Most Underrated UM Player of All Time?
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We all loved Gallon, but I'm not sure everyone grasps how truly amazing his career here was. Despite his diminitive size, and the fact he worked with some of the (let's be honest) worst throwing QBs in the history of Michigan football, he's statistically one of the best Wolverine receivers of all-time:
- #1 receiving yards a single game (also #7 and #14)
- #1 receiving yards in a season (also #20)
- #2 receptions in a season
- #2 (tied) receiving TDs in a single game
- #3 career receptions
- #3 receptions in a single game
- #4 career receiving yards
- #11 (tied) career receiving TDs
- #12 (tied) receiving TDs in a season
That's pretty damn impressive for a guy who we never ever think to mention in the same breath as Howard, Braylon, Alexander, Terrell, Carter, Toomer, etc...
Excellent pick. I don't think people know how valuable he was to the 1997 defense. I thought after Chuck he was our most important defensive player. No one could run on us cause he could not be moved out of the middle.
Chris Perry. Has there ever been a Heisman finalist who has been forgotten so quickly by a fan base?
Then there's also the Denard factor. I recall some people saying they couldn't wait til he left. Several seasons have passed... how many truly EXCITING moments of UM football have there been since Shoelace left.
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So I'll go with one of my favorite players growing up: Bennie Joppru. He was an All-American caliber TE and Michigan has yet to find one of those guys since. Butt has the opportunity to step into that role this year.
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Ty Law - people forget how great of a CB he was at UM/Pro because soon after one of the grestest ever came along behind him...
If not for C.W. Ty Law would be a giant idol and recruiting 1st mention for all D recruits...
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Just read his wikipedia page, it's amazing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Leach_%28baseball%29
And yet, when we talk about great Michigan quarterbacks, we tend to start with Brady and work forward to Denard. Or maybe we start with Harbaugh, and list off all the QBs that went to the NFL after him like Navarre, Grbac, Collins, and Griese, but we rarely talk about Leach because he chose baseball. He may be properly rated, but he's definitely overlooked sometimes.
Here some quick notes from the wiki:
Leach was named All-Big Ten as a quarterback three times and also placed in the voting for the Heisman Trophy three times.
Leach shattered all Michigan's career passing, total offense and touchdown records. He set an NCAA record for most touchdowns accounted for (82) and broke Big Ten records for total offense (6,460 yards), total plays (1,034), and touchdown passes (48). In 1978, he finished third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Billy Sims and Chuck Fusina.
The poor kid was universally dogged for the majority of his career. He moves to a position that makes way more sense for him and has a not ok, not good, but great his senior year. He makes a name for himself in the NFL and the most he gets in a passing mention every now and then along the lines of "you know weird stuff happens in football; See Stevie Brown"
Kevin Dudley.
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1. Jerame Tuman. Solid possession receiver who could make critical yardage after the catch; great inline blocking skills as a tight end, and above all, a very clutch player, particularly against Iowa and Washington State in the 1997-98 season.
2. Chris Floyd. So glad that someone mentioned him earlier. Fullbacks rarely get their due in the modern day, but Floyd was certainly deserving of it. Punishing blocker (Andy Katzenmoyer could attest to that), surprisingly clutch ballcarrier (timely touchdown carries and that 16-yard gain on the first scoring drive vs. Ohio State in '97), and a ballcarrier who punished tacklers (again, see that 16-yard carry in '97 vs. Ohio State). All in all, a very good player, and a good Michigan Man.
3. Dennis Franklin. Yes, I know, QBs always get the glamour, and I'm the first one to recite the traditional "Defense wins championships" mantra, but Franklin was truly an asset, and yes, that undefeated 1973 team isn't remembered anywhere near as much as it should be. Frankly, if Bo turned Franklin loose vs. Ohio State in 1973, our guys would have won that game, and for once, we had the type of roster to make Southern Cal pay, with matchup nightmare Paul Seal and speedy/shifty Gil Chapman.
4. Maybe not underrated in the true sense, but I always thought that MLB Jarrett Irons was a true money player. Similar to Mike Singletary in many ways.
5. Tight end Paul Seal. Too tall for most linebackers to cover effectively, very tough for smaller DBs to tackle, presented a real matchup problem for 1970s defenses.
Shazor - you saw what happened to our secondary when he declared for the draft. Huge mistake and he was a thumper
Floyd - dude was a animal. Where do u think the term "Avoid Floyd" came from. I miss players like this on Michigan's rosters
The TE - Joppru and Remersma were prototypical TE in that they could block, run and catch!!!
Miss that play - QB fake handoff, bootlegs right to the TE screaming across the field between the LB and DB. Signature Michigan Play!!
Football can't come fast enough this year
He was so solid. He's had that marvelous one-hander against NW and that TD against IOWA was a grab as well.
Brandon Minor: When he wasn't injured he was an excellent runner
Rob Renes: Hometown pick. Was eating up double teams while other big names got to make plays, while still occasionally making plays himself
Tate Forcier: Mainly for how he left the program. He had a hell of a freshman year and continued to show his talent in the Illinois game. I always wished that he would have kept his head on straight and Michigan could have run a backfield of Tate at QB and Denard at RB. Although I loved Denard at QB, He never had the RB threat that could have elevated the offense to extreme heights. Moving him over to RB and keeping Tate at QB would have increased the passing efficiency and created a really deadly running game.
Especially the fact that more than a quarter century later, nobody's even come close to topping Glen Rice's NCAA Tournament scoring record.
David cone, he just never got a real shot. That guy would have thrown some fire.
Only Denard made more huge plays in big moments than Johnny Kolesar.
Tony Boles was a man among boys, posessing just an incredible combination of acceleration and strength. He would likely have made the argument about who's the greatest of all time had he not blown out his knee.
RVB!
Lawrence Ricks
Wait no, Leroy Hoard
No, Kalamazoo Kenny Higgins
All he did was make big plays.