.
You missed an interception return. The one that gave us the lead over Wisconsin in 2008
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mre75n4yQx4#t…
His original post also had interception and fumble returns listed, but they were missing some, so he took that part down.
The Stonum kickoff return, that game man. That game was so much fun. There was so much excitement at what a finely tuned Rodriguez offense could do. All of that excitement would turn into so much pain.
HARBAUGH
thank god that's over.
We will always have Notre Dame!
Can someone please turn the Michigan kickoff returns into gifs? In the meanwhile in memory of this great game.
was a thing of beauty. He must have juked three defenders on his way to the end zone. Reminiscent of a Barry Sanders run.
Derrick Alexander was called underrated in another thread. I very much agree.
Breaston's punt return against Illinois is the most awesome return I've ever seen at UMich.
Loved Derrick Alexander. He was a stud. I wish we knew what he's up to these days.
From the Baltimore Sun
Now retired, Alexander lives in Leawood, Kan., with his wife and three daughters. A computer buff, he works as a systems engineer for a world-wide health care company, creating software for hospitals.
He also has a LinkedIn page.
and a reminder how far we have fallen.
..... are you sure that this is legal?
to some other schools...I'm sure it would take forever but it would be interesting to see how we compare against other big ten schools
It's not that surprising. The more opportunities you have to return a kickoff, the more points your opponent is scoring. Take Tyrone Wheatley's return against Houston in 1992. Houston scored exactly once, so Michigan presumably had only two opportunities to return kickoffs.
The 41-5-1 record in games with punts returned for a TD is unsurprising for a similar reason. Every opportunity you have to return a punt is an opportunity your opponent didn't score.
I can't believe I'm actually going to correct YOU on a stat, but the score of that Houston game in '92 was 61-7. That was a fun game to watch!
Great list! One minor correction, Marquise Walker's touchdown was off of a blocked punt.
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