Super Bowl LIII – New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Fans now know Tom Brady as one of the legendary football athletes who has achieved all that there’s to. But back when he was in college, it was only in his late college career that people realized what a great player he would be.
The seven-time Super Bowl winner attended the University of Michigan from 1995 to 1999. Not even his friends imagined that a skinny, fourth-year junior would be destined for an illustrious NFL career. Brady was replaced by Drew Henson, a freshman who was named first-team All-America, in a game against Syracuse.
This was just one of the times when the 46-year-old was looked over as any ordinary Big Ten QB. As recounted by Michael Rosenberg of Sports Illustrated in 2012, even the Wolverine’s coaches insisted that he compete with Henson for the two years they played together.
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Brady’s father, Tom Brady Sr., especially caused him trouble. Brady Sr. said this to Sports Illustrated Vault:
“It’s a pretty sore spot, to be honest with you. He wasn’t treated very kindly by the head coach.”
And his Michigan coach, Lloyd Carr, said:
“He had some really difficult challenges because of the position that I put him in.”
Brady decided to transfer, a decision his coach encouraged. But as history would have it, the future Hall of Famer stayed in Michigan and visited the team’s football facility almost every night to prepare for games.
Tom Brady’s new era began
The greatest QB in the making soaked up everything, from opposing players’ tendencies to schemes. He slowly transformed himself into a better quarterback. With new and improved insights, he calculated and recalled every wrong route, bad throw, or missed black to his teammates even without watching the film.
After leading the Wolverines to a 9-2 record, Brady finished his college career against Southeastern Conference champion Alabama in the Orange Bowl.
Tom Brady went on to become one of the most celebrated quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. His two-year-long fight for the starting position at Michigan did not define his career but helped define who he was. Though Brady Sr. harbored anger about how his son was treated in Michigan, he understood that if the two-time MVP winner didn’t get the reigns to himself:
“He would not have accomplished near what he has accomplished.”
“He became a man there,” Tom Sr. said. “When you become a man, that means you get slapped around a little bit.”
