Michigan football has seen its fair share of national award winners in recent years, with players like Olu Oluawatimi, Jake Moody, Junior Colson, and Aidan Hutchinson bringing hardware back to Ann Arbor.
And that’s no different with the 145th edition of the Wolverines, with numerous players making a statement in Week 1.
Check out each player competing for an award below. 👇
Dominic Zvada: Lou Groza Award
Dominic Zvada, a transfer kicker from Arkansas State, may have jumped to the top of the Lou Groza leaderboard with his impressive debut against Fresno State. Zvada made kicks of 43, 53, and 55 yards on Saturday night, with the latter good for the sixth-longest kick in Michigan’s illustrious history.
After Moody won the Groza award in 2021, and the impressive homecoming for James Turner last year, Zvada looks primed to be another in a long list of elite kickers donning the winged helmet and become the second to take home the honor of the nation’s best kicker.
Colston Loveland: Mackey Award
The lone Wolverine to win the Mackey Award, given to the country’s best tight end, is Jake Butt – the most decorated at the position in Michigan’s history. But junior Colston Loveland is well on his way to a dominant junior season after his impressive debut. The Idaho native was new starting quarterback Davis Warren’s No. 1 target in the season opener, finishing with 8 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown.
With his ability to line up as both an inline tight end and split out wide, Michigan will need to be creative in how they get Loveland the ball. Regardless, he has an excellent shot at breaking Butt’s record for receiving yards in a career, needing just 475 yards the rest of the season to take the top spot.
Will Johnson: Thorpe, Nagurski & Bednarik
Will Johnson came into the season as one of the most hyped cornerbacks in recent years – and for good reason. In 2022, he was named a Freshman All-American and earned first-team All-Big Ten and All-American honors as a sophomore. While there was much hand-wringing regarding his performance against Fresno State, where he gave up a couple of receptions, the pre-season All-American slammed the door on the Bulldogs with an 86 yard pick six in the fourth quarter to extend Michigan’s lead to 20.
Johnson nearly had another pick earlier in the game, getting a hand on a ball thrown on an out route in the second quarter. Time will tell if teams really want to test Johnson throughout the season. If he’s able to snag a few more interceptions and be as involved in the run game as he was in the opener, he will have the name-brand recognition and stat line to be a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy & Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to the country’s best defensive player, in addition to the Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back).
Jaishawn Barham: Butkus Award
Finally, Jaishawn Barham came to Ann Arbor for the spring semester with much anticipation, and that hype grew only louder throughout fall camp. While he only posted two tackles, he was all over the field for the Wolverines and registered a pressure forcing Fresno State quarterback Mikey Keene to throw the ball out of bounds.
If he lives up the billing and excels under a more aggressive approach from new defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, the sky’s the limit for the Maryland transfer and the Dick Butkus Award is not out of the question.
Other Awards with Multiple Wolverines Competing
All four members of the Michigan defensive front, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, Derrick Moore, and Josiah Stewart, had fantastic showings on Saturday, with Stewart collecting two sacks and adding another tackle for loss when he blew up a designed screen to a receiver. The question with these four is if they will cannibalize each other’s stats throughout the 2024 campaign. After all, there are only so many opportunities for sacks and tackles for loss.
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