Tag: Max Bredeson

Michigan football urgent, but not panicked in lackluster 2024 season

#Michigan absolutely needs to win this one. #GoBlue

Michigan football went two full years without losing in the regular season. However, with a confluence of events — Jim Harbaugh leaving for the NFL, roster turnover, still figuring out the quarterback situation — the Wolverines have lost two games in six tries in the 2024 campaign.

To those outside of Schembechler Hall, the season feels over, like this team won’t contend for anything. But with six games left on the schedule, anything can happen — not just for Michigan, but for any team out there. Teams that were hot early can get cold. Teams that looked incapable early can look like world-beaters by the season’s end. It happens almost every year.

Senior team captain and fullback Max Bredeson says these Wolverines know what time it is, and though there’s a sense of urgency, that hasn’t boiled over into pandemonium inside the locker room.

“It’s definitely urgency,” Bredeson said. “You have to find the line between urgency and panic. That’s big thing that we’ve established — can’t be panicked. But there’s a lot of like, sense of gotta roll, gotta get things going. But yeah, basically be urgent, but make sure you don’t cross that line.”

But what does that mean? What does urgency look like?

Part of it is a calmness, but another is having players who aren’t accustomed to losing understanding that it can be a part of football. Another part is just doing what’s needed daily, focusing on the minutiae instead of the overall big picture. Junior cornerback Will Johnson says that everyone inside the locker room understands what time it is and what they need to do in order to keep the eye on the prize.

“I think right now, it’s just making sure everyone knows how serious it is and how urgent it is,” Johnson said. “Like you said, we got some young guys that haven’t been in this type of — haven’t experienced this, had all our experience of losing and things like that. So I think as a whole, we’re just trying to attack every day and be urgent.”

Saturday presents a big challenge for the maize and blue. A game that was thought in the preseason to be a layup now is a huge ranked-on-ranked matchup, on the road, no less. And it’s against an Illinois team that would love nothing more than to get a win over Michigan while celebrating a big upset win over Michigan 100 years ago.

Thus, urgency is paramount. Panic could bring the team down. Thankfully, as Bredeson says, he’s not seen that from his team.

“Thankfully, we’ve never crossed that line,” Bredeson said. “So that’s something we take a lot of pride in here, of mental composure and to cross the line would just look panicked and flustered. Luckily, that’s not the deal due to the training that we’ve had. It’s not how it’s gone.”

Michigan and Illinois will kick off at 3:30 p.m. EDT at Memorial Stadium with the game nationally broadcast on CBS.

Final 2024 Michigan football preseason position analysis: Tight End

Besides Colston Loveland, who will be the other tight ends who will step up for Michigan football?

Primer

Michigan football has the best tight end in the country in Colston Loveland but the question is who will also play big factors this season at the position. Max Bredeson will play multiple roles within the room, from traditional TE to fullback to H-back. Marlin Klein may be the more traditional tight end who will line up often opposite Loveland, but others will work into the mix.

Projected starters: Colston Loveland, Max Bredeson
Rotation: Marlin Klein, Deakon Tonielli, Zack Marshall, Jalen Hoffman (FB)

Position outlook

Considering all of the hype surrounding Loveland this offseason, he very well could see frequent double teams. He’ll also split out wide and act as a jumbo receiver. Bredeson will most likely be deployed as a fullback more often than not. We’ll see a lot of Klein in-line, especially when Loveland is split out wide. He’s been mentioned as the fastest player in the room and has a lot of potential. Then the question rests on the usage of the sophomores in Tonielli and Marshall — both of whom have been praised during the offseason.

But there are also two freshmen who enrolled early in Brady Prieskorn and Hogan Hansen. Could either do similar to Loveland and find themselves seeing early playing time? The room is loaded, thus getting onto the field will be difficult. But there are a lot of playmakers.

At fullback and H-back, if it’s not Bredeson, walk-on Jalen Hoffman figures to be the player ready to go in rotation.

The national sentiment may be changing, but the expectations inside Michigan football never changed

Count out #Michigan at your own risk. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The national perception of Michigan football just a few short weeks ago was that the Wolverines would fall off similar to LSU after the 2019 season, having completed the climb to a national championship but set to rebuild. However, in recent days, that’s beginning to change.

247Sports’ Clint Brewster noted that if the quarterback situation is right for Michigan, it could repeat as national champions. ESPN’s Greg McElroy reversed course from the earlier sentiment, now noting that the offense appears to be more dynamic and that the Wolverines could be in the thick of another title hunt.

But those in Ann Arbor never wavered, never faltered from that belief.

“I expect a lot from this team,” senior team captain Rod Moore said. “We have a great schedule, great opponents, and I expect us to go do what we did last year and go back to back.”

Michigan didn’t win a national championship last year because it had a cadre of big-time receivers, or quarterback play that saw the passing game take off. Despite having the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL draft in J.J. McCarthy, the passing game was modest, and the team — as it was in the two previous years — was led by defense, a solid offensive line, and a consistent run game.

Last year, even the run game wasn’t as explosive as it was previously. Yet, it was a complementary football team that managed to win against everyone it lined up against.

Much of that has to do with culture as much as it does Xs and Os. Everyone was pulling in the same direction, and this year’s leaders ensure that the culture remains the same.

“(In 2021) coming off of a 2-4 season, they called us into the team meeting room, like, ‘We’re going to do it this way, and if you guys don’t want to do it, then get the get out of here,'” senior team captain Donovan Edwards said. “‘We don’t want you here, and so you’re going to be bought in with it or not.’ I think the my freshman class when I was a freshman, those guys were seniors that we did an amazing job of listening to them and taking the player-led ability that they had to lead us to a Big Ten Championship and make it to the College Football Playoff. Because over the past three years, that’s what it’s all been about. It’s what those guys have laid the foundation for us, and we’re just continuing to add to that blueprint that they gave us.”

That blueprint is still being followed. Whether it’s the ones set by the players back in 2021 or those set forth by former head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Again, Michigan is set to have bruising lines on both sides of the ball, a punishing defense from front to back, a stellar run game, and just enough playmakers on both sides of that ball that will make every opponent — no matter their ranking or expectations — wince.

What’s more, that culture isn’t just intact — it’s growing. As senior team captain and fullback Max Bredeson says, it’s not just because of the schedule early in the season, but the Wolverines are already in championship mode, deploying those habits that led the maize and blue to the proverbial promised land a year ago right now.

“What makes this place so special is that like, every detail is taken into account every day,” Bredeson said. “Like the details of this program is what built it — the way we line up our shoes in the weight room, the way we put down water bottles, our helmets. Every detail is being treated like it’s national championship right now. So the way we keep sticking to that, and it’s shown to work, and we’re proud of the way we handle things. So, excited for every opportunity we get.”

Michigan football names four team captains for 2024 season

Huge honor! Congrats to these guys! #GoBlue

As it is with any team, it’s only going to be as good as its leadership. Looking to the not-so-distant past, the same is true of the Michigan Wolverines, who has had stellar leadership over the course of the past three seasons.

Now, much of that leadership is gone. Mike Sainristil, Trevor Keegan, Zak Zinter, Blake Corum, Kris Jenkins, and Mike Barrett were all stabilizing voices for the maize and blue who have left. Another thing they had in common: they were team captains.

Thus, the Wolverines elected new team captains for the 2024 season. Unsurprisingly, all four who were named are seniors — running back Donovan Edwards, safety Makari Paige, fullback Max Bredeson, and safety Rod Moore.

Three of the four were selected to represent Michigan in Indianapolis for Big Ten media days. The only one who wasn’t was Moore, who is rehabbing from his ACL tear suffered in spring ball.

Like any team, these Wolverines will only go as far as their leadership takes them. It will be interesting to see how these four continue the culture which was established before them.

Sherrone Moore’s care for players has Michigan football in a good place

The players are going to go all out for him. #GoBlue

INDIANAPOLIS — Sherrone Moore might be the new head coach of Michigan football, but he not only has a resume as the acting head coach, he has the trust of his players — fully.

Thanks to not only his stint at tight ends, offensive line, and offensive coordinator, but as interim head coach, the full team knows what it’s getting in Moore. They all have a relationship with him, and they know he knows what it takes to win in Ann Arbor thanks to beating Penn State on the road and Ohio State at home for all the marbles.

Senior fullback Max Bredeson couldn’t be happier for Moore’s promotion, and he notes that the emotion he showed after the Penn State game really exemplified his care for the team beyond just wins and losses.

“He’s incredibly passionate,” Bredeson said. “He wants to see the best for us so badly. And I think it was just such a moment for him that he got to be there and see everything from a different point of view. And he was just happy to see the joy that Michigan brings him.”

In that time last year, Michigan football had its full complement of the coaching staff, minus Jim Harbaugh. And while Bredeson notes that now-former strength coach Ben Herbert was also instrumental when it came to motivating the team before that top-10 matchup against the Nittany Lions, mostly the team followed the leadership Moore brought to the table.

“Yeah, and it was a little bit of Coach Herb, too, but it was mostly Coach Moore,” Bredeson said. “And that final message before you go out is always been a mission with the head coach. And you could feel the energy and how much energy he brings with it to be still so like, cool, calm, and collected. Pretty special.”

Moore may be a first-time head coach, but these were pivotal experiences when it comes to understanding what it takes on game day as well as developing trust with those who played for him. Though Moore acknowledges there are a lot of other aspects to being a head coach that he’s learned about since taking over earlier this year (as he says, there are a lot more pictures with fans he’s had to take than expected), his first foray into being at the top of a big-time college football coach has certainly been a good primer for what will come this year.

Off-the-radar players who are impressing Michigan FB Max Bredeson

If these guys step up, #Michigan will be hard to beat. #GoBlue

INDIANAPOLIS — The word on the street is Michigan football is taking a big, old step back in 2024, and it makes sense. There were a lot of player departures to the NFL, head coach Jim Harbaugh left for the NFL, thus there’s a new head coach in Sherrone Moore. The defensive staff also left en masse. There are plenty of reasons to doubt Michigan football.

However, that’s not how this team sees it. Having reached the mountaintop after winning a national championship this past year, the Wolverines are hopeful and eager to prove that wasn’t just a one-off. It will be more difficult as the conference expands and with teams like Texas on the schedule.

Though there will be a lot of new faces on the team, including at quarterback, fullback Max Bredeson believes that the wide receiving corps is poised to surprise a lot of people in 2024.

“I’m super excited for Fred Moore,” Bredeson said. “The whole receiver room from top to bottom. And there’s so many great guys like Fred, (Tyler Morris), Semaj, Peyton O’Leary, Kendrick Bell’s made some great strides, too. There’s guys who you would think it’s their their first big moment but like they’re so they’re so beyond ready just because of the nature of how the program develops.”

One thing that can be said is that the defense is loaded. Though there were NFL departures, there’s incredible experience at every level.

Michigan may have the best defensive line, with Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant both flirting with being potential first-round picks after their junior year. The edge rushers — Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart — were on the field for the final play of the Rose Bowl against Alabama and were jointly responsible for stopping Jalen Milroe on fourth down. The backend also has a ton of experience, but there’s one player who’s shown massive improvement up front that Bredeson is particularly excited about.

“TJ Guy — I couldn’t talk about TJ enough,” Bredeson said. “And in the world that college football is in now, TJ could have left so many times but he’s waited his turn and he’s worked so hard and so excited to see him have his opportunity. I’ve practiced against him since I first got here and the way that guy works, developed every pass rush move everything in the run game, he’s worked so hard and so grateful that he’ll get an opportunity to show that.”

One of the fun components of every new team are those players who end up exceeding expectations. Fans will get their first chance to see if any of the aforementioned players are bound to stepping up on August 31 when the Wolverines host Fresno State for the season opener.

Subtle differences under Sherrone Moore helping keep Michigan’s culture thriving

Love how together this team is! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — One of the big questions this offseason for Michigan football is how similar will it be under Sherrone Moore compared to Jim Harbaugh. Thus far, halfway through spring ball, to the veteran players, it doesn’t look any different.

Senior fullback Max Bredeson didn’t partake in the terrible, no-good COVID year when the Wolverines went 2-4. But he arrived in 2021 and saw the beginning of the culture change — and thus he saw the standard set. Now that he’s entering year four, he isn’t seeing anything radically different from what he experienced as a freshman.

“It feels like the same Michigan as when I first got here,” Bredeson said. “It’s a different personality, a different coach, but similar where it has to be. And he’s having his own little tweaks, I guess, wherever he finds. But it’s been awesome. All good things come out of it, so he’s awesome.”

Michigan has been driven the past several years by ‘the climb.’ The team had a chip on its shoulder and was working towards unmet goals from previous years.

In 2021, it wasn’t just improving upon a dismal season, it was about beating Ohio State for the first time in a decade and winning the Big Ten. After that mission was accomplished it was about beating all three rivals in one year and winning the College Football Playoff. The former was achieved in 2022, but when Michigan lost to TCU in the semifinal, 2023 became a requiem of that. Thus, a national championship was the goal and it’s what the team achieved.

So what does the team chase now that the mission has been accomplished? Bredeson says that chasing the high of winning everything is enough to drive this new iteration of the Wolverines.

“So I’d say now it’s more about that you’ve created a standard that you have to match,” Bredeson said. “There’s the experience that you’ve got to feel like — I’ll never forget those wins. And it’s like, I’ll do anything to get back to that same point. You just want to feel that feeling again, you want to just — you come here to win, it’s what you want to do.”

Especially on offense, the big thing will be to impart that to the younger players whom Michigan will need to heavily rely upon. The Wolverines are loaded on defense but less so on offense. Bredeson says that those who had learned from the leaders in 2021 and beyond know what it takes to win and they’re imparting that to the younger players.

“It’s more of them just kind of seeing what it looks like,” Bredeson said. “When I first got here, it was a different season, but I mean, you watched Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Ross — you knew what it was supposed to look like. Just follow them and everything will figure itself out type of deal. And hopefully, (younger players now learn from us like) that. And they’ve got to feel the intensity of what winning takes, what a practice looks like to get to that level, what it takes in the weight room. So I think it’s more just occupational learning for them.”

With all of that said, is anything different? Not really, Bredeson says. The only real differences under Sherrone Moore at this point are the new ‘Quest for Atlanta’ drill that pits 11-on-11 and that the players have more of a choice sometimes in what they’ll work on. Otherwise, the train keeps rolling, just with a new conductor.

“It feels just about the same,” Bredeson said. “Randomly, we’ll do a player-choice period where he lets us pick a period. But that’s really about it. It’s been awesome.”

Michigan football physicality in practice helping continue winning culture

When practice is harder than the games, it means a team is championship-caliber. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In order for Michigan football to become what Michigan football had long been understood as, the culture had to change. The intensity in practice had to change. Everything had to change.

And in 2021, everything did.

The accolades attained during the Bo Schembechler, Gary Moeller, and Lloyd Carr years had washed away. And even in the early Jim Harbaugh years, there were similarities to the Wolverines teams of old, but they still weren’t exactly on the same par.

That’s because there was one thing missing: games seeming to be easier than practice.

Such a sentiment was common for the maize and blue teams in the 1980s and 1990s, and started to wane in the latter yeas of the 2000s. It started to return when Harbaugh took over, but it didn’t result in championships. Now, with three Big Ten championships and a national championship under their belts, the Wolverines are finding games easier because they’re facing such fierce competition on a daily basis.

“In practice, no matter what group’s out there — ones, twos, threes — we expect no drop-off, so everything should look the same,” senior edge rusher TJ Guy said. “And (practicing) is probably harder than the games because a lot of the mental aspect that goes into practice, coming here every day, practicing every day. So building that callus mentally and physically — you can’t not get ready with that grind every day.”

The mentality shift came when the Wolverines decided the best course of action was to be player-led and become the toughest, most physical team they could be. The emergence of the ‘Beat Ohio’ drill coincided with the beginning of what ended up being a three-game winning streak against the Buckeyes.

Now there’s a ‘Quest for Atlanta’ drill — Atlanta being where the national championship game will be held this year — which expands the toughness drills from being 7-on-7 or 9-on-7 to 11-on-11.

The physicality that the maize and blue are playing with continues to ramp up, and that’s what continues to make Michigan better.

“Michigan’s always iron sharpens iron, good guys go against good guys,” senior fullback Max Bredeson said. “And we have the classic ‘Beat Ohio’ drill — that’s a staple of Michigan football. The ‘Quest for Atlanta’ drill — same thing.

“Just physical practices, ones-on-ones. When you’re practicing against guys who could be better than the guys who you play during the season, it just helps everyone get better. So I’d say it’s still as physical as it’s ever been.”

When it comes to the culture and health of the program, no one could give a better report than an outsider, someone who knows what it takes to play college football but who is seeing what is happening in Ann Arbor for the first time. Such is the case for Northwestern transfer Josh Priebe.

Priebe was a standout on an emerging Wildcats offensive line before he decided to make an intra-Big Ten move. And now that he’s a Wolverine, though he’s still months away from playing in a real game, he knows that he’s massively improved given the competition he’s faced in spring ball.

“First off going against guys like Mason Graham and K.G. — there’s no way that’s not going to make you better,” Priebe said. “And I have had a decent amount of experience playing in the conference, and I haven’t gone against guys with that level and that ability.

“Sometimes you play teams where there’s one guy who’s a really good player, but when you have both of those guys, you’re gonna be going against them every single time. I think that level of competition, it forces you to get better. And I think that’s what’s so been so great about Michigan so far is that you just develop it, guys develop at such a higher rate because of the level of competition and just the overall culture surrounding that.”

No-brainer decision to come to Michigan paying off for legacy walk-on

What a cool story! #GoBlue

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.”

[lawrence-related id=62862,62860,62619]

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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