Senior linebacker Ernest Hausmann had been expecting it since Big Ten Media Day, and likely even earlier. Graduate defensive back Rod Moore said it was “just an honor” after spending more than a season rehabilitating a torn ACL. Senior edge rusher Derrick Moore tried to stay humble as coach Sherrone Moore revealed the ‘C’ printed on his jersey. Graduate offensive lineman Giovannni El-Hadi thanked God first. Then, he called his mom.
All four of them, along with graduate fullback Max Bredeson and senior tight end Marlin Klein, were announced as the Michigan football team’s captains Thursday, with the Wolverines’ season opener almost a week away.
The sextet includes two previous captains, Bredeson and Rod Moore, and marks the second time Michigan has named six captains.
“In ‘23 we had the same amount of captains,” Rod Moore said Thursday. “Six captains, two of them were fifth years, and everybody else was in the same class. So just to have that tight-knit group of leaders, that means a lot.”
All six of them were there for the National Championship two years ago, and their perspectives on leadership and football have inherently been molded by the captains before them. But for Hausmann, he’s not exactly relying on anyone older as a blueprint.
“There’s not one specific guy,” Hausmann said. “Because I think when I first came to Michigan, there was a huge abundance of leaders here, but they led in their own type of ways. It’s very important to just be able to see the different type of leaderships.”
Hausmann, soft-spoken but always heard, called some player-led meetings earlier this year. Bredeson made the decision to room with freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood in the fall. El-Hadi, unsatisfied with last season just like everyone else in Schembechler Hall, is steadily becoming more vocal.
“I feel like at the beginning, I was more showing by example,” El-Hadi said. “And then last year I realized, let me start talking more and show them how I truly feel. And I know they all respect me, that my words mean something. This year I said, no matter what’s going on, I’m gonna say whatever I need to say, because this year has to be different than last year.”
When it comes to actually playing football, the group boasts talent on either side of the ball, with guys like Klein and Bredeson expected to be significant contributors to an improved offense and defensive players such as Hausmann and Derrick Moore set to level up their dominance at their respective positions.
“(I want to) be one of them guys that step up in a big moment for the team,” Derrick Moore said. “You can be a leader, or you can be somebody like that, but I feel like your actions also got to show on the field. I want to be one of them type guys that also, talk and lead, but also show on the field as well.”
Six captains guarantee at least a few different styles of leadership, both on and off the field. With all of the transfers the Wolverines brought in over the offseason and a starting quarterback — still not named — who’s never played a meaningful snap in a Michigan uniform, this varied yet veteran group of captains could be a perfect fit.
