Why is FSU TE coach Tim Brewster so salty about Michigan football's NFL draft success?

Brewster 0-2 against Michigan as head coach in his career

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – When the 2017 NFL draft weekend came to an end, Michigan football had more players selected than any other school.

Michigan sent 11 players to the draft, with Alabama (10) close behind. The Wolverines graduated so many seniors from the 2016 season that it wasn't a surprise to see nearly a dozen players drafted at the next level.

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But one FBS position coach seemed to take issue with Michigan's success, and he doesn't coach for rivals Ohio State or Michigan State -- or even a team in the Big Ten.

It was Tim Brewster, the tight ends coach for Florida State.

"Most draft picks doesn't correlate to winning....Just ask Michigan! #OrangeBowlChampions!" Brewster tweeted after the draft.

If this tweet seems a little strange, that's because it is. Yes, Florida State topped Michigan, 33-32, in last season's Orange Bowl, but why is the tight ends coach going out of his way to poke fun at the Wolverines on Twitter?

Could the answer have something to do with the Little Brown Jug?

Brewster spent four seasons in the Big Ten coaching for Minnesota, his only head coaching job to date. In two games against the Wolverines, he didn't fare well.

The first game, in Ann Arbor, resulted in a 34-10 drubbing while Michigan rested two of its best players. Star running back Mike Hart and starting quarterback Chad Henne never sniffed the field, but the rest of Michigan's roster outgained Brewster's Golden Gophers by 330 yards (561-231).

Minnesota jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the Wolverines scored 13 points before halftime and 21 unanswered in the second half.

Losing to Michigan in Ann Arbor isn't something to be ashamed of, but it didn't get any better for Brewster the following season when the worst Michigan team in living memory went into Minneapolis.

The Wolverines, which had lost five straight games to Illinois (by 25), Toledo, Penn State (by 29), Michigan State (by 14) and Purdue, went into the Metrodome with a 2-7 record.

Minnesota didn't look like a 7-2 team in that matchup, getting down 16-0 by halftime and eventually losing by 23. The Golden Gophers failed to get into the end zone against a team that gave up seven touchdowns to an awful Purdue team just seven days earlier.

Michigan and Minnesota didn't play the next two seasons, and by the time they resumed their rivalry in 2011, Brewster had been fired as head coach. He finished with a 6-21 conference record and 15-30 record overall in three and a half seasons.

Could Brewster's struggles against Michigan nearly a decade ago explain the hidden venom in his tweet? His current school is coming off a 10-win season and figures to be one of the favorites to play in the College Football Playoff next season, but those Minnesota days might still haunt him.

Jim Harbaugh, of course, didn't just let this go.


About the Author

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.

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