2011 Michigan Wolverines football team

Preseason

In 2010, Michigan became bowl eligible for the first time since 2007 and faced the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Gator Bowl, which Michigan lost 52–14. The 2010 Wolverines finished the season ranked eighth nationally in total offense with quarteback Denard Robinson setting several individual records. However, the defensive unit finished 110th in total defense.

On January 4, 2011, after Michigan's loss in the Gator Bowl, and following a 15–22 record in three seasons under head coach Rich Rodriguez, athletic director Dave Brandon announced that Rodriguez had been fired and a national search was underway to select a new head coach. Brady Hoke was hired as Michigan's new head coach on January 11. Hoke's hiring triggered speculation that Denard Robinson would transfer, as it was believed that Hoke would run a pro-style offense with Michigan's new offensive coordinator Al Borges, but Robinson announced one day after Hoke's hiring that he would return to Michigan for the 2011 season. On defense, Michigan hired defensive coordinator Greg Mattison from the Baltimore Ravens. Mattison had previously been the defensive coordinator for Michigan's 1995 and 1996 teams. Following Hoke's hiring, the team was dubbed "Team 132" in recognition of the 132 seasons of Michigan football.

During the first eight months of 2011, seven Michigan players announced plans to transfer to other schools. The first to go was backup quarterback Tate Forcier who announced on January 22 that he was leaving the team, having previously been declared academically ineligible for the Gator Bowl. The other departures were (1) starting safety Ray Vinopal, who cited personal reasons for transferring to Pittsburgh, (2) cornerback Cullen Christian who also transferred to Pittsburgh, (3) wide receiver D.J. Williamson, (4) incoming offensive guard Tony Posada, (5) wide receiver Je'Ron Stokes who transferred to Bowling Green, and (6) incoming tight end Chris Barnett.

On August 7, 2011, Hoke announced that wide receiver Darryl Stonum (the team's second leading receiver in 2010) was suspended and would be redshirted due to drunken driving related violations. Additionally, due to an unspecified team rules violations, punter Will Hagerup (who had been suspended for one game in 2010) was suspended for the first four games, while wide receiver Terrence Robinson was suspended for the first game.

On August 28, 2011, the team named tight end Kevin Koger, defensive tackle Mike Martin, and center David Molk as its co-captains for the 2011 season. Michigan returned 17 of 22 starters from the 2010 team — ten on offense and seven on defense. In addition to Vinopal, Michigan was forced to replace starters offensive guard Stephen Schilling, linebacker Jonas Mouton, cornerback James Rogers, and defensive Greg Banks, as well as back-up linebacker Obi Ezeh, who was a former starter for the Wolverines. Other 2010 Wolverines in NFL training camps included Martell Webb and Perry Dorrestein. A total of 26 former Wolverine student-athletes were on opening day 53-man NFL active rosters.

Six Michigan players were listed on preseason watch lists: (1) Denard Robinson for the Walter Camp Award (best college player), Maxwell Award (best offensive player), and Davey O'Brien Award (best quarterback), Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player), and Manning Award (best quarterback), (2) Mike Martin for the Bednarik Trophy (best defensive player), Outland Trophy (best interior lineman), and Lombardi Award (best lineman), (3) David Molk for the Outland Trophy, Lombardi Award, and Rimington Trophy (best center), (4) Kevin Koger for the John Mackey Award (best tight end), (5) Roy Roundtree for the Fred Biletnikoff Award (best wide receiver), and (6) Ryan Van Bergen for the Ted Hendricks Award (best defensive end).

Recruits

Michigan's recruiting class was ranked No. 27 by Scout and No. 21 by Rivals. It was not ranked by ESPN. The program received 20 letters of intent on National Signing Day, February 2, 2011.

Rankings

Michigan began the season unranked in the Top 25 of both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll, but by midseason had risen to #10 in the Coaches' Poll and #11 in the AP Poll. After its loss to Michigan State, Michigan fell to #17 in the Coaches' Poll and #18 in the AP Poll. Michigan rose to #13 in the AP and Coaches' Polls and #15 in the BCS Poll before its game against Iowa, falling after the loss to #22 in the AP Poll, #21 in the Coaches' Poll, and #24 in the BCS Poll. Michigan finished the regular season ranked #12 in the Coaches' Poll, and #13 in the AP and BCS Polls. Following its win over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, Michigan ended the season ranked #9 in the Coaches' Poll and #12 in the AP Poll.

Schedule

The schedule was as follows:

Radio

On August 8, 2011, the University of Michigan announced a five-year extension of its contract with CBS Radio. Detroit's WWJ became the new flagship station. All games were broadcast by radio on the Michigan Wolverines Football Network and on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. The radio announcers were Frank Beckmann (play-by-play), Jim Brandstatter (color commentary), and Doug Karsch (sideline reports).

Depth chart

Starters and backups.

Captains/Co-Captains

Season Captains Kevin Koger (TE-#86), David Molk (C-#50), and Michael Martin (DT-#68)

Game Co-Captains Zachary Johnson (S-#36)-Michigan vs. Michigan State University on October 15, 2011 Jared VanSlyke (DB-#31)-Michigan vs. Virginia Tech on December 4, 2012

Awards and honors

At the conclusion of the season, several Wolverines players and coaches received national and/or conference honors. David Molk received the Rimington Trophy as the best center in college football. He was also a consensus All-American, receiving first-team honors from the Associated Press, Football Writers Association of America, Scout.com, Sporting News, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Molk also received the inaugural Rimington–Pace Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year award.

Brady Hoke won the Hayes–Schembechler Coach of the Year, as selected by conference coaches, and the Dave McClain Coach of the Year, as picked by the media. Hoke was also a finalist for national coach of the year honors in the Bear Bryant Award, Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, and Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award. Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison was selected as one of five finalists for the 2011 Broyles Award.

Three Michigan players received second-team All-Big Ten honors: (1) Mike Martin by both the coaches and the media, (2) Denard Robinson by the media, and (3) Taylor Lewan by the coaches. Lewan also received honorable mention All-American recognition by the Pro Football Weekly, and Robinson received the same recognition from Sports Illustrated. Jake Ryan, Desmond Morgan, Matt Wile and Blake Countess all earned 2011 Big Ten All-Freshman team recognition from both ESPN.com and BTN.com, while Ryan, Morgan and Countess earned 2011 College Football News All-Freshman honorable mention honors as well. Countess was also a Sporting News All-Freshman selection, while Ryan was a second team Rivals.com All-Freshman selection. Safety Jordan Kovacs was named a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy and a semifinalist for the 2011 Burlsworth Trophy. He also received the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the Michigan program.

Several Michigan players were invited to post-season all-star games: Junior Hemingway Kevin Koger to the 2012 East–West Shrine Game, David Molk and Mike Martin to the 2012 Senior Bowl, Michael Shaw to the Casino del Sol All-Star Game, Marell Evans to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, and Martavious Odoms to the Battle of Florida All-Star Game.

Statistics

Michigan finished the season ranked third in the Big Ten in total offense and second in scoring offense. Defensively, the team improved dramatically finishing fourth in total defense in the Big Ten and 17th in the country.

Denard Robinson led the Big Ten in total offense for the second consecutive year and finished fifth in the conference in rushing with an average of 90.46 rushing yards per game. Jeremy Gallon finished third in the conference with an average of 10.11 yards per punt return. Kenny Demens led the team in tackles with 7.23 per game. The per game team rankings below include 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams and 12 Big Ten Conference teams.

The per game rankings below include players who played in 75% of teams' games and were ranked in the top 100 national leaders and top 25 conference leaders:

2012 NFL Draft

Three Michigan players (Mike Martin, Junior Hemingway and David Molk) were invited to the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine. The 2012 NFL Draft was held in late April. Martin was drafted 82nd overall by the Tennessee Titans; Molk was drafted 226th by the San Diego Chargers; and Hemingway 238th by the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to the draft, the Houston Texans informed Ryan Van Bergen that they were targeting him with their sixth round pick. However the team drafted two defensive linemen in earlier rounds (Whitney Mercilus and Jared Crick) and did not pick Van Bergen; he subsequently signed with the Carolina Panthers, minutes after the draft ended on April 28. Later that day, Troy Woolfolk and Michael Shaw announced via Twitter through their agents that they had signed with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins, respectively. Seniors J.B. Fitzgerald (linebacker) and Will Heininger (defensive lineman) announced that they did not intend to pursue careers playing professional football. Toney Clemons, who had previously transferred from Michigan to Colorado was drafted in the seventh round.