Not OT: Create an All-Michigan team from your lifetime
With all of the OT posts recently and talk about actual football seeming to wane, here's a topic to get the football engines revving again. Who would be on your All-Michigan team choosing only players from your lifetime (or the time you have been a Michigan fan)? For example, Tom Harmon wouldn't count for most/all of us, because he played before most/all of us were born. My list is somewhat limited, since I remember watching Desmond Howard as a kid...but I don't remember the names of all his linemen.
QB: Tom Brady
RB: Tyrone Wheatley
RB: Tshimanga Biakabutuka
TE: Tony McGee
WR: Desmond Howard
WR: Braylon Edwards
OL: Jake Long
OL: Steve Hutchinson
OL: Jon Jansen
OL: Jeff Backus
OL: Steve Everitt
DL: William Carr
DL: Mark Messner
DL: LaMarr Woodley
DL: Brandon Graham
LB: Jarrett Irons
LB: Sam Sword
LB: Erick Anderson
CB: Charles Woodson
CB: Ty Law
S: Marcus Ray
S: Ernest Shazor
I realize the safety position is a little weak, but...well...Michigan isn't known for producing safeties.
Can't justify it myself, but truly one of the forgotten greats in a long line of great receivers. Great return guy too.
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<br>(And Sam is an awesome guy).
well it's the etire 2011 roster, so see mgoblue.com for more details
I'm a lifelong fan, and remember about the same span of years as everyone else here, so I'll limit myself to childhood until my last year of High School (roughly 1987 - 1995 teams).
QB: Michael Taylor - First QB I liked & always stuck with me
RB: Ty Wheatley
RB: Tshimanga Biakabutuka
TE: Jay Riemersma - Tuman hadn't mastered the naked bootleg yet
WR: Desmond Howard
WR: Mercury Hayes - narrowly edges Tumor & Derrick Alexander
OL: Jon Runyan
OL: Jon Jansen
OL: Steve Everitt
OL: Greg Skrepenak
OL: Matt Elliott
DL: William Carr
DL: Glen Steele
DL: Mark Messner
DL: Buster Stanley - All time great name
LB: Jarrett Irons
LB: Steve Morrison
LB: Erick Anderson
CB: Frosh Charles Woodson?
CB: Ty Law
S: Tripp Welborne
S: Chuck Winters
K: Remy Hamilton
P: Don't immediately remember any
Turned out to be harder than I thought, but it was a fun exercise.
No list can be taken seriously that doesn't have Scott Dreisbach behind center.
A good portion of this list is based on friendships rather than performance, as well as dudes who dated and/or routinely slept with some of my friends. I may or may not have taken liberty with some of the positions as well. Some may not have even actually played a down. This is probably the worst submission of the group.
QB: John Wangler - Not alive to see him play, but he went to elementary/middle/high school with my dad, aunts and uncles. (I cheated, sue me).
RB: Tyrone Wheatley - One of the coolest Wolverines I've ever had the pleasure of spending time with.
RB: Tshimanga Biakabutuka - I had to copy and paste the spelling.
WR: David Terrell - Who doesn't know someone who rode the "Bomb Ass Dick?"
WR: Desmond Howard - UM v. ND games were legendary.
WR: DiAllo Johnson - Mich v. Alabama
OL: Jake Long
OL: Kyle Froelich - I spent way too much time at Rick's not to include him.
OL: Jon Jansen
OL: Jeff Backus
OL: Matt Lentz - His welcome week was incredibly entertaining. He'd work the door at frat parties for a few beers.
DL: David Bowens
DL: Gabe Watson - I used to see him walking his/his girlfriend's tiny puppy. Hilarious combination.
DL: LaMarr Woodley
DL: Brandon Graham
LB: Jeremy Read - I spent way too much time at Rick's not to include him.
LB: Ian Gold
LB: Dhani Jones - It seemed like I used to constantly see him in the League Underground.
DB: Grant Mason
DB: Ty Law
DB: Charles Woodson
DB: Morgan Trent
K: Phil Brabbs -- Math 115
We've had some greats on the offensive line, but he was the first guy I remember being in total awe of.
There is no way that AC does not make this list. Sucks that Braylon gets the bump, but quite simply he dropped more balls than Desmond (that & Desmond has a Heisman). As for the chatter on Super Mario, I like him but no way he's better than Braylon. There is just no way. On O-Line, I'd put Skrepenak over Jansen, but it is arguable. Also, seems you have an Oline without any guards, meaning some of these listed tackles could never play guard (simply not mobile enough). And I too would put Tuman over McGee. The Rbs are listed correctly. Tyrone is the best RB I have ever seen at UM, bar none.
On D, gotta put Larry Foote over Sword & Anderson. Foote was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and he's from Detroit (which has to count for something!). I'd also put Dhani over Sword or Anderson. But that just my opinion. The D line is correct. Wow are we stacked with great d-lineman over the years.
I like the 1955'ers posting. He has alot names (Ron Simpkins) that I did not have the pleasure of watching. As I was born in '73, been watching UM Football since I can remember being able to see a television set.
Go Blue!
Because besides being second in tackles, he's the first (and only?) Butkus Award winner for Michigan.
People from the 2000's on.
QB: Drew Henson (Struck fear into every defense that lined up across from him)
RB: Chris Perry (Could've been the centerpiece of his own offense)
RB: Brandon Minor (healthy)
WR: Braylon Edwards (big monster)
WR: Mario Manningham (little monster)
WR: Antonio Bass (if only.)
OL: Jake Long
OL: Steve Schilling
OL: David Molk
OL: David Bass
OL: Taylor Lewan
All monsters.
DL: Lamarr Woodley (machine)
DL: Terrance Taylor (run stopper)
DL: Alan Branch (run stopper and got to the QB)
DL: Brandom Graham (imagine if he played alongside people on his level...wow)
LB: Shawn Crable (mental erros aside, machine like)
LB: David Harris (amazing)
LB: Prescott Burgess
CB: Leon Hall (Shutdown CB)
S: Jamar Adams
S: Ernest Shazor
CB: Donovan Warren
Basically the 06' defense, with a different secondary. And Graham
PR: Steve Breaston (Backup: Tay Odoms)
KR: Steve Breaston (Backup: Darryl Stonum)
All Purpose ATH / Wildcat QB: Denard Robinson
K: Garrett Rivas
P: Zoltan Mesko
Lots of great memories here. I always liked watching this guy play - if only for his name. His last year was my first year at UM:
DL - Ninef F. Aghakhan
Been following since I was around 6 and the Todd Collins era. Best Michigan QB I saw play was without a doubt Drew Henson.
I'm 35, so my lifetime goes back to 75, thus AC. Lifelong fan but didn't pay attention to anything other than "skill position" players until much later. I see the two-RB formation as a RB and a FB, so I have to go with BJ Askew or Aaron Shea.
QB: Grbac
RB: Wheatley
FB: Shea
TE: Reimersma
WR: AC
WR: Desmond
OL: Long
OL: Hutch
OL: Baas
OL: Everitt
OL: Runyan
DL: Graham
DL: Martin
DL: Branch
DL: Woodley
LB: Dhani
LB: Harris
LB: Foote
CB: Woodson
CB: Law
S: Marlin
S: Ray (Cato June was neither a S or amazing while at UM, iirc, or I would have put him here)
Great topic, Magnus. A few adjustments:
1) With Brady at the helm, I'd go 3-wide and swap TE for David Terrell
2) Alan Branch at DT
3) Larry Foote (of course) and David Harris at LBs
Magnus has done well with this topic.
QB: Rick Leach (This could be a real statistical argument. But this is an easy choice for me.)
RB: Ron Johnson (An easy, clear choice for me. Michigan's one 'majestic' runner in my lifetime.)
RB: Billy Taylor (A hard choice, given all the other choices. But think 'Biakabatuka x 2'.)
SE: Jack Clancy (I am cheating here, avoiding a TE. But Clancy was so good, he could not be left off. If I have to pick a TE, it is easily Jim Mandich.)
WR: Desmond Howard
WR: Anthony Carter
OL: Jake Long
OL: Steve Hutchinson
OL: Jon Jansen
OL: Reggie McKenzie (My only alteration to Magnus' obvious good taste in OLmen. Mike Kenn, Bubba Paris and Jumbo Elliott are among the many other names that deserve to be on this list.)
OL: Steve Everitt
DL: Henry Hill (This is an edit - I had Curtis Greer and then Dave Gallagher in this spot originally.)
DL: Mark Messner
DL: LaMarr Woodley
DL: Brandon Graham
LB: Larry Foote
LB: Ron Simpkins
LB: Thom Darden (I am very uncomfortable leaving Erick Anderson off this list. I put up Darden's name mostly to provoke the discussion. Also, Darden was a 'tweener Wolfback/Strong Safety.)
CB: Charles Woodson
CB: Rick Volk
S: Barry Pierson
S: Tom Curtis (Magnus, you don't think Michigan produced any good safties? How about a Hall of Famer?)
K: Ali-Haji Sheikh
P: Zoltan (I think I might give Don Bracken from Thermopolis, Wyoming an Honorable Mention...)
Edit. - Reflections on this list:
1) I'm not sure, but I think everybody on this list was an All-American.
2) One thing all these guys have in common, is coming up HUGE against Ohio State.
3) My nominee-list is LOADED with guys from Michigan and Ohio. Very few exceptions. Anthony Carter, from Riviera Beach, Florida, and who else?
I was just talking about safeties in the last 20-ish years. It's pretty paltry when your best choices are Corwin Brown, Marcus Ray, Cato June, Ernest Shazor, and Jamar Adams, guys who made little to no impact in the NFL (or if they did make an impact, it's been at linebacker).
only on their Michigan days, and not on NFL performance. That explains Tom Brady, David Harris, Ty Law, Braylon Edwards, etc, not getting mentioned on my list.
I've been angry at Braylon, as many know, but I admit it is VERY hard to place Anthony Carter above Braylon on my all-time list.
Well, it seems like good college players will at least be given a shot in the NFL. Every other position group boasts multiple first rounders over the past 20-ish years, except TE and LB. But safety's really weak.
Alright here goes, this was a fun little thread to do some research for. I was born in 1978 but my first game was in 1985. Here’s a little two deep for you with comments as well.
QB – Jim Harbaugh
Backup – Elvis Grbac
When it comes down to numbers we all know the Henne’s and Navarre’s of the world have them locked down but I love Harbaugh; from the guarantee over Ohio State to the throw to Kolesar. Beating Nebraska to win the Fiesta Bowl and just the general talent and moxie. Grbac was a brilliant field general with a cannon for an arm, and come on he made Yale VanDyne into a solid number 2 receiver in 1991. This is leaving off Tom Brady, Drew Henson, Denard Robinson, Todd Collins, Brian Griese and Michael Taylor.
RB – Jamie Morris; Tyrone Wheatley
Backups – Mike Hart; Anthony Thomas
4 of the best running backs (at least statistically) in Michigan history. Personally I loved Morris and Wheatley revolutionized the ultra fast power back concept. What Michigan fan didn’t love Hart and all his heart and talent and Thomas, well, Thomas was a BEAST. Hard to leave off Touchdown Timmy, Jon Vaughn, Ricky Powers and Chris Howard.
WR – Desmond Howard; Braylon Edwards
Backups – Derrick Alexander; David Terrell
How crazy is this, three people who wore number 1 and a Heisman Trophy winner! Howard is my all time favorite Wolverine, so that one was pretty easy. Edwards did things when the ball was in the air I’ve never seen. Alexander was exceptional as a WR and a punt returner and Terrell was a pure mismatch hell. Imagine what that 1991 team would have been like if Alexander hadn’t ruined his knee before the season; Would Howard have still won that Heisman with another legitimate threat on the other side taking opportunities away?
TE – Jerame Tuman
Backup – Tony McGee
Well Tuman was an All-American and McGee would have been if he had played when Navarre, Henne and Brady were throwing the ball.
OL – Steve Hutchison; Jumbo Elliot; Steve Everitt; Jon Runyan; Jake Long
Backups—Jon Jansen; Jon Vitale; Rod Payne; David Baas; Jeff Backus
Wow! There are multiple All-Americans; All-Pros; Bowl Game MVP’s; A Remington Award winner and an NFL overall number 1 draft pick. All that and I could take the backups and still post one of the best OL’s known to man. Oh yeah, and a guy nicknamed “Jumbo”
DE – LaMarr Woodley; Brandon Graham
Backups – Glen Steele; James Hall
Woodley could also be seen as an OLB but I liked him here as for Graham, come on it’s Brandon Graham. Steele and Hall lead the 97 defense and found themselves continuously meeting at the quarterback.
DT – Mark Messner; Alan Branch
Backups – Chris Hutchison; Will Carr
Messner was THE most disruptive DT I’ve ever seen. Every time you looked up he was camped in the opposing backfield. Thing is: So was Branch! Hutch and Carr were in their own rights Great DT’s. Don’t forget Gabe Watson and Mike Evans.
LB – Erick Anderson; Jarrett Irons; David Harris
Backups: Dhani Jones, Ian Gold; Larry Foote
Anderson won the Butkus Award, enough said. Irons and Harris were two of the best tacklers we’ve ever had (boy I hope the kids now can change that). Jones and Gold were key parts of the greatest defense known to man. Foote was just a machine on the field always ending up with a tackle for loss somewhere. Just missed: Shawn Crable, Prescott Burgess and Sam Sword.
CB – Charles Woodson; Ty Law
Backups – Marlin Jackson; Leon Hall
Ok one spot was easy, a Heisman Trophy kind of trumps all. I took Law for pure shutdown ability but have nothing against either Jackson or Hall for that spot.
S – Tripp Welbourne; Marcus Ray
Backups – Earnest Shazor; Vada Murrahy
Welbourne might have been the best safety I’ve ever seen. I’ll never forget the images of him and Murrahy flying in to block some extra point or field goal. I will also never forget Murrahy going head to head with Todd Plate against OSU (’89 I think) knocking Murrahy out cold and stopping that game for 30 minutes. Ray was a cornerstone of our 97 defense and anyone who puts David Boston on his head gets bonus points. Shazor hit like a freaking truck and even scared his teammates I think. Can’t forget Jamar Adams and Cato June.
K – Remy Hamilton
Backup – Mike Gillette
This was maybe the hardest spot to call. I remember Gillette running that fake punt against Indiana (I believe) for a big gain and being almost as close to clutch as it gets but I just couldn’t go against the only All-American kicker Michigan has ever had. Don’t forget Garrett Rivas, Hayden Epstien and JD Carlson.
P – Zoltan Mesko
Backups – Monte Robbins
Another hard sell but you just don’t mess with the Zoltan. Robbins was an All-Timer though.
And finally the coaching staff.
Head coach – BO!
Offensive Coordinator – Gary Moeller
I seriously thought about RichRod here but I didn’t want the site coming to my house and dragging me out of bed one night and running me up a flag pole or something.
Defensive Coordinator – Lloyd Carr
Alright there you go everyone. Have at it.
GO BLUE.
QB: Chad Henne
RB: Anthony Thomas
RB: Mike Hart
TE: Jerame Tuman
WR: Desmond Howard
WR: Mercury Hayes
OL: Jake Long
OL: Steve Hutchinson
OL: Jon Jansen
OL: David Molk
OL: John Elliot
DL: Alan Branch
DL: Gabe Watson
DL: LaMarr Woodley
DL: Brandon Graham
LB: David Harris
LB: Larry Foote
LB: Jarrett Irons
CB: Charles Woodson
CB: Leon Hall
S: Marlin Jackson (hey he played safety for a season)
S: Ernest Shazor
K: Jay feely
P: Zoltan Mesko