OT - Favorite Overshadowed UofM Player

Submitted by Ma1zeandB1ue on

We all hear about the big names that have come through UofM athletics;  Woodson, Brady, Webber, Peppers, Harbaugh, etc.  

When these types of players were currently at the University of Michigan, which of their teammates did you thoroughly enjoy watching, but they were potentially overshadowed by the popularity of someone else on the team?

I always enjoy hearing mgobloggers perspective and stories on these types of questions so I would love to hear your thoughts!

 

DrMantisToboggan

July 26th, 2018 at 11:26 AM ^

Fun fact: he recruited me in high school (he's at CMU now), and when he came to my school and introduced himself and I totally fangirled for a second. "Wait, like Michigan's Marcus Knight?!" He didn't want to talk about his college days, and then it was awkward when I clearly wasn't interested in his current school.

DrMantisToboggan

July 26th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^

Was Wormley overshadowed? Because I loved watching Wormley kick ass on the line. Wasn't flashy because he didn't have the pass rush moves that the big sack number DEs had, but he would wreck your shit and mess up your run game. Had the biggest ass I've ever seen.

DrMantisToboggan

July 26th, 2018 at 10:57 AM ^

Was Wormley overshadowed? Because I loved watching Wormley kick ass on the line. Wasn't flashy because he didn't have the pass rush moves that the big sack number DEs had, but he would wreck your shit and mess up your run game. Had the biggest ass I've ever seen.

outsidethebox

July 26th, 2018 at 1:56 PM ^

Yeah for Glen Steele...he was my choice! My extended family is from Northern Indiana/ Elkhart County, and I watched Glen play HS ball...from little, rural West Noble HS. He was a terrific 3 sport star but the thought that he was a big-time athlete never crossed my mind until his Michigan offer hit the local news. 

Sione For Prez

July 26th, 2018 at 11:06 AM ^

My username gives mine away. I sit in the endzone staring straight down the center of the field. Sione used to line up right next to the kicker on kickoffs and murder return blockers. I never watched anything but him on those kickoffs. Then Harbaugh came and he became a staple on the offense which was awesome. My wife still makes fun of me for how happy I was when he scored his first touchdown.

FabFiver5

July 26th, 2018 at 11:10 AM ^

Although he was very good, I still think Derrick Alexander was overshadowed since his career was overlapped by both Desmond on one end and Amani Toomer on the other. He finished with over 2,000 yards receiving and 23 TDs, but the team still had dominant RBs like Wheatley that got all the press during his time.

UM Fan from Sydney

July 26th, 2018 at 11:19 AM ^

Steve Breaston. While I don't think he was REALLY overshadowed, I don't think he was as popular as someone like Braylon, which makes sense because Braylon was amazing.

corundum

July 26th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^

Breaston would have been so much better if he remained a slot WR his entire career. Instead, Lloyd put his best guy on the outside no matter what and Breaston just couldn't adjust to the deep ball nor was he ever one to high point in coverage. 

 

His main strength was YAC and that would have been much more exploitable out of the slot position.

Indy Pete - Go Blue

July 26th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^

Hayden Epstein- 99-02

 He was an excellent kicker and punter. He had multiple game winners, I remember being at Camp Randall in 2001 when he hit the game-winner there.  He had a cannon for a leg, and made multiple kicks over 50 yards. His kick-off’s could go as far as he wanted them to go. (This is coming from a guy who was just accused of not respecting punters!)

East German Judge

July 26th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^

As far as kickers, my favorite would be Blake O'Neil. Go ahead and neg, but it is unfortunate his only mistake came at the worst possible time (but why was the game so close???), but he was amazing. He consistently nailed punts inside the 20 unlike anyone else that i can recall and had a great leg. Would've been great for him to have played for 4 years. 

drjaws

July 26th, 2018 at 11:28 AM ^

Offense is Avant.  Dude carved out a nice NFL career as well.  But since he has already been mentioned, I'll also toss out there Jamie Morris.  A bit overshadowed by Harbaugh but a star in his own right.

Defense is Sam Sword.  Led UM in tackles 3 straight seasons but Woodson got most of the hype (rightfully).

ST3

July 26th, 2018 at 11:29 AM ^

Thad Garner. I know you are asking yourself, "how could a guy they named an award after be overshadowed?" I think he was overshadowed because he played during that stretch of basketball after the really good Johnny Orr teams and before the really good Bill Frieder teams. When you name the greats from my lifetime, it's Phil Hubbard, Mike McGee, Rumeal and Mills, Glen Rice, and Howard, Webber and Rose. But Thad was Mr. Everything. He could fill up a boxscore like Scottie Pippen.

Maybe a more fitting answer to your question is James Voskuil. He and Pelinka were the two guys who could play on the same court as the Fab 5. Everyone remembers Pelinka now because of his fame as an agent and his present role with the Lakers. People forget Voskuil went on to have a great movie career under the pseudonym, "Billy Baldwin."

Matte Kudasai

July 26th, 2018 at 11:39 AM ^

Chad Henne is probably one of the 5 best QB to play at Michigan but probably isn’t mentioned enough when discussing the all-time greats.

2 RB that are probably underrated are Butch Woolfolk and Jon Vaughn.

bdneely4

July 26th, 2018 at 11:54 AM ^

Hence was the first to come to my mind too. When he trotted out as a freshman in the first game of the year a lot of bad things could have happened. He was extremely poised as a Fr which was impressive. I still cant believe he never beat OSU. It is probably his largest ding in his 4 years.