The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1184078
34 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2019 W e end up losing that game 28–14, and now I seriously started thinking about whether I should stay at Michigan or go to the NFL. Do I go and make millions and fulfill my life- long dream? I started to ask myself and the people around me all kinds of questions to help make the decision. Is my Michigan experience over? Am I the best wide receiver I can be? Did I do all I could do and leave the right legacy? It was a decision process that my family and I wanted to make together. Both sets of parents were involved with everyone's input on what we should do. They were there when it all started, and I wanted them to be there if this was the end. We wanted to do everything right, so we looked at agents and found somebody that we liked, but we wanted to go and talk to Lloyd Carr first and see what he thought. We set up a meeting with Coach Carr, and I think what my dad and I were trying to get out of the meet- ing was for Coach Carr to tell us that Michigan needed me and that I should come back to school to help the team, that Michigan couldn't do it without me, and that they'd give me the keys to the offense. That's what I wanted to hear, but it's not what we got. What we got was: "Well, you have to do what's best for you. If you think you should leave, then leave. If you think you should stay, then stay. You've been fun to be around, but nothing lasts for- ever." It was the most dry conversation I've ever had, and then I was thinking there's like no appreciation here. After that meeting I wanted to leave because it felt as though Coach Carr was saying it didn't matter if I was there or not. I didn't need him to beg me to come back, but I wanted to know that I mat- tered and he appreciated what I did. On top of that, I had dealt with get- ting punished, getting the No. 1 jersey taken away, them thinking I faked in- juries. I couldn't go through all of that again my senior year. After we walked out of that meet- ing, I looked at my dad, my mom, and stepdad and I thought I was leaving. We put my name in to get a draft grade and see where my potential draft slot would be for that year. We got the re- port back, and it said the highest they saw for me was No. 10 overall, and that was based on what I did in col- lege and if I had a monster combine and pro day. The lowest they saw was the middle of the second round. That was a big discrepancy, and I didn't know if I wanted to risk millions if it went to the latter half of that projection. I sat and thought on it and decided I should ask my grandma what she thought. This was the church lady who I never crossed when I was younger. There's no better person to give it to you straight than your grandma, so I sought her out to see if she had any wisdom to lend me. I told her I was conflicted and didn't know what to do. She first told me to pray on it, of course, but then she asked me if I was done at Michigan. She asked if I ac- complished everything I sought out to do, and if I left Michigan now, would I eventually be upset that I left? These questions started to really make me think. I was only thinking about if I would get drafted top 10 or not. I began to think about what I had done at Michigan. I was second-team All-Big Ten my sophomore year, first- team All-Big Ten my junior year, and honorable mention All-American my junior year. I didn't win the Fred Bilet- nikoff Award for the top receiver. We did win a Big Ten championship, but I didn't graduate. The more and more I thought about who I was rather than where I would be drafted, it became clear to me. I felt like I wasn't the most polished receiver I could be, that there were weak parts in my game. Then I thought about that discrepancy between being the No. 10 overall pick and a mid-second round pick, and there's a big difference there. I thought then that it might be right Braylon Edwards: DOING IT MY WAY The Legendary Wideout's New Autobiography Goes Deep On His Life Before, During And After Michigan The following excerpt is from Braylon Edwards' new autobiography Doing It My Way: My Outspoken Life As A Michigan Wolverine, NFL Receiver, And Beyond, written with Tom VanHaaren. Expectedly, the former unanimous All-American, Fred Biletnikoff Award winner as the nation's top receiver and Big Ten Most Valuable Player (2004) didn't hold back and detailed the highs and lows of his career. He didn't shy away from addressing his controversial state- ments made about current Wolverines Cesar Ruiz and Shea Patterson after the 2018 Notre Dame, either (a portion of which was excepted on TheWolverine.com and can be read by going to: bit.ly/BraylonExcerpt). The excerpt below addresses how and why Edwards decided to return to Michigan for his senior season in 2004, picking up right after the Wolverines lost to USC in the Rose Bowl: