The following is an excerpt from The Road To Ann Arbor: Incredible Twists And Improbable Turns Along The Michigan Recruiting Trail, ESPN reporter Tom VanHaaren's new book due out Sept. 4.
The book goes in depth on how some of the legendary names that donned Maize and Blue wound up at Michigan, from current head coach Jim Harbaugh and NFL G.O.A.T. Tom Brady to current Wolverines and former five-star prospects Rashan Gary and Aubrey Solomon.
This excerpt picks up after Brady had narrowed his focus from five schools to just Cal and Michigan — though the latter had not officially offered him a scholarship yet. With the recruiting cycle closing in on National Signing Day and the Wolverines' No. 1 quarterback target Bobby Sabelhaus picking Florida, U-M, head coach Gary Moeller and assistant Billy Harris picked up their pursuit of Brady…
Michigan quickly went to work and set up a trip for Brady to come out to Ann Arbor to see the campus for himself. Harris was his main recruiter, so it was his job to coordinate the whole trip and make sure everything went smoothly. So that he could give Brady the right amount of attention, he wanted to make sure it was a weekend that Michigan didn’t have many other prospects he was responsible for on campus.
It was January, and, like Brady’s visit to Illinois, the weather was terrible. This time he was willing to overlook it, though, and it didn’t factor in. It might have been because of a talk Harris had with Brady — or any California kid he recruited. Knowing that weather would be an objection, Harris tried to get ahead of the curve and spin it into a positive for the Wolverines. “The thing that I tried to say on my recruiting talk was we’re spending a lot of money, energy, and time and we believe that your stop won’t be just here at Michigan, but that you’ll go on to the pros,” Harris said. “You don’t know where you’ll play in the pros and you might not play in sunny California. This Michigan weather, you’re going to play in snow, rain, and even some hot days, but wherever you end up in the NFL, the weather won’t be a deterrent for you.”
It might have been that talk or it might have been the mystique of The Big House when Brady walked into the stadium he had only seen in books. Brady got the chance to walk on the field, which was covered in snow, that so many great players before him had walked on, and that left a lasting impression. The visit went as well as it could for both sides, and Michigan finally expressed to Brady that they were serious about his recruitment. He was now the No. 1 quarterback on their board.
Brady went home, and at this point, it was getting late in the process, so his parents decided it was time for their son to make a decision. It would either be Cal, the option that was 30 miles from home and meant a continuation of the close father-son relationship that included golf on Sundays, or it was Michigan, a dream that nearly didn’t come true. “He and I sat down on the floor…It killed me when he said, ‘I’m going to Michigan,’” Brady Sr. said. “I hate to say it, but I cried for 48 hours because he’s my best friend. I said this is going to change our relationship, and he said, ‘I know, Dad. It has to.’”
Brady Sr. was heartbroken for himself but ecstatic for his son and acknowledges that it was the best decision he could have made and was definitely something his son needed to do at the time. Once the decision was made, Brady Sr. called Coach Harris at Michigan on a Friday and asked him how sincere Michigan was in their interest in his son. Believing it was one of the most important parts of the process — that the head coach wants you — Brady Sr. wanted to know where they stood with the Wolverines and with Moeller. Only the head coach could make the final decision on scholarship offers and commitments at the time, so Harris told Brady he would get back to him. Two hours later after speaking with Moeller and selling Brady as the guy who could lead the Wolverines offense in the future, Harris informed the family that Moeller would be at their house on Monday at 8:00 am.
Moeller made the trip out to California to meet with the Brady family one last time and reassured the family of Michigan’s interest and intentions. He said the Wolverines would be changing their system and that Brady was the perfect guy for it. “I said, ‘If that’s the case, then we’re coming to Michigan,’” Brady Sr. said.
This excerpt from The Road to Ann Arbor, by Tom VanHaaren, is presented with permission from Triumph Books. For more information and to order a copy please visit www.triumphbooks.com/roadtoannarbor.
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