In the upcoming weeks, a number of former Wolverine standouts will be playing football, despite the NFL and the Michigan football team being in their offseasons.
This next weekend will see the debut of the new United Football League, which will feature eight former Michigan players. Following the merging of the XFL and USFL last season, the UFL is making its debut this season with eight teams. After each club plays ten games, which will all be broadcast on FOX, ABC, ESPN, or FS1, there will be a four-team playoff in June.
Check out the league schedule for this season and the former Wolverines who are scheduled to participate.
De’Veon Smith, a multi-year starter at running back, and former Michigan defensive back Brandon Rusnak (previously Watson) will be on the Renegades. Smith has made five appearances in the NFL with 27 rushing yards, while Rusnak has played in 28 games with 30 tackles.
Taco Charlton, a former first-round draft pick, will be a member of the Stallions. Throughout his 60 career games as a professional, Charlton has racked up 95 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and four forced fumbles.
The Roughnecks will be led by Carlo Kemp, who is still aiming for his NFL debut. In his Michigan career, Kemp amassed 83 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss while serving as the Wolverines’ captain in 2019 and 2020.
Chuck Filiaga, an offensive lineman from Michigan who joined the Brahmas as a graduate transfer, will be an offensive lineman. Before transferring to play for the Golden Gophers, Filiaga participated in 39 games for the Wolverines, starting ten of them.
With three former Wolverines, the Battlehawks will have the highest number of former Michigan players this season. Lavert Hill and Channing Stribling, two former top defensive backs, will man the secondary, and Juwann Bushell Beatty will play along the offensive line.
Michigan hockey defeated North Dakota in the NCAA Tournament’s first round, and now they are one victory away from making their third consecutive trip to the Frozen Four. However, the rival that has caused Michigan headaches throughout the season stands in the way of the Wolverines’ attendance at the college hockey championship weekend: State of Michigan.
Prior to preventing Michigan from winning the Big Ten Tournament three times in a row and giving MSU its first championship, the Spartans prevailed three games to one in the regular-season series at Munn Ice Arena. However, the game on Sunday night is the largest to date—not just for the season, but also for all of human history.
With 342 all-time encounters, Michigan vs. Michigan State is the most played rivalry in collegiate hockey. However, this Sunday marks the first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting between the legendary programs.
Despite MSU’s four-game winning streak at the end of the season, both programs have played rather equally. The Spartans’ key differentiator has been netminder Trey Augustine, the former commit to the University of Michigan. In the last regular-season series versus Michigan, he stopped 65 of 68 shots. He also performed admirably in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game. Artyom Levshunov, who was named to the All-Big Ten First Team and won the Big Ten Freshman and Defenseman of the Year titles, is the other standout freshman for Michigan State.
Furthermore, if Seamus Casey isn’t available, Michigan’s already poor defensive depth might be put to the test even more. For unknown reasons, the offensive-minded sophomore was sidelined for the last 40 minutes of NoDak’s victory, and Brandon Naurato refrained from providing a prognosis for Sunday.
The victor on Sunday will compete in the Frozen Four, which begins in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 11. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The Wolverines are trying to snap a 26-year skid and win their tenth national championship. With another victory over their enmity-filled in-state rival, the Spartans want to cap off an incredible season.
