Michigan football sets record but not the one it wanted in NFL draft

Michigan football came up a little bit short in its quest to break the Georgia Bulldogs record of having 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL draft.

Former Michigan football head coach Jim Harbaugh said before the season he thought the Wolverines could set the record. Many analysts agreed with that assessment.

Michigan football had seven during the first two days of the draft. So there seemed to be a good chance. However, the Wolverines came up short finishing with 13 after A.J. Barner (Seahawks), Trevor Keegan (Eagles), Michael Barrett (Panthers), Jaylen Harrell (Titans), LaDarius Henderson (Texans), and Cornelius Johnson (Chargers) were each picked on Saturday.

That wasn’t enough to set the NFL draft record. But it was good enough to break the program record set previously under Jim Harbaugh of 12. It was cool to see Johnson join the Chargers, just like Junior Colson.

Johnson feels like a dude who should have gotten drafted much earlier. Braiden McGregor didn’t get drafted at all. Neither did Josh Wallace, Trente Jones, Drake Nugent, or Karsen Barnhart. It’s disappointing for those guys but their careers aren’t over.

Michigan football players signed as undrafted free agents

Plenty of undrafted players make the NFL all the time and some of these guys have already been signed. According to On3.com, Trente Jones has signed with the Packers. Josh Wallace also inked a deal with the Rams, while Drake Nugent has also signed but the team wasn’t announced. McGregor will find a home too and I can’t believe he wasn’t drafted after the way he played this past season.

Even though the Wolverines didn’t set the NFL draft record, it was a successful weekend all the same. Michigan football had more draft picks than any other team and it served as a celebration, once again, of Team 144’s national championship season.

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