Once again, random.org dug deep into the collection for the fourth installment of Random Wolverine Card Sunday...
a 2004 Upper Deck Foundations Drew Henson. Well, we were bound to get to Drew Henson eventually. On the heels of winning the national title in 1997, UM hauled in what many believed was the nation's #1 recruiting class. Drew Henson was perhaps the biggest star of the bunch. A high school football and baseball phenom he was on everybody's radar. Drew played sparingly in 1998 as a freshman, but the following season started with Drew and Tom Brady splitting time at QB. The experiment was a bit of a dud and by November Tom had wrestled away control of the position and the team finished strong. Drew had the position to himself in 2000 and a very strong team around him. Drew hurt his foot just before the season started and missed several games to open the season. He returned for a night game in Champaign and led UM to victory over the Illini on a breezy night:
Two weeks later the Wolverines were in West Lafayette facing Drew Brees and the Boilermakers. UM had a 28-10 at one point but Purdue came back. With UM leading 31-29 late in the 4th Purdue attempted a field goal in the closed end of the stadium. It missed! Essentially, UM needed a first down to run out the clock. UM went three and out, Purdue had a short field, and made the late FG to win 32-31. Of course, I was sitting in the end zone for those two FGs... ugh:
After a home win over Sparty and a bye week, UM headed to Evanston for a match up with an upstart Northwestern team. Again, UM had a 28-10 lead at one point. UM was up 51-46 late in the 4th when Northwestern dropped a sure touchdown pass (Damien Anderson out of the backfield I believe). UM had a chance to ice the game with a first down. A-Train broke through the line for the first down and the seas parted. It looked like he was going to rumble for a huge gain but he fumbled! He fumbled. The wildcats recovered, marched down the field and won 54-51. Gut wrenching:
Credit to the team though, they picked up the pieces and went on to beat PSU at the Big House then win at Ohio State. Sad bit of trivia Drew Henson in 2000 is the last UM QB to win at the Shoe. The Wolverines then went on to beat Auburn on New Year's Day. Of course everyone expected Drew to return in 2001 for his senior season. The Yankees opened their wallets and Drew left. I think for many UM fans there lingers that "What if" question when it comes to Drew. What if he had stayed for his senior season?
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