Michigan football: 5 most underrated players in Michigan Wolverines history

The five most underrated players in Michigan football history.

Michigan football has one of the richest histories in college football.

The Michigan Wolverines have won nearly 1,000 games in their illustrious football history. Michigan has claimed 11 national titles, leaving five more unclaimed sitting on the table. The Wolverines have won 42 conference championships, seen 83 of their players be consensus All-Americans and three of their star athletes bring the Heisman Trophy back to Ann Arbor.

While Michigan is rich in tradition, the Wolverines have only won one of their 11 claimed national titles since the 1950s. Despite being one of college football’s undeniable blue-bloods, Michigan has never outright won a division title or been to the College Football Playoff in the last decade out of the Big Ten. That’s not to say Michigan hasn’t been good but hasn’t been great either.

With former star quarterback Jim Harbaugh entering his sixth season leading his alma mater, Michigan creeps ever closer towards the top of the Big Ten East pecking order. One of these days, the Wolverines will beat the hated Ohio State Buckeyes, as well as the Penn State Nittany Lions in a given campaign and finally make the trek to Indianapolis to play for a conference championship.

For this to happen, several guys are going to need to step up. These so-called underrated players are the difference-makers between having a 10-win season and a 12-win season. So who are some of these underrated stars from Michigan football from yesteryear? Let’s have a look at these five and see what they have in common.

Here are the five most underrated players in Michigan football history.

Ty Law is best known for his Pro Football Hall of Fame career spent primarily with the New England Patriots. He spent a decade in Foxborough, won three Super Bowls and made four of his five career Pro Bowls playing in New England. While he isn’t yet a College Football Hall of Famer, Law had an impressive three-year run with Michigan in the early 1990s.

The Aliquippa, Pennsylvania native is one of four football standouts from his hometown who either have or will have bronze busts in Canton, Ohio. The other three men are Mike Ditka, Tony Dorsett and Darrelle Revis. Law is the first player of note on the defensive side of the ball to make his way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame from the Bill Belichick dynasty in New England.

While at Michigan, Law was a two-time First-Team All-Big Ten player in the Wolverines secondary. As a sophomore in 1993, he had six interceptions for 79 yards. He backed it up with two picks for eight yards in a First-Team All-American season for Michigan. After three years in Ann Arbor, Law entered the 1995 NFL Draft where he would be the No. 23 overall pick by New England.

Though Law’s illustrious pro career overshadows what he did in his three years in college, Law was one of the more accomplished defensive backs in Michigan football history. The only thing that hurts him in hindsight is 1997 Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson played for the Wolverines right after Law went to the Patriots.