This week, TheWolverine is counting down the five best Michigan football players of the Jim Harbaugh era so far in Ann Arbor, as decided upon by members of our staff.
Tight end Jake Butt (2013-16) kicked things off when he grabbed the No. 5 spot on our list on Monday, with cornerback Jourdan Lewis (2013-16) sliding in at No. 4 and defensive tackle Mo Hurst (2013-17) at No. 3.
Linebacker Devin Bush is next on the countdown, checking in at No. 2.
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Bush came to Michigan as a four-star prospect and the No. 182 overall player nationally out of high school in 2016, bringing with him a pair of teammates in linebacker Devin Gil and safety Josh Metellus from Flanagan High in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Bush saw consistent action on special teams and served as a backup linebacker as a freshman on the 2016 Michigan defense that finished tied as the best unit in the nation, quickly gaining a reputation for his bone-crunching hits.
This was best on display during U-M's 32-23 win at Michigan State on Oct. 29, when Bush leveled MSU linebacker Chris Frey late in the second quarter.
The Florida native finished his freshman campaign by playing in all 13 games and concluding with 12 tackles. His sophomore season of 2017 is when he truly burst onto the scene, starting all 13 contests and finishing with a team-best 102 tackles (sixth-most in the Big Ten that year), tallying five or more in every game.
Bush quickly became known for his blazing speed, which was on full display in Michigan's season-opening win over then-No. 17 Florida when he finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks against the Gators.
His 102-tackle, 9.5-tackle for loss, 5-sack campaign of 2017 allowed him to take home first-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and third-team AP All-American recognition, while also being named a finalist for the Dick Butkus Award (honors the nation's top linebacker).
Expectations were sky-high for Bush heading into his junior season of 2018, and the 5-11, 233-pounder did not disappoint. He was voted a team captain by his teammates and led the squad in tackles (79) for a second straight year, while also registering nine stops behind the line of scrimmage, five sacks and six passes defended.
Bush was the anchor of a Michigan defense that finished No. 2 in the country and was on the verge of making the Big Ten championship game and even the College Football Playoff.
He gained a special place in the hearts of U-M fans (or was thought less of, depending on how each person chose to interpret it) when he tore up the Spartan logo at midfield prior to U-M's 21-7 win at MSU on Oct. 20, following the pregame shenanigans that occurred prior to kickoff.
He unsurprisingly reeled in the hardware at year's end, earning second-team AP All-American honors, both the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year and the league's Linebacker of the Year awards, consensus first-team All-Big Ten honors, and was a finalist for the Butkus Award and the Bronko Nagurski Award (given annually to the game's best defensive player).
Bush then left Michigan early following his junior campaign, and wound up being selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. He was the prototypical Don Brown player during his three years at Michigan, exemplifying the aggressive style and reckless abandon that Brown looks for in his athletes.
There were some questions about Bush's height and whether or not the Florida native could succeed as a linebacker in the Big Ten, but he crushed those 'concerns' in a big way.
The Florida native was a fan favorite during his three years in Ann Arbor, and concluded his collegiate tenure not only as the best linebacker of the Harbaugh era, but also one of the best linebackers at Michigan in recent memory.
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