Two Michigan Wolverines Sign NFL Undrafted Free Agent Contracts
Michigan Wolverines football saw eight of its 11 draft-eligible players be selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, but two more — tight end Nick Eubanks and defensive lineman Carlo Kemp, both team captains at U-M — have signed with teams in the league. Kicker Quinn Nordin has not yet been nabbed by a club, but it's fair to assume that he will at some point soon.
Eubanks signed with the Dallas Cowboys, where former teammate (and tight end) Sean McKeon, who went the undrafted route last year, plays for, while Kemp will stay in the midwest with the Green Bay Packers.
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Eubanks saw himself have more and more of a role with Michigan each season as a part of the program. He appeared in just one game in 2016, which was a redshirt year, then he saw action in four contests in 2017, notching two catches for 61 yards, before an injury ended his season.
As a redshirt sophomore in 2018, the 6-5, 256-pound Plantation, Fla., native appeared in all 13 games with four starts, posting eight receptions for 157 yards and one touchdown.
The 2019 season was Eubanks' breakout campaign, where he played in all 13 games (10 starts), and registered 25 catches for 234 yards and four touchdowns, continuing his connection with quarterback Shea Patterson.
He decided to come back for his fifth-year senior season — Kemp did the same — in 2020, but he was banged up to begin the year, missing a season-opening win at Minnesota. He played in the final five tilts of the year and started in four of them, putting up 10 catches for 117 yards with a touchdown as the most productive tight end on the team.
Eubanks should be able to compete for a roster spot due to his athleticism and route-running ability, though a knock on him during his Michigan career was his lapses blocking.
Kemp's career arc was similar in that he progressively grew his role each season, but it was vastly different in that he bounced around between multiple positions before finally settling in at defensive tackle, where he was a key and productive piece on Michigan's defense for the last three seasons.
Once he made the switch from outside linebacker, to defensive end and finally solidified himself as an interior d-linemen, he was able to crack the starting rotation, starting in the 2018 season, when he recorded 17 tackles while starting 12 games. He began 12 games once again in 2019, and made 40 tackles with 4.5 for loss, two sacks and one fumble recovery.
In 2020 — a rough season for the Michigan defense as a whole — Kemp was again a starter on the interior of the defensive line, but with injuries to both defensive ends — Kwity Paye and Aidan Hutchinson — he was willing to move outside back to end towards the end of the season, and proved to be a viable option back in his old position. All told, he made 21 tackles with three for loss, two sacks and one quarterback hurry in his final year in a winged helmet.
Look for more NFL Draft coverage at TheWolverine.com in the hours and days to come, and a possible landing spot for Nordin.
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