Name: Max Bredeson
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 250 lbs.
High school: Hartland (WI) Arrowhead
Position: Tight end/Fullback
Class: Fifth year senior
Jersey number: #44
Last year: I ranked Bredeson #17 and said he would be a part-time starting tight end/fullback (LINK). He started six games and caught 3 passes for 24 yards.
TTB Rating: N/A
If you’re an off-ball linebacker on Michigan’s schedule, there’s probably nobody else in the league you would less want to meet face-to-face than Max Bredeson. He’s somewhat of a rarity in modern college football: a fullback.
In modern football coaches use RPOs and RROs to control defenders and make space, but in ye olden days, they used fullbacks to create extra gaps. The advantage of lining up in the I-formation has largely been twofold:
- You create a good angle for a kickout block.
- Wherever the fullback goes, you create an extra gap that requires an additional defender to overlap and/or beat their block to stop the ball carrier.
Of course there are other things coaches can do with fullbacks (hand off to them, fake handoffs to them, use them as pass catchers out of the backfield, etc.), but those are historically the main two.
Bredeson was exploring his post-Michigan options this off-season before deciding to come back for year five in a winged helmet, but he ultimately decided to come back and ply his trade for another season. He was a captain in 2024 and will be again in 2025. His expertise can largely get overlooked when Michigan running backs are doing their thing, but if you want to see some slobberknockers against opposing linebackers, safeties, and defensive ends, keep an eye on Bredeson.
This season the Wolverines appear to have a different version of fullback developing behind Bredeson, and that’s former walk-on Jalen Hoffman. Hoffman is less physical and more of a pass catcher, as evidenced by his 88-yard touchdown in the spring game. That gives the Wolverines a variety of skills they can throw out there in different packages, and tight ends coach Steve Casula has talked about having several guys that can go out there and play tight end right now – Bredeson, Hoffman, Marlin Klein, Zack Marshall, and Hogan Hansen.
Prediction: Part-time starting fullback/tight end
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