NFL combine offers uncomfortable reminder 2023 Michigan football was one of a kind

INDIANAPOLIS — Roughly 270 miles from the Michigan football headquarters where he spent the past four years of his life, Braiden McGregor marveled at the scene before him.

Here he was inside Hall J of the Indiana Convention Center, standing on stage at the NFL scouting combine. Right beside him was one of his old tag-team partners on the Wolverines’ defensive front, Jaylen Harrell. McGregor peeked over at him and remarked, “It feels like Schembechler Hall around here.”

“It’s awesome. Everybody keeps saying, ‘Hey, you guys roll deep.”

Seven weeks after winning the national championship, the core of that undefeated juggernaut is set to reunite at this annual showcase event. Eighteen Wolverines were invited, a record number of representatives from one school in a single year. The massive Michigan presence here offers additional confirmation that one of the best teams in recent college football history resided in Ann Arbor last fall.

But it also provides a sobering reminder that the 2023 Wolverines were one of a kind, with a large contingent of upperclassmen, a rare talent at quarterback, high-end skill players on offense and a successful head coach who are no longer there. Before leaving for the Los Angeles Chargers last month, Jim Harbaugh maximized the potential of the best roster he assembled, seizing the opportunity to lead Michigan to its first national title this century and finish off a phenomenal 40-3 stretch over the past three seasons.

Feb 28, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan defensive lineman Braiden McGregor (DL43) talks to the media at the 2024 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-combine-offers-uncomfortable-reminder-111040370.html

Author : Detroit Free Press

Publish date : 2024-02-29 11:10:40

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