Michigan Football: The Wolverine's Top-25 Since '97 - No. 17
The Wolverine continues its series of the top 25 Michigan players since 1997 with No. 17, David Baas.
Baas was key to protecting John Navarre and Chad Henne throughout his career, and paved the way for 1,000-yard running backs each of his final three seasons as a Wolverine.
At Riverview High School in Sarasota, Fla., Baas set a school record with 70 pancake blocks in a single season as a junior. Baas was also a USA-Today All-American honorable mention and was named All-State his senior year. He participated in the Florida-Georgia and Florida-California All-Star Games following his senior year.
Once in Ann Arbor, Baas solidified his role on the offensive line his sophomore season. Blocking for lead back Chris Perry's 1,110 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns, Baas earned All-Big Ten honors as a left guard and Michigan finished the year with a 10-3 record and an Outback Bowl victory against Florida. Baas repeated his All-Big Ten performance again in 2003 and, with Perry topping 1,000 yards and the Wolverines bringing home the Big Ten Championship.
As a senior, Baas was called upon to move over to center, helping a freshman Henne and freshman running back Mike Hart establish themselves as true first-year starters. That season, Michigan once again went 10-3. Following the season Baas was named a consensus All-American, a finalist for the Outland Trophy and was co-winner of the Rimmington Award for the nation's best center.
Baas was drafted by San Francisco in the second round with the 33rd overall pick of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played with the 49ers from 2005-2010 before joining the New York Giants. Baas was the starting center for the Giants during the team's 2011 Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.
The full list:
No. 17: David Baas
No. 18: Jourdan Lewis
No. 19: David Harris
No. 20: Ernest Shazor
No. 21: John Navarre
No. 22: Jake Butt
No. 23: David Molk
No. 24: Taco Charlton
No. 25: Jeremy Gallon