Greatest corn born skill position players in Michigan history?
Since Bo, Michigan's skill position guys seem to come out of the sunbelt while their linemen tend to be corn born.
Who are the greatest skill position guys in the history of Michigan football who were born and raised in the Midwest, and played their HS FB in the Midwest? My thoughts -- QB: JJ with Elvis a close second. RB: Harmon. R: Desmond.
Greatness must have been attained while at Michigan.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:22 PM ^
A friend of mine made a label for a corn whiskey called "Hard Corn Pour" it was fantastic! The name was great as well.
February 28th, 2024 at 11:24 PM ^
Hardpore Corn
February 29th, 2024 at 2:56 PM ^
Charles Woodson is from Fremont, Ohio
lots of corn around there.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:27 PM ^
Desmond has an argument for best skill position player in Michigan history regardless of birthplace so he’s definitely on the list. Tyrone Wheatley would also be on the list.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:29 PM ^
Yeah had to get into an MGOSCRAP about him being an NFL bust the other day. All in good fun they just meant he was a disappointment from the WR standpoint only which Im sure we all agree. 12,000 all purpose yards is legit though. Desmond and Denard have those personalities that would fit right in with this years (2023) squad.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:37 PM ^
Not sure how anyone can call a guy who was a Super Bowl MVP a “bust,” wholly apart from the numbers you cite. Not the player he was in college, but certainly had a decent pro career.
February 29th, 2024 at 2:32 AM ^
Im right there with you.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:35 PM ^
Braylon. Tyrone Wheatley. DPJ. Seems like a lot of our skill players are from the Midwest
February 28th, 2024 at 8:39 PM ^
Rob Lyle, Ricky Powers, John Kolesar, Dennis Franklin, Rick Leach. Yeah, plenty to list.
February 28th, 2024 at 9:01 PM ^
Pretty much everyone who played for Bo was Midwest. Illinois, ohio, Michigan produced some great players.
February 28th, 2024 at 10:59 PM ^
JJ is from Illinois if QBs count. And isn't Jourdan Lewis from Detroit? There's tons of local skill talent.
February 28th, 2024 at 11:46 PM ^
I wouldn’t say a ton of skill is from the Midwest. The players listed are but MW doesn’t have a high frequency of producing annually
February 29th, 2024 at 9:38 AM ^
Blue@LSU did some analysis on where the top recruits come from in 2023. Talent is concentrated in the South. Below is me defending the Midwest without data before finding the linked post.
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I know there is some analysis out there that I'm too lazy to find, but I think that this is a false or at least exaggerated narrative. Elite talent can come from anywhere and it is probably fairly evenly distributed. Detroit high schools have produced the most NFL players.
Kids play football year round in Texas and its population is 3x Michigan or Ohio. ... but Delaware, Maryland and Utah produce more NFL players per capita than Texas does. To the OP's point, FL, AL, MS, LA and GA do top the list of NFL players per capita. Though I'm guessing FL gets over indexed because of IMG and some of the other academies that steal players from other states. ...and I believe those states have younger populations.
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Despite the facts I'm going to continue to believe that Michigan and the B1G footprint are superior. Climate change is going to continue and the Great Lakes will be the only decent place to live. Hope those stupid Texans like playing football in a desert.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:42 PM ^
Charles Woodson
February 28th, 2024 at 10:13 PM ^
It should not have taken this long to get to this answer if Desmond and Elvis were in the OP who were also from Ohio.
February 29th, 2024 at 8:25 AM ^
This is the only answer.
February 28th, 2024 at 8:59 PM ^
OP, I appreciate the humorous title, but no way am I taking this at face value:
Since Bo, Michigan's skill position guys seem to come out of the sunbelt while their linemen tend to be corn born.
Show your work, please. Until proven otherwise, I'd say you're dealing in silly stereotypes.
Look at this year's team. JJ, Edwards, CoJo, and Loveland are all from northern states. Is Hawaii (Wilson) the sun belt? Sure, why not? Corum is from Maryland, a mid-Atlantic state.
Linemen? Henderson, Harrell, and Graham are from sunny states. Moore and Jenkins are from Corum's state. Northern states for the rest.
As others have noted here, there doesn't seem to be any clear regional bias by position.
February 28th, 2024 at 10:31 PM ^
The OP must have had Anthony Carter in mind. AC was a 3 time Heisman vote getter, IIRC, and the best player on the great 1980 team.
February 28th, 2024 at 9:32 PM ^
The list would potentially have to consist (at least partially) of XM's sons and daughter:
https://www.mgoblog.com/diaries/how-we-got-our-maize-real-maize-rage
XM needs to encourage his older kids to go the transfer portal route to Ann Arbor, and then his twins to commit out of high school.
Besides, I tried finding if anyone raised in Nebraska ever went on to play for Michigan. Came up empty there.
February 28th, 2024 at 9:38 PM ^
These guys say "ope!" Each time they juke
February 28th, 2024 at 9:50 PM ^
“Michigan's skill position guys seem to come out of the sunbelt while their linemen tend to be corn born.”
OLs Steve Hutchinson, Steve Everitt, Stefan Humphries, Michael Dames, Rod Payne, David Baas, Dave Chester, Mason Cole were from Florida
OLs Doug Skene, Mark Ortmann, Ladarius Henderson are from Texas, as was DL Josh Williams
OLs Jeff Backus and Trente Jones are from Georgia
OL Adam Kraus and DE James Hall were from Louisiana
February 29th, 2024 at 9:47 PM ^
Don’t let facts get in the way of a good story.
February 28th, 2024 at 9:52 PM ^
This is a ridiculous premise. There's at least a dozen NFL starters from the UofM O-line that are from the Sunbelt. And at least that, if not more, skilled position players from the corn belt.
February 28th, 2024 at 9:53 PM ^
O-line: Taylor Lewan, David Baas, Jeff Backus, and Adam Kraus, to start.
February 28th, 2024 at 10:01 PM ^
RB: budding greatness derailed by injury. Westland John Glenn’s Tony Boles.
Boles has had a difficult life. Drug addiction, robbery, multiple incarcerations. Very sad.
February 29th, 2024 at 2:32 AM ^
Qb: Jim Harbaugh Toledo, Ohio
Wr: Desmond Howard Cleveland, Ohio
Rb: Tyrone Wheatley Inkster, Michigan
February 29th, 2024 at 7:53 AM ^
Wheatley.
February 29th, 2024 at 9:48 AM ^
Jason Avant (Chicago), Jake Butt (OH), Tai Streets (Chicago), Mario Manningham (OH), Amarah Darboh (Iowa - not born in IA, but went to HS there), Devin Funchess (MI)
February 29th, 2024 at 10:01 AM ^
Harbaugh was born in Ohio and raised in Ann Arbor. He went to HS in Cali, but he counts as midwesterner in my book.
And he was a pretty good QB. I'm biased because he was the QB during my first 2 years in A2.
February 29th, 2024 at 10:24 AM ^
I like the idea of thinking back into Michigan history this way, but this premise just doesn't seem accurate
February 29th, 2024 at 12:28 PM ^
Some guy named Woodson came from the MW.
February 29th, 2024 at 5:08 PM ^
I understand the question's intent, but the answer will always be Charles Woodson. I don't remember where all the players are from, but is TE considered a skill position?
When I think of top all-time players at skill positions who I know came from the "sunbelt," Anthony Thomas and Denard are the only two that come to mind right off the top of my head. The Midwest guys I could think of have already been covered, except Willie Heston.
Edit: Also, I'm pretty sure Anthony Carter was from Florida.
February 29th, 2024 at 6:37 PM ^
Another QB Rick Leach
RB Wheatley
WR Braylon Edwards
TE Jake Butt