2017 Michigan Football Awards and Honors
11/7/2017 2:50:00 PM | Football
• Fall Academic All-Big Ten Selections Announced (12/6/2017)
• Seven Wolverines Pick Up All-Conference Accolades on Offense (11/29/2017)
• Thirteen Wolverines Named All-Big Ten on Defense, Special Teams (11/28/2017)
• Bush Selected as Finalist for Butkus Award (11/20/2017)
• Wolverines' Glasgow Voted to Academic All-District Honor (11/16/2017)
Khaleke Hudson (Nov. 7)
Big Ten Co-Defensive Player, Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week -- Wolverine viper Khaleke Hudson earned Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week and Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honors following his career-high performance against Minnesota (Nov. 4). His 15-tackle day, a new career high and single-game best by any Wolverine this year which included 12 solo stops, earned him both accolades. Hudson is the third Wolverine to capture the honor this year, joining teammates Tyree Kinnel and Chase Winovich. Though his 15-tackle effort impressed, Hudson's career-high 8 tackles-for-loss stole the show and set a new single-game Michigan record, breaking the previous mark of 7.0 set by Larry Foote in 2001 against Iowa. He also set a career high in sacks (3.0), added one forced fumble and narrowly missed blocking a punt. » Big Ten Release | Bronko Nagurski Release
Chris Evans, Karan Higdon (Nov. 6)
Big Ten Co-Offensive Players of the Week -- Running backs Chris Evans and Karan Higdon will share Offensive Player of the Week honors after combining for 391 yards on the ground (200 for Higdon, 191 for Evans) against Minnesota on Nov. 4. For Evans, that line was a new career high, while Higdon matched his total from three weeks prior at Indiana on nine fewer carries. The backs averaged 14.7 and 12.5 yards per carry, and it was the second 200-yard game of the season for Higdon, who becomes the first U-M back to accomplish that feat since Mike Hart did it three times during the 2004 season (234 at Illinois; 224 vs. Michigan State; 206 at Purdue). Evans had touchdown runs of 60 and 67 yards (a career high) while Higdon's longest run was a 77-yard touchdown, marking the first time in Michigan history that the team recorded three touchdown runs of 60 yards or longer in the same game. One week after Higdon (158 yards) and Ty Isaac (109 yards) shredded the Rutgers defense, Higdon and Evans turned the trick again to mark the first time U-M had multiple backs record 100-yard rushing days in consecutive weeks since Oct. 11 (Michigan State), Oct. 18 (Northwestern) and Oct. 25 (Indiana) of the 1975 season. It is the first career honor for both Evans and Higdon, who is now the all-time single-game rushing leader against Minnesota in Michigan history after having broken Tshimanga Biakabutuka's previous record of 196 yards in 1995. » Big Ten Release
Quinn Nordin (Nov. 2)
Lou Groza Award Semifinalist -- Placekicker Quinn Nordin was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, the Palm Beach County Sports Commission announced. Nordin is one of 20 semifinalists and is one of six underclassmen to be named to the list, and he and Indiana's Griffin Oakes are the lone representatives from the Big Ten. Nordin has been an integral scoring component of the Wolverine offense, successfully converting 23-of-24 on PAT opportunities and 14-of-17 on field goal tries through eight games. With four regular-season weeks remaining, Nordin is 18th on the single-season list for most field goals made in Michigan history, with the record set at 25. He has scored 65 points on the season, kickstarted by a 15-point season debut and 17 points in week two, which tied a single-game program record. The two-time Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week and two-time Lou Groza Star of the Week impressed with two field goals at 50 yards or longer in the season opener against Florida. Nordin has since matched the record for most field goals made in a game (five) while climbing more than halfway to Ali Haji-Sheikh's single-season record of seven field goals made at 40 yards or longer. » Lou Groza Award Release
Maurice Hurst (Oct. 30)
Chuck Bednarik Award Semifinalist -- Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst has been recognized as a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced. Hurst is one of four Big Ten players to be named to the list, which features 18 athletes overall. As an interior defensive player, Hurst ranks fifth on the team in tackles with 40, a new career high with four-regular season games still remaining. He is one tackle-for-loss shy of his career high in that category (10.0) and has 2.5 sacks on the season, along with one forced fumble and one blocked field goal attempt. An unblockable forced in the middle, he has been hailed by Pro Football Focus College (PFF) as the top-rated player in the nation regardless of position and has earned the highest grade for any individual player in the country through eight weeks. He was recognized as a midseason All-American by the Associated Press and is a two-time member of PFF's National Defensive Team of the Week. At one point, Michigan had four athletes on the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, and now Hurst has given U-M at least one semifinalist for the award in all three seasons under head coach Jim Harbaugh. » Chuck Bednarik Trophy Release
Devin Bush (Oct. 30)
Dick Butkus Award Semifinalist -- Sophomore linebacker Devin Bush has been recognized as a semifinalist for the Dick Butkus Award. Bush is the first Michigan linebacker to be recognized as a semifinalist since now-Green Bay Packer Jake Ryan was a finalist for the award in 2014. Bush leads the U-M defense with 67 tackles through eight games, 18 more than the next-closest Wolverine. His 5.0 sacks and 7.5 tackles-for-loss rank second and third on the team, respectively, and his six pass breakups are second only to Lavert Hill's seven. In an emergent sophomore season, Bush has shown why he is among the nation's top linebackers. He is one of four Big Ten athletes to earn this distinction and is one of 14 semifinalists overall. » Dick Butkus Award Release
Jim Harbaugh (Oct. 19)
Dodd Trophy Watch List -- J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Head Football Coach Jim Harbaugh was named to the 2017 Dodd Trophy midseason watch list, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl announced. Harbaugh is one of 20 coaches named to the list and is one of five Big Ten coaches to be part of the list, the most of any conference. The trophy celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity. The midseason watch list is gathered through a selection process that considers each program's graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, current performance during the 2017 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR). Harbaugh earns the distinction for the second time in three seasons at Michigan. In his first two seasons with the program, 42 student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, including a single-season program record of 23 last fall. This year, U-M entered fall camp with 51 players holding a cumulative grade point average at 3.0 or higher. » Dodd Trophy Release
Devin Bush and Chase Winovich (Oct. 6)
Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List -- Sophomore linebacker Devin Bush and senior defensive end Chase Winovich were added to the watch list for the 23rd Chuck Bednarik Award. The duo joins fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst and sophomore defensive end Rashan Gary to give the Wolverines four representatives for the award given to College Football's Defensive Player of the Year. Bush has seven tackles or more in every game this season, including 21 solo stops for 33 tackles through four games. His 5.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks rank second on the team and second and sixth in the Big Ten, respectively. Bush has been consistent with his production, recording at least 1.0 TFL and sack in each game so far, and he has added four pass breakups while also being a key special teams contributor for the Wolverines. Winovich leads the team in both tackles for loss (7.5) and sacks (4.5), and he has at least 1.0 TFL and 0.5 sacks in each game so far this season. He has 24 stops overall, with 11 solo tackles, and has forced one fumble. His eight-tackle, 2.5-sack day at Purdue earned him Big Ten and Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week honors and he has twice been named Defensive Lineman of the Game for U-M (Florida, Purdue) while collecting Defensive Player of the Game honors once. Both new starters in 2017, Bush and Winovich have set new career highs in solo tackles, tackles, tackles-for-loss and sacks so far this season.
Michael Wroblewski (Sept. 27)
William V. Campbell Trophy Semifinalist -- Fifth-year senior linebacker Michael Wroblewski was named a semifinalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame (NFF) announced. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation. A native of Saint Clair Shores, Michigan, Wroblewski has played in 13 career games, with nine in 2016 and all four so far this season. He has made four tackles so far this year, with one forced fumble coming in the win at Purdue. The health and fitness major currently enrolled in U-M's School of Kinesiology earned both Academic All-Big Ten recognition and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar status in 2016, his first season as a letterwinner for the Wolverines. Wroblewski began his career at Michigan as a walk-on and was awarded a scholarship prior to the start of the 2016 season. » William V. Campbell Trophy Release
Chase Winovich (Sept. 25)
Co-Big Ten Defensive Player, Walter Camp National Player of the Week -- Senior defensive end Chase Winovich collected co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors as well as Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors following his day of defensive destruction waged at Purdue last Saturday (Sept. 23). Winovich wreaked havoc all afternoon, registering six solo stops with four tackles-for-loss and three sacks, setting career highs in all three categories. The Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, native is tied for second in the nation with 6.0 sacks, averaging 1.5 per contest through four games this season, which also puts him halfway to the program single-season record of 12.0 sacks shared by LaMarr Woodley (2006) and David Bowens (1996). » Big Ten Release | Walter Camp Release
Quinn Nordin (Sept. 18)
Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week -- Sophomore kicker Quinn Nordin earned his second career Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honor. Nordin's second conference accolade in his first three weeks is also his first outright, as he shared co-Player of the Week honors after his debut against Florida (Sept. 2) in the Advocare Classic. Nordin had a high-scoring and highly efficient game last weekend against Air Force (Sept. 16), converting on all five of his field goal tries (35, 26, 49, 29, 36 yards) in addition to both his point after touchdown attempts. In all, it amounted to 17 of Michigan's 29 points, one shy of the single-game program record for a kicker, and also tied a program record with K.C. Lopata (2009), J.D. Carlson (1990) and Mike Gillette (1988) for most made field goals in a single game. » Big Ten Release
Tyree Kinnel (Sept. 11)
Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week -- Junior free safety Tyree Kinnel had a career game against Cincinnati on Saturday (Sept. 9) and was rewarded for his efforts with his first career Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week accolade. Kinnel led the Wolverines in tackles for the first time in his career, collecting nine total with a career-high seven solo stops. His pass breakups (two), first-ever sack and tackle for loss (1.0, eight yards) and first interception set new career-best marks in those categories. Kinnel also delivered the first points of his Michigan career by returning his interception 28 yards for a touchdown, putting the Wolverines up by two scores at that point in the game. Kinnel is the first defensive player to win the weekly award for U-M since Jabrill Peppers collected the honor after the Sept. 17, 2016 win over Colorado. » Big Ten Release
Quinn Nordin (Sept. 4)
Big Ten Co-Special Teams Player of the Week -- After an impressive collegiate debut, sophomore kicker Quinn Nordin earned his first career Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week honor, sharing the award with Maryland's Antoine Brooks. The accolade came after Nordin converted 4-of-6 field goal tries, hitting from 25, 55, 30 and 50 yards, and went a perfect 3-of-3 in PAT tries. In doing so, Nordin became the first Michigan kicker to hit multiple field goals of 50 yards or more in the same game. His 55-yarder at 4:20 in the second quarter marked the longest field goal in a collegiate game played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and the longest converted by a U-M freshman. Just one game into his career, Nordin is already tied for third all-time at Michigan with two made field goals at 50 yards or longer. » Big Ten Release
