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In my all-time leaders series, I move on to career sack numbers.
- 36.0 - Mark Messner (1985-1988)
- 29.5 - Brandon Graham (2006-2009)
- 25.0 - James Hall (1996-1999)
- 24.0 - Chris Hutchinson (1989-1992)
- 24.0 - Jason Horn (1992-1995)
- 24.0 - Glen Steele (1994-1997)
- 24.0 - LaMarr Woodley (2003-2006)
- 20.0 - Tim Jamison (2005-2008)
- 19.0 - Robert Thompson (1979-1982)
- 19.0 - Taco Charlton (2013-2016)
- 18.5 - Chase Winovich (2014-2018)
- 18.5 - Aidan Hutchinson (2018-2021)
- 16.5 - Shawn Crable (2004-2007)
- 16.5 - Joshua Uche (2016-2019)
- 14.5 - Victor Hobson (1999-2002)
- 12.5 - Shantee Orr (2000-2002)
- 12.0 - Larry Stevens (2000-2003)
- 11.5 - Dan Rumishek (1999-2002)
- 11.5 - Frank Clark (2011-2014)
- 11.5 - Khaleke Hudson (2016-2019)
- 11.0 - Larry Foote (1998-2001)
- 11.0 - David Ojabo (2019-2021)
- 10.0 - Grant Bowman (2000-2003)
- 10.0 - Pat Massey (2002-2005)
- 10.0 - Rashan Gary (2016-2018)
I found as many individual stats as I could going back to the late 1990s, and I found Messner's separately. If you have any additional sack totals/records to share with me, they would be appreciated.
This was originally posted on March 17, 2020.
Aiden Hutchinson's senior year cannot be exaggerated. Just look at the leap from "good" to "among the greatest ever"
ReplyDeleteReturning paid off in his positioning among UM greats, and in draft position/pay. Not that everyone would benefit as much from such a choice, but holy cow AH is on the very extreme of such discussion
No question it paid off in college glory, but it will likely cost Hutchinson millions in NFL earnings. With the level of wealth he'll have, and how much fun he had in 2021, I doubt he regrets it.
DeleteGreg Mattison involved a lot in the list.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the secret behind Messner's numbers? Some thoughts:
ReplyDelete(a) He was simply *that* good, or
(b) Others on his teams were also so good they were creating gaps for him, or
(c) The other Big Ten teams those years weren't that good, or
(d) Michigan introduced some new defensive scheme that other teams weren't prepared for, or
(e) Something else, or
(f) Some combination of the above?
To be honest, I was not old enough during Messner's time to really grasp football. My take on a lot of players during his era was that as a team, Michigan was the most talented squad in the Big Ten year in and year out, so they dominated. It was a "pick your poison" type of situation for other teams when trying to figure out who to block.
DeleteAgain, that's not from watching the team at the time. That's just what I *think* I know based on watching highlights, looking at records, etc.
I'm was old enough during that time, but that was when graduated and moved out of Michigan, so there's a gap in my familiarity with Michigan football.
DeleteThat said, given there's nobody else from that era in the list, I'm going to guess that Messner had something special going. In his first season (1985, as a redshirt freshman) he was selected as first team all-Big Ten. He got all-Big Ten again in 1986, then all-American in 1987, and in 1988 he earned *consensus* all-American. So all four years he played he earned "all" designation.
His NFL career was limited: drafted in the 6th, he played a few games, then suffered a career ending injury. Apparently he went on to business success at Kodak and Konica.
Messner was the best college level D lineman that I've ever seen, he was pretty close to unblockable. He was smallish for a guy playing with his hand in the dirt at probably no more than 260 tops. And actually it was both hands in the dirt as Bo's D linemen were all coming out of a 4 point stance. If you've ever seen the video that Bo did on defensive line technique, Messner perfected all that stuff.
DeleteBo played a 5/3 and slanted his D linemen on every play. This really played to Messner’s strengths which were quickness and speed. He was also advantaged by playing next to very solid Middle Guards, as Billy Harris and TJ Osman both were very under-appreciated across the BIG. I do think it’s fair to say that our D linemen in those days were absolutely all system guys. Bo wanted them quick and strong, he didn’t care that much about big. He was diving through gaps, aiming for the guy lined up to your right or left side’s hip, rather than standing in there and taking on the guy lined up on your nose. It was a wonderfully disruptive approach to defensive line play. Particularly against the run. The thing Messner added was the speed to get to the QB. Guy had breathtaking closing speed.
But mostly, and the thing that defined his game was the fact that he was just too damn quick to get a hat on. Think Maurice Hurst … only quicker.
He was moved back to LB as a pro, the position his father played as a Lion. He caught a bad knee injury in his first year as a pro and was done quick.
Chris Hutchinson was very much the same guy, not quite as quick ... but nobody was.
DeleteLots of good points made above. I think Thunder is right that there was an overall talent advantage that we don't have anymore. Some stat-padding in this era when it was the big 2 little 8. Wisconsin, Indiana, Northwestern, etc. were cupcakes. Roanman's point about system is good too - Bo had tons of guys who weren't all that impressive physically but produced at an elite level. Messner seemed like a LB playing DL. Still - those numbers are crazy and it was just a great mix of talent and fit.
Delete