Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 47 days until 2022 season
There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan football finds itself just 47 days away from its season opener against Colorado State. The Wolverines have a handful of famous 47s in program history, headlined by multi-sport star Bennie Oosterbaan. But today, we take a look at a more modern member that links back to Oosterbaan.
Linebacker Jake Ryan played at Michigan from 2010-14 and was a stalwart in an era of uncertainty. Ryan, who hailed from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio, was recruited by Rich Rodriguez and redshirted his freshman year. The Rich Rod era came to a close and gave way to Brady Hoke in 2011, which was when Ryan’s breakout took place.
Ryan started the 2011 season opener for Michigan due to a back injury to Cam Gordon. He immediately announced his presence, deflecting a pass in the game that he picked off and returned for a touchdown. Ryan would start 11 of 13 games that season and hold down the fort at inside linebacker on a team that went 11-2, beat Ohio State and won the 2012 Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech.
A number change
He wore No. 90 during the 2010-11 seasons but switched to No. 47 to honor “Michigan Football Legend” Oosterbaan when the program was showcasing players wearing the numbers of team legends.
Ryan made All-Big Ten second team in 2012 before earning team captain honors ahead of his redshirt junior season in 2013. His fifth and final season at Michigan in 2014 saw him make the All-Big Ten first team and racking up 112 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one interception. All in all, he would appear in 46 games at Michigan with 41 starts.
The Green Bay Packers selected Ryan with the No. 129 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He spent four seasons in Green Bay from 2015-18 before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019. Ryan’s last appearance with an NFL team came with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020, which lasted a little over a month during the offseason.
Ryan appeared in 43 regular-season NFL games, making 27 starts with 213 total tackles, one sack and three passes defended.
Michigan football countdown to kickoff
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