Thank You, Part I

Four years ago, history was made when, on the eve of the season opener against Miami of Ohio, Lloyd Carr opted to let a true freshman lead his offense as quarterback to kick off the 2004 season. It was the first time a true freshman had started at quarterback for Michigan since Rick Leach in 1975. Gone was veteran starter John Navarre and in the week leading up to the opener, Navarre's heir apparent Matt Gutierrez suffered an injury to his throwing arm, which sadly, for all intents and purposes, ended his career at here*. Thus started the Chad Henne era at Michigan.

Over the course of the 2004 season, Henne showed tremendous promise. He was not without his struggles, but his freshman campaign was marked with pockets of brilliance. More than anything, he showed a penchant for poise and confidence when trailing late that Michigan fans hadn't seen since Tom Brady. The wonder of his late comeback scoring drive over Minnesota, capped by a TD pass to Tyler Ecker with just 1:57 left in the game, was completely blown away just a few weeks later. With some help from Braylon Edwards and Jason Avant (and an onside kick recovery by Brian Thompson) his performance in the final 8 minutes of regulation and 3OTs against Michigan State is already the stuff of legend. By the time the year was done, Henne had cemented his place in history by becoming the first true freshman quarterback ever to lead a team to the Rose Bowl, where he led seven offensive scoring drives and threw 4 touchdowns, tying both the UM and Rose Bowl records for touchdown passes in a single game.

Chad's poise and late-game heroics were not limited to his freshman campaign. As a sophomore with his team struggling mightily, Henne gave fans a gem of a memory with a literal last-second touchdown pass to Mario Manningham against Penn State. It was the Nittany Lions' only loss of the season. As a junior, Henne connected with Manningham for three long touchdowns at Notre Dame, exorcising demons that had haunted the Wolverines in South Bend since 1994, and doing it in style. Even a slow-starting and injury-riddled senior campaign was not without some highlights, including an encore to his 2004 performance against Michigan State--down 10 points with under 8 minutes to go, Henne tossed two touchdown passes to seal his career sweep over the Spartans.

Chad Henne will leave Michigan owning the school record book for quarterbacks. He already is the career leader in passing yards, completions and touchdowns, while he needs just 66 more attempts to lock down that record as well. If he can manage 6 touchdowns in his final two games, he will tie Purdue's Drew Brees' for the Big 10 record for career touchdown passes. He is certain to carry on the legacy of success that Michigan quarterbacks have had over the past 20 years playing in the NFL.

* For the record, Gutierrez eventually transferred to Idaho State for his final year of eligibility. After a successful senior campaign there, he was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New England Patriots, where he is currently backing up Tom Brady. He is the 8th former Wolverine quarterback since 1990 to play in the NFL.


Jake Long came to the University of Michigan in 2003 from the town of Lapeer, not far from my old stomping grounds. He redshirted his freshman year, but was being heaped with praise throughout spring practice later that year. The expectations for him for the following year and beyond were as big as his 6'7" 315 pound frame.

But on a warm June night the summer between his freshman and sophomore years, tragedy struck. The house that Long shared with several team mates caught fire and burned to the ground . Long, awakened by the smoke detector, had to jump from his second story window to escape the blaze. While everyone in the house thankfully made it out alive, several had minor injuries. Long got the worst of it, and spent several days in the hospital as a result of smoke inhalation.

All this proved to be but a pile of sand to the road-grader who has been wearing number 77 for the Maize and Blue. Long has since started 38 games at tackle for Michigan, compiling a track record and reputation as one of all-time great linemen at a school which has produced it's fair share of them.

As a red-shirt freshman in 2004 he earned 2nd team All-Big 10 honors, as well as Freshman All-American. Injuries hampered his 2005 season, but in 2006 he came back strong as a consensus All-American and the Big 10 Offensive Lineman of the Year.

It's difficult to write at length about the career highlights of an offensive lineman. There is no glory in the position, and it's said that the only time a lineman is noticed is when he screws up. Jake Long's play has gone largely unnoticed by the masses. But it has not been missed by his teammates. Twice they have elected him as their Team Captain.


As early as the fall of 2002, the internet started to buzz with jaw-dropping clips of a pint-sized running back from tiny Onandonga HS near Syracuse, New York. As a sophomore, junior, and again as a senior, he led his team to Class C/D State Championship titles. His 65-yard touchdown run in the championship game his junior year will live forever in YouTube lore as "The Run", though perusing the "Related Videos" section will show that it was hardly a lone highlight.

By the time he graduated from Onondaga Central High School, he held national records for touchdowns, points scored, and 100-yard games (46 games... consecutive, by the way.).

The buzz across fan message boards following his recruitment had elevated him to the status of a cyber folk hero, but the recruiting services and scouts were less impressed. He was too small, at 5'9, 175 lbs. He was too slow, with a 40-yard dash time listed as a charitable 4.4. And while his runs looked impressive, they came against the smallest and least-competitive division in the state of New York. He was a novelty, but considered unlikely to ever be a starting running back at the Division IA level. Even Lloyd Carr was reportedly doubtful that he'd ever much more than an occasional role player, but the Wolverines were one of a handful of major programs to make a scholarship offer to the tiny wonder from Onondaga.

Mike Hart chose Michigan.

He played very sparingly in Michigan's first two games, but by the third game of his career, Mike Hart was Michigan's starting tailback. He ran for 124 yards against San Diego State that day, and has been seen as an elite Michigan back ever since. His ability to squeeze out extra yards with such steadfast consistency is matched by his determination to hold onto the football. He lost a fumble just once his entire freshman season. He has not lost one since.

Overwhelming success against underwhelming expectations. That is what Mike Hart has represented. He is very much like a mythical folk hero. It is a common practice in literary fiction to give characters names that evoke certain qualities that we are to associate with that character. Some great author fittingly gave this young man the name "Hart".

Rarely before has a player been seen who better typifies the cliche of "playing with heart" than Michael Hart. His lack of physical stature and top end speed only add to the mystique. How could a slow, small kid from a tiny high school in New York ever be a contributing player at an elite college football school? By playing with heart. By working harder than the next guy. And by refusing to be stopped, literally, and metaphorically.

As a true freshman, Hart began piling up yards from his first start. By mid season, he notched three consecutive games with 200+ yards rushing--the first Wolverine player ever to accomplish such a feat. This season, despite missing approximately 4 and a half games in total, he surpassed Jamie Morris and Anthony Thomas and became Michigan's all-time leading rusher. Even in Michigan's two season opening losses, Hart ran for a combined 305 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The play that most typified Hart this season may have come late in the Appalachian State game. Dinged up early in the game, Hart was held out for most of the second half. On a few occasions, the coaches had to nearly physically restrain him to keep him on the sideline. But with 4:36 left in the game, the Wolverines found themself in an unthinkable position--trailing 31-26 to a Division I-AA team. Hart sought to correct that. He re-entered the game and put the entire team, the entire crowd of 109,000 people on his back, and carried us all 54 yards to the endzone. That dazzling touchdown put Michigan back in the driver's seat and the lead for the first time since the first quarter. It should've been enough, but the defense let it slip away yet again, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Mike Hart is already a legend, and will forever be remembered not only as one of Michigan's greatest players, but one of it's favorite sons. But one thing remains.


Chad Henne, Jake Long, Mike Hart, and the rest of Michigan's seniors have never defeated Ohio State.

Yet.



Thank you Chad, Jake, Mike and the rest of the seniors. You've given us 4 years of fantastic memories.

This Saturday, make some great ones for yourselves.