Michigan football: 5 most underrated players in Michigan Wolverines history

Chad Henne was good right away as a freshman for the Wolverines.

Chad Henne has to be on this list because he is without question one of the greatest passers in the history of Michigan football. The West Lawn, Pennsylvania native became the second big-name quarterback from his alma mater to star in the Big Ten. Kerry Collins did that about a decade prior to him with the Penn State Nittany Lions. Henne set records while playing for Michigan.

Henne was a two-time all-conference performer for Michigan as an upperclassman. He threw for over 2,500 yards in three of his four seasons with the Wolverines. The only reason he didn’t make it four years in a row was he missed a few games due to injury as a senior in 2007. He still managed to be named First-Team All-Big Ten that season anyway.

Henne completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 9,715 yards, 87 touchdowns and 37 interceptions. He holds his alma mater’s records in most major passing categories, including completions, passing attempts, yards, touchdowns and interceptions. He would go on to be a second-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in 2008, joining his teammate Jake Long in Miami.

After spending four years with the Dolphins, Henne played six seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars before arriving with the Kansas City Chiefs to serve as Patrick Mahomes’ backup beginning in 2018. He was part of Kansas City’s Super Bowl 54-winning roster last season. Though mostly a career backup in the NFL, Henne remains a record-setter while at Michigan.