McGregor: 'I finally started feeling like myself again' at end of 2022
During his high school career, Braiden McGregor, a Port Huron, Michigan native, was one of the most highly rated defensive ends in the country. The 6-foot-6, 250-pound pass rusher was Rivals' 17th-ranked defensive end in the 2020 class, and he was the 11th-ranked player in the state of Michigan.
Expectations were high for the homegrown kid, but McGregor suffered multiple injuries in his right knee during his senior season at Port Huron Northern. McGregor tore his MCL, PCL and meniscus that season, which caused him to miss the entirety of his freshman season at Michigan.
As a seemingly healthy sophomore, McGregor was still rather unproductive. He recorded five total tackles, including a tackle for loss, and one quarterback hit during the 2021 season as Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo stole the show for the Wolverines.
Last season, as a junior and with Hutchinson and Ojabo both in the NFL, McGregor took on a larger role, totaling 16 tackles — 4.5 of which were behind the line of scrimmage — two sacks and two pass breakups.
The now senior said on Friday that he finally started to feel like himself toward the end of his junior campaign.
"At the end of last year I felt like I finally started feeling like myself again, and being able to trust my body 100 percent, and just be the athlete that I was in high school, coming out of high school — be that guy," McGregor said.
McGregor says he started to feel like himself toward the end of 2022, and it's likely that's when fans started to see McGregor's potential that many knew he was capable of.
In Michigan's 45-23 victory over Ohio State in Columbus last fall, McGregor recorded a tackle for loss and two pass breakups of future No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud.
On one of his two pass breakups, McGregor batted Stroud's pass to himself before he nearly corralled it and waltzed into the end zone for what would've been a pick six.
Heading into this season, McGregor hopes to build off his strong efforts at the end of 2022.
"Stacking on top of [2022] is, just the offseason, focusing on my lower body a lot, getting some more weight in my lower body was one of my emphasis, and I added about seven pounds this offseason so I think that's good just for run purposes and same with pass rush — being able to get more explosive... stacking off what I did last year — should be able to have a good year."
McGregor mentioned that he has learned to trust the process during his time at Michigan.
"I think the number one lesson is: trust the process," McGregor said. "Coach [Jesse] Minter tells us that all the time — 'you're gonna get your time. When you get your time you gotta shine.' So, just trust the process, know that you're gonna be good one day."
When Minter met with the media on Thursday, he mentioned that there is a clear "upper four" in the EDGE unit, which McGregor is firmly a part of, along with Jaylen Harrell, Derrick Moore and Josaiah Stewart. The four pass rushers are competing for two starting roles in Minter's defense, but with plenty of rotation, McGregor should see the field plenty in his senior campaign.
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