ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Jim Harbaugh has a history of elevating walk-ons, and one such player finally got his chance on Saturday as Michigan football took on Hawaii.
While tight end Max Bredeson had his first catch in Week 1, as he was seeing his first taste of college football action, he had a bigger one in Week 2, when he rumbled for 56 yards and nearly scored a touchdown. As a legacy, it was a huge moment for the second-year Wolverine, as he was accustomed to being in the stands watching his brother Ben — who was the starting left guard for four years — and his brother Jack over at the baseball stadium.
A former quarterback at Hartland (Wisc.) Arrowhead, Max Bredeson didn’t have the same opportunities as his older brothers. He didn’t arrive in Ann Arbor with a lot of fanfare, being a highly-rated recruit. But when he witnessed Ben being recruited, he knew that Michigan was the dream school.
“Kind of weird path — only played like six high school games. And definitely, Michigan was always my dream,” Bredeson said. “I had one other preferred walk-on out of high school to Ole Miss, and it was a COVID year, so you can’t really visit anything. But, obviously, being here, seeing Ben’s games, seeing Jack’s games over in baseball, definitely knew Michigan very well. So yeah, had picked here, fell in love with it and got a good choice.”
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Bredeson got the call, asking if he wanted to convert to tight end from QB, and for him, it was a no-brainer. Having seen his brothers play in Ann Arbor, there was no other place he’d rather go. It was an easy choice, even as a walk-on.
“You could say that,” Bredeson said. “Definitely fell in love with it when they were both here. As soon as I got the chance to come here, I fell in love with it and took it.”
As far as the catch was concerned, Bredeson didn’t let the moment really sink in until after the game. His brothers weren’t there, but the rest of his family was. He did get calls from Jack and Ben afterward, congratulating him. But once the clock hit zero, having a big play that got the fans going finally resonated, and he thought back to those moments where he used to cheer for his brother from the stands.
“That was something special. It was really cool,” Bredeson said. “Watched some of the games here. In the family section — I just remember sitting there, watching it, so it was definitely special — but you don’t really realize it until after the game. You’re still kind of focused.
“But after, once I saw my family, it was like a cool moment for all of us. Ben called me, Jack called me, so definitely a cool moment for the family.”
On the call from Ben after the game, the former Michigan offensive lineman joked that he’s never had his name announced by stadium announcer Carl Grapentine, being that he wasn’t a skill position player.
The younger Bredeson, of course, hopes that he’ll continue to hear his name called every week from here on in.
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