Michigan’s NFL Draft History

Tag: Junior Hemingway


28Feb 2024
Blog, homepage 14 comments

Michigan’s NFL Draft History

Cesar Ruiz

Probably like many of you, I occasionally have a hankering for some Michigan NFL Draft history. Below you will find (as far as I’m aware) every pro draft pick in the history of Michigan’s football program going all the way back to 1937.

A few little factoids:

  • Michigan’s only two #1 overall NFL Draft picks are Jake Long in 2008 and Tom Harmon in 1941.
  • Michigan set a record in 2017 with 11 total draft picks.
  • Michigan’s record number of 1st round NFL draft picks is a tie with 3 each in 1995 (Tyrone Wheatley, Ty Law, Trezelle Jenkins) and 2001 (David Terrell, Steve Hutchinson, Jeff Backus).

2023
1st round: Mazi Smith – DT – Dallas Cowboys (#26)
2nd round: Luke Schoonmaker – TE – Dallas Cowboys (#58)
2nd round: D.J. Turner II – CB – Cincinnati Bengals (#60)
3rd round: Jake Moody – K – San Francisco 49ers (#99)
5th round: Mike Morris – DE – Seattle Seahawks (#151)
5th round: Olu Oluwatimi – C – Seattle Seahawks (#154)
6th round: Brad Robbins – P – Cincinnati Bengals (#217)
7th round: Ryan Hayes – OT – Miami Dolphins (#238)
7th round: Ronnie Bell – WR – San Francisco 49ers (#253)

2022
1st round: Aidan Hutchinson – DE – Detroit Lions (#2 overall)
1st round: Daxton Hill – S – Cincinnati Bengals (#31 overall)
2nd round: David Ojabo – OLB – Baltimore Ravens (#45 overall)
4th round: Hassan Haskins – RB – Tennessee Titans (#131 overall)
7th round: Andrew Stueber – OT – New England Patriots (#245 overall)

2021
1st round: Kwity Paye – DE – Indianapolis Colts (#21 overall)
3rd round: Jalen Mayfield – OT – Atlanta Falcons (#68 overall)
3rd round: Nico Collins – WR – Houston Texans (#89 overall)
3rd round: Ambry Thomas – CB – San Francisco 49ers (#102 overall)
5th round: Cam McGrone – LB – New England Patriots (#177 overall)
5th round: Ben Mason – FB – Baltimore Ravens (#184 overall)
6th round: Chris Evans – RB – Cincinnati Bengals (#202 overall)
7th round: Camaron Cheeseman – LS – Washington Football Team (#225 overall)

2020
1st round: Cesar Ruiz – C – New Orleans Saints (#24 overall)
2nd round: Josh Uche – OLB – New England Patriots (#60 overall)
4th round: Ben Bredeson – OG – Baltimore Ravens (#143 overall)
5th round: Khaleke Hudson – LB – Washington Redskins (#162 overall)
5th round: Mike Danna – DE – Kansas City Chiefs (#177 overall)
6th round: Michael Onwenu – OG – New England Patriots (#182 overall)
6th round: Donovan Peoples-Jones – WR – Cleveland Browns (#187 overall)
6th round: Jon Runyan, Jr. – OG – Green Bay Packers (#192 overall)
6th round: Josh Metellus – S – Minnesota Vikings (#205 overall)
6th round: Jordan Glasgow – LB – Indianapolis Colts (#213 overall)

2019
1st round: Devin Bush, Jr. – LB – Pittsburgh Steelers (#10 overall)
1st round: Rashan Gary – DE – Green Bay Packers (#12 overall)
3rd round: Chase Winovich – OLB – New England Patriots (#77 overall)
3rd round: David Long, Jr. – CB – Los Angeles Rams (#79 overall)
5th round: Zach Gentry – TE – Pittsburgh Steelers (#141 overall)

2018
3rd round: Mason Cole – C – Arizona Cardinals (#97)
5th round: Maurice Hurst, Jr. – DT – Oakland Raiders (#140)

2017
1st round: Jabrill Peppers – S – Cleveland Browns (#25)
1st round: Taco Charlton – DE – Dallas Cowboys (#28)
3rd round: Chris Wormley – DT – Baltimore Ravens (#74)
3rd round: Jourdan Lewis – CB – Dallas Cowboys (#92)
3rd round: Delano Hill – S – Seattle Seahawks (#95)
3rd round: Amara Darboh – WR – Seattle Seahawks (#106)
4th round: Ben Gedeon – LB – Minnesota Vikings (#120)
4th round: Ryan Glasgow – DT – Cincinnati Bengals (#138)
4th round: Jehu Chesson – WR – Kansas City Chiefs (#139)
5th round: Jake Butt – TE – Denver Broncos (#145)
6th round: Jeremy Clark – CB – New York Jets (#197)

2016
3rd round: Graham Glasgow – C – Detroit Lions (#95)
4th round: Willie Henry – DT – Baltimore Ravens (#132)
6th round: Jake Rudock – QB – Detroit Lions (#191)

2015
2nd round: Devin Funchess – WR – Carolina Panthers (#41)
2nd round: Frank Clark – DE – Seattle Seahawks (#63)
4th round: Jake Ryan – LB – Green Bay Packers (#129)

2014
1st round: Taylor Lewan – OT – Tennessee Titans (#11)
3rd round: Michael Schofield – OT – Denver Broncos (#95)
7th round: Jeremy Gallon – WR – New England Patriots (#244)

2013
5th round: Denard Robinson – RB – Jacksonville Jaguars (#135)
6th round: William Campbell – DT – New York Jets (#178)

Hit the jump for the remainder of Michigan’s historical draft picks.

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24Aug 2020
Blog, homepage 67 comments

Ranking Michigan’s Wide Receivers

David Terrell (image via Michigan Football History)

Previously, I ranked the Michigan quarterbacks (LINK) and running backs (LINK) from the beginning of the Lloyd Carr era onward. That corresponds with the time that I have paid close attention to Michigan football.

Now we will take a look at the receivers. Because I don’t have an endless amount of time, I have to trim this down to guys who started at least twelve games in a Michigan uniform, which represents roughly one full season as a starter. The lone exception here is Devin Gardner, who started a bunch of games, but mostly at quarterback.

Hit the jump for the list.

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7Jul 2019
Blog, homepage, Uncategorized 19 comments

The All-Rodriguez Team: Offense

Denard Robinson makes fatties look fat.

In case you can’t tell, I like to make lists.  And depth charts.  And lineups.  This has nothing to do with football.  But when I was about thirteen years old, I laid down in my living room with a piece of paper and a pen.  I wrote down a batting order for my favorite team, the Detroit Tigers.  And the Atlanta Braves.  And the Chicago Cubs.  And, what the hell, the rest of Major League Baseball, too.

From memory.  If you wanted to know the emergency catcher for the Montreal Expos, I was your man (er, well, boy).

So here’s another list.  I’ve often thought about the best players to come through Michigan during the years of my fanaticism, and this one is narrowed down to the Rodriguez years.  Which players in the past few years turned out the best seasons for what amounted to be Michigan’s worst three consecutive years in program history?  Despite the 15-22 record over Rodriguez’s tenure, we had some pretty good individual players.  But as you might expect, the majority of them (nine out of eleven) were on the 2010 squad that had a winning record and played in a bowl game.

QB: Denard Robinson (2010)
182-for-291 passing, 2570 yards, 18 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
256 carries, 1799 yards, 14 touchdowns
This is a no-brainer.  For half the season, he was on pace to win the Heisman.

Hit the jump for the rest.

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5Dec 2014
Uncategorized 12 comments

The All-Hoke Team: Offense

Denard Robinson

You may or may not remember when I put together an all-star team for Rich Rodriguez’s tenure (OFFENSE, DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS). Well, here’s the Brady Hoke version. I patched together a pretty good team from the four seasons that Hoke was the head man in Ann Arbor.

QB: Devin Gardner (2013)
208-for-345 passing, 60.3%, 2960 yards, 21 touchdowns, 11 interceptions
165 carries for 483 yards, 2.9 yards/carry, 11 touchdowns
This may be an unpopular choice, but Gardner had some brilliant games (Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State) during the 2013 campaign. He ended the year as Michigan’s second-leading rusher and showed some great potential. The Notre Dame victory was exhilarating, he threw for 503 yards (a Michigan record) against Indiana, and played great against Ohio State despite a broken foot for part of the game.

RB: Denard Robinson (2012)
177 carries, 1266 yards, 7.2 yards/carry, 7 touchdowns
I’m cheating a bit here by putting Robinson at running back, but he did start a few games at the position after he returned from the elbow injury suffered against Nebraska. He broke 100 yards twice in his three games at running back. Even so, he showed enough running skills at the quarterback position to make this essentially a no-brainer. Imagine the running ability of a team with Gardner at QB and Robinson lined up behind him or next to him.

FB: Joe Kerridge (2014)
3 carries, 56 yards, 18.7 yards/carry
6 catches, 53 yards, 8.8 yards/catch
Hoke employed a fullback quite a bit, but his fullbacks didn’t touch the ball a lot. Kerridge set a record for the Hoke era by getting 9 touches, including some critical first downs and a 52-yard run on a fake punt against Maryland.

WR: Jeremy Gallon (2013)
89 catches, 1373 yards, 15.4 yards/catch, 9 touchdowns
Gallon and Gardner had a symbiotic relationship. Gallon didn’t produce a ton before Gardner became the quarterback, and Gardner was unproductive once Gallon graduated. Regardless, Gallon was a record-setter at Michigan with 1,373 yards that season and had 369 yards in a game against Indiana, the highest Big Ten total in history.

WR: Junior Hemingway (2011)
34 catches, 699 yards, 20.6 yards/catch, 4 touchdowns
Hemingway may not have had higher catch or yardage totals than other candidates for this spot, but he made lots of clutch plays and was Denard Robinson’s go-to guy like Gallon was Gardner’s. Hemingway had some huge catches in wins against Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech

TE: Kevin Koger (2011)
23 catches, 244 yards, 10.6 yards/catch, 4 touchdowns
Jake Butt might have more upside, but Koger had better production in 2011 and had the best combination of skills that Hoke had available at the tight end position. Koger could block, catch, and run a little bit. Plus he was named a captain and liked well enough to be asked to be a graduate assistant on the staff.

LT: Taylor Lewan (2012)
13 starts, 1 touchdown
Lewan peaked in 2012 when he was a First Team All-American and dominant all year, including a great showing against eventual #1 pick Jadeveon Clowney of South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. He also fell on a fumble in the endzone, notching a touchdown against UMass.

LG: Michael Schofield (2011)
10 starts
Schofield, a tackle by trade, earned the starting left guard job when Ricky Barnum was injured. Somewhat surprisingly, he performed very well for a young guy playing an unfamiliar position. He would eventually turn into a 3rd round pick by the Denver Broncos.

C: David Molk (2011)
12 starts
Molk started the first twelve games of the year and sat out the first series of the Sugar Bowl against Virginia Tech with an injury he suffered in pre-game warmups. When backup Rocko Khoury struggled with two bad snaps on three plays, Molk entered the game and helped lead the team to a victory. Molk was a First Team All-American and won the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation’s best center.

RG: Patrick Omameh (2011)
13 starts
Omameh seemed to have a better season in 2011 than 2012, even though he was named First Team All-Big Ten by the coaches in the latter season and not the former. The offensive line protected quarterback Denard Robinson pretty well in 2011 (#34 in sacks allowed), and Omameh helped pave the way for two 1,000-yard rushers (Robinson, running back Fitzgerald Toussaint).

RT: Mark Huyge (2011)
13 starts
With Schofield slotted at left guard, Huyge is really the only choice here. He wasn’t spectacular, but he was solid and never stood out as being a weakness. He, too, was part of the unit that protected the quarterback and helped Toussaint and Robinson run for 1,000 yards each.

30Aug 2014
Uncategorized 14 comments

Michigan’s Legends Jerseys

Junior Hemingway wearing the Desmond Howard patch

Michigan’s Legends jerseys are unique to the University of Michigan and are awarded each season to players deemed deserving by the coaching staff. The plan is to hand out each jersey number every year, and so far, no freshman has been honored with wearing the jersey. That means that each player listed below has changed his jersey number mid-career, with the exception of Junior Hemingway, who wore #21 prior to the Legends jersey idea but was bedazzled with a Desmond Howard patch during the 2011 season.

Feel free to discuss who will wear #11 and #21 this year. The other jersey numbers are taken by returning players, although someone like Devin Funchess could be given the #1 jersey, which would open up his current #87.

#1: In honor of Anthony Carter/Braylon Edwards
2014: Devin Funchess, WR

#2: In honor of Charles Woodson
2014: Blake Countess, CB

#11: In honor of the Wistert brothers
2013: Courtney Avery, CB/S
2012: Jordan Kovacs, S

#21: In honor of Desmond Howard
2013: Jeremy Gallon, WR
2012: Roy Roundtree, WR
2011: Junior Hemingway, WR

#47: In honor of Bennie Oosterbaan
2012-2014: Jake Ryan, LB

#48: In honor of Gerald Ford
2012-2014: Desmond Morgan, LB

#87: In honor of Ron Kramer
2013: Devin Funchess, TE/WR
2012: Brandon Moore, TE

#98: In honor of Tom Harmon
2013-2014: Devin Gardner, QB