42 interesting facts about Michigan football players you might not already know

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It’s really hard to keep up with college football rosters these days.

Sure, there are a few players who will stick around for a full four years, but between transfers, high school recruits, and early NFL draft departures, the roster turnover is more dramatic than ever.

But as we head toward the first full weekend of games, there’s no better time to get to know the team a little better.

So, we went through the bios on the official Michigan football roster to help you get to know some of the Wolverines. You’ve probably heard some of these, but I bet there are even more you didn’t know (I certainly didn’t).

Here are the interesting facts we found:

• Senior defensive back Jaden Mangham was a starting safety for in-state rival Michigan State in 2023 before transferring to Michigan. He made five tackles against the Wolverines in 2023 and also played against them in 2022.
• Fresno State transfer quarterback Mikey Keene was at the Michigan football opener last season as a visitor, completing 22 of 36 pass attempts for one touchdown and two picks in a 30-10 loss.
• Defensive backs T.J. and Tevis Metcalf are brothers who played at Arkansas last season. Both transferred to Michigan this offseason. T.J. is a junior and Tevis is a sophomore.
• Wide receiver Channing Goodwin’s father, Jonathan, was a second-team All-American offensive lineman at U of M and played for Jim Harbaugh while with the San Francisco 49ers.
• Wide receiver Kendrick Bell’s is the brother of Ronnie Bell, who played at Michigan from 2018-2022 and was a captain in 2021 and 2022, when the Wolverines won two Big Ten titles.
• Kendrick Bell’s twin brother plays basketball at Southeast Missouri State. Ronnie Bell famously committed to play hoops at Missouri State before getting a scholarship offer from Michigan football.
• Linebacker Ernest Hausmann was born in Uganda. He was legally adopted at 2 years old, but didn’t move to the United States until he was 5 years old.
• Freshman quarterback Chase Herbstreit is the son of former Ohio State QB and well-known college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit (I bet you already knew this one).
• Chase Herbstreit’s mother was a cheerleader at Ohio State, and all four of his brothers are also college football players (three at Clemson, one at Ohio State).
• Before transferring to a high school in Georgia, senior tight end Marlin Klein began his American football career playing for the Cologne Crocodiles in his native Germany.
• Junior linebacker Troy Bowles, who transferred to Michigan this year after two seasons at Georgia, is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles.
• Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood is the second-highest-ranked high school recruit to go to Michigan since the modern era of recruiting rankings (since 2000), behind only defensive lineman Rashan Gary, per 247 Sports.
• The father of junior running back Justice Haynes, Verron Haynes, won Super Bowl XL with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2005-2006 NFL season).
• Justin Haynes rushed for 31 yards on four carries against Michigan during the Rose Bowl two seasons ago, when Michigan beat Alabama in overtime to move onto the national championship. Haynes didn’t play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan last season.
• As a true freshman last season, linebacker Cole Sullivan was named Michigan’s Rookie of the Year on special teams.
• Freshman running back Jasper Parker and freshman wide receiver Jacob Washington went to the same high school as Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy, and played for the same head coach.
• Freshman defensive back Kainoa Winston’s cousin, Kevin Winston Jr., is a starting safety for Penn State who received All-Big Ten honorable mention last season.
• Senior defensive back Nico Andrighetto has been Michigan’s Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
• Fifth-year running back John Volker, who transferred to Michigan after four years at Princeton, has a brother who competed with the United States bobsled team in the 2022 Oympics.
• Fifth-year linebacker Rocco Milia, who went to Brother Rice High School, transferred to Michigan this offseason after spending four years at Columbia University.
• Rocco Milia’s father, Marc Milia, was an offensive lineman at Michigan from 1989-1993, winning four-straight Big Ten titles and earning second-team All-American honors in 1993.
• Rocco Milia’s uncles, Kevin and Donnie Kolcheff, played football at Central Michigan in the 1980s.
• Shomari Stone’s father, Shomari Stone, is a University of Michigan graduate who now works as a news anchor in Washington, D.C.
• Sophomore linebacker Zach Ludwig is the nephew of former Michigan football strength and conditioning coach Ben Herbert.
• Fifth-year senior Max Bredeson is now a captain for the second year in a row, tying his brother, Ben, who was a captain in 2018 and 2019.
• Max Bredeson’s other brother, Jack, was a pitcher on the Michigan baseball team that came one game away from winning the College World Series in 2019.
• Fifth-year offensive lineman Greg Crippen played high school ball with legendary Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy at IMG Academy.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Dayvid Palepale was born in Anchorage, Alaska.
• Dayvid Palepale is cousins with Detroit Lions star tackle Penei Sewell.
• Junior linebacker John Weidenbach is the grandson of former University of Michigan Athletic Director Jack Weidenbach.
• Five-star freshman offensive lineman Andrew Babalola, who is out for the season with a knee injury, committed to Michigan out of Kansas but was born in West Bloomfield.
• Freshman offensive lineman Kaden Strayhorn is the son of Jason Strayhorn, who played for Nick Saban at Michigan State from 1994-1998 and now works as an analyst for the Spartans Radio Network.
• Sophomore defensive lineman Manuel Beigel is from Frankfurt, Germany, where Michigan is scheduled to open the 2026 season against Western Michigan.
• Sophomore offensive lineman Blake Frazier is the son of Steve Frazier, who won a national championship as an offensive lineman for the Wolverines in 1997.
• Fifth-year offensive lineman Lawrence Hattar spent the past three seasons with Ferris State, winning Division II national championship in 2022 and 2024.
• As a true freshman last season, tight end Hogan Hansen was named Michigan’s Rookie of the Year on offense.
• Graduate wide receiver C.J. Charleston, 24, has been a college football player since 2019. He played for Youngstown State from 2019-2023 and then transferred to Michigan in 2024. He redshirted in 2019, didn’t have to burn a year for COVID, and missed all of 2022 with injury, which is why he has eligibility remaining for 2024.
• Senior long snapper Evan Boutorwick has a sister who plays soccer at Toledo and a sister who plays volleyball at Lake Superior State.
• Senior kicker/punter Beckham Sunderland, who transferred from Texas State this offseason, played for FCS Cincinnati, of Major League Soccer, after graduating from high school in 2020.
• Beckham Sunderland is the nephew of former U of M kicker Brandon Kornblue, who won a national championship with the Wolverines in 1997 and then went on to start Kornblue Kicking, which is recognized to this day as a top ranking site for kickers and punters.
• Freshman defensive lineman Nate Marshall is the son of Khara Smith Marshall, who is in the DePaul University Hall of Fame for being a three-time All-American basketball player.
• Freshman defensive lineman Bobby Kanka is the son of Tom Kanka, who had a stint with the Detroit Lions.

Do you know something interesting about a Michigan football player that isn’t on this list? Shoot me an email at dhutchinson@wdiv.com!