The Michigan Wolverines boast an NFL Alumni base of 30 former Wolverines currently playing in the pros. They also have one of the youngest groups of former players in all of the NFL, as 20 of the 30 current NFL players came into the league within the past three years.
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That's two-thirds of the current NFL alumni from a prominent college making it to the league in just the past three seasons. (Obviously Michigan has had more than 30 players in the NFL over this time period, but this list looks at current NFL players only).
While Michigan has a few tenured NFL veterans — New England's Tom Brady and Alan Branch among the most notable — the vast majority of Michigan's current NFL players are new to the league. The Wolverines have very few NFL veterans in the range of 4-7 years in the league.
Michigan sent five players into the NFL in 2015, five more in 2016, and 10 after the 2017 NFL Draft. If you extend it out one year further and include the three players that went to the NFL in 2014, Michigan has sent 23 players to the NFL in the past four years. That's 80 percent of a 30-person alumni base headed to the NFL in just four years.
Here's a look at all the Michigan players currently on NFL rosters, and in what season they began their NFL careers:
| Player | Pos. | NFL Team | Draft Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Butt | TE | Denver | 2017 |
| Taco Charlton | DE | Dallas | 2017 |
| Jehu Chesson | WR | Kansas City | 2017 |
| Amara Darboh | WR | Seattle | 2017 |
| Ben Gedeon | LB | Minnesota | 2017 |
| Ryan Glasgow | DT | Cincinnati | 2017 |
| Delano Hill | S | Seattle | 2017 |
| Jourdan Lewis | CB | Dallas | 2017 |
| Jabrill Peppers | S | Cleveland | 2017 |
| Chris Wormley | DT | Baltimore | 2017 |
| Graham Glasgow | C | Detroit | 2016 |
| Willie Henry | DT | Baltimore | 2016 |
| Joe Kerridge | FB | Green Bay | 2016 |
| Jake Rudock | QB | Detroit | 2016 |
| Jarrod Wilson | S | Jacksonville | 2016 |
| Brennen Beyer | LB | Baltimore | 2015 |
| Frank Clark | DE | Seattle | 2015 |
| Devin Funchess | WR | Carolina | 2015 |
| Jake Ryan | LB | Green Bay | 2015 |
| Matt Wile | P | Arizona | 2015 |
| Taylor Lewan | OT | Tennessee | 2014 |
| Michael Schofield | OT | Denver | 2014 |
| Fitzgerald Toussaint | RB | Pittsburgh | 2014 |
| Patrick Omameh | G | Jacksonville | 2013 |
| Brandon Graham | DE | Philadelphia | 2010 |
| Chad Henne | QB | Jacksonville | 2008 |
| Alan Branch | DL | New England | 2007 |
| Jeremy Clark | CB | N.Y. Jets | 2007 |
| David Harris | LB | N.Y. Jets | 2007 |
| Tom Brady | QB | New England | 2000 |
What does this mean for Michigan? To start, it means Jim Harbaugh's early success with the Wolverines is not surprising. He was left with a great team when he took over in 2015. It also means his coaching staff was able to retain many of the top high school recruits left over from the previous staff, continue recruiting at a high level, and groom those players into NFL talent.
Putting more players into the NFL is one of the best ways to attract the top talent among high school players, and it looks like Michigan is doing just that. The Wolverines had the No. 6 recruiting class in 2016 and the No. 5 class in 2017 (according to 247 Sports).
As of the start of June 2017, the Wolverines have already received commitments from seven 4-star prospects in the recruiting class of 2018.
Michigan has the potential to become a national powerhouse under Jim Harbaugh, and the success of former Wolverines at the NFL level will only serve to continue that trend.
