Michigan Football: The Wolverine's Top-25 Since '97 - No. 21
The Wolverine continues its series of the top 25 Michigan players since 1997 with No. 21, John Navarre.
Navarre is one of the most prolific passers in school history, and brought the Wolverines back to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997.
As a freshman in 1999 with Tom Brady and Drew Henson ahead of him on the depth chart, coach Lloyd Carr redshirted Navarre for the '99 season. The following year, after an injury to Henson, Navarre was called into action and played in nine games in the 2000 season, throwing four touchdown passes in his first starting assignment against Bowling Green.
As a full-time starter his redshirt sophomore season, Navarre led Michigan to an 8-3 record and an appearance in the Citrus Bowl, though the team lost to Tennessee. It wasn't until the next year that Navarre really showcased his talent. He threw for 2,905 yards and a 21-7 touchdown-interception ratio on the way to a 10-3 season which culminated in a 38-30 win over Florida in the Outback Bowl.
Navarre left it all on the field his final year as a Wolverine, posting a 38-0 beat down of Notre Dame and 35-21 victory over Ohio State in the final game of the regular season. Navarre also set a then single game passing record of 389 yards at Iowa. Michigan's 10-2 regular season record earned the team a spot in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1997, where the team faced No. 1 USC and eventually lost 28-14. Navarre finished the season with 3,331 yards passing and 24 touchdown tosses to just 10 interceptions. The 24 touchdowns in a season is third in the school record book for touchdown passes in a single season and the 3,331 yards are the most by a Michigan quarterback in one season.
Currently, Navarre is No. 2 on the school list in both career passing yards and career touchdowns, with 9,254 and 72, respectively.
In the 2004 NFL Draft, Navarre was selected in the seventh round by the Arizona Cardinals. He appeared in five games over three years with the team, with one start.
The full list:
No. 21: John Navarre
No. 22: Jake Butt
No. 23: David Molk
No. 24: Taco Charlton
No. 25: Jeremy Gallon