There are 78 days until the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines football team takes the field in the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State. Each day until then, we’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson switched from the jersey No. 14 to the legendary No. 1 ahead of last season, partly to motivate himself ahead of his final year in the maize and blue.
Michigan has a long line of great wide receivers who have sported the digit. Legendary U-M wideout Anthony Carter (1979-82)established the legacy for the number, making donning it a coveted honor that has been since given to deserving wing-helmeted wide receivers such as Greg McMurtry (1986-89), Derrick Alexander (1989-93), David Terrell (1998-2000), Braylon Edwards (2001-04) and others.
While Wilson’s career as a whole wasn’t as great as Carter or Edwards or some of the others, he had a monster senior season, registering team highs in catches (48), receiving yards (789) and receiving touchdowns (12).
His 12 receiving touchdowns were the most by a Michigan player since Mario Manningham recorded an identical number in 2007.
Wilson made his mark in the biggest of games, too. He hung on for a tough touchdown grab on 3rd and 10 to give Michigan a 14-3 lead in a 30-24 win over Ohio State. He also came up huge in the 27-20 Rose Bowl win over Alabama, with an amazing catch to get his team near the goal line, before hauling in a reception and walk-in touchdown to tie the game late in regulation.
“Our favorite play, that’s mine and [quarterback] J.J. [McCarthy‘s] favorite play, got us in the end zone there when we really needed it,” head coach Jim Harbaugh said of the play-action touchdown.
All told in his career, Wilson — a 6-foot-0, 192-pounder from Hawai’i — caught 107 passes for 1,707 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
79 days | 80 days | 81 days | 82 days | 84 days | 85 days | 87 days | 88 days | 89 days | 90 days | 91 days | 92 days | 93 days | 95 days | 96 days | 97 days | 98 days | 99 days | 100 days
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