Michigan H-Back Eli Owens Details Why He Changed to No. 44, Explains Why He Picked Wolverines

Redshirt freshman Eli Owens is entering his second year with the Michigan program and he quickly became a fan favorite on the recruiting trail. Owens, one of the first commits in Michigan's 2025 recruiting class, was a pivotal reason as to why the Wolverines had one of the top classes.

He became a lead recruiter in the class, which helped Michigan pull a top-10 class. The Alcoa (TN) prospect was a Composite three-star recruit — a four-star on Rivals — picked Michigan over Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio State, and others.

Owens appeared in two games last year for Michigan in his first season with the program, and he's hopeful to see the field more in Year 2 with the team. Owens has also changed his jersey number entering the 2026 season with the Wolverines. The 6'1", 244-pound H-Back will now wear No. 44 with Max Bredeson off in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings.

No. 44 is now a staple at Michigan after the performance Bredeson has had the past few years with Michigan. While Owens' playing style has been compared to Bredeson, he further shared why he changed his number to 44, while appearing on 'The Team' with Chase Herbstreit.

Michigan tight end Eli Owens (45), left, shakes hands with linebacker Chase Taylor (29) during warm up — Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"People — since I was in high school — they compared me to Breddy," said Owens. "Don't get me wrong, that's a great comparison. I will take that comparison 10 out of 10 times. But 44, I started wearing it in high school because I had a cousin, his name was Taharin, and he ended up playing ball at Middle Tennessee State. But he wore 44 in high school, and he was a tight end.

"When his senior year happened, it was my eighth grade year. My freshman year, I was going to be the starting tight end, so why not just wear 44?.. Now, once I'm at Michigan and what Breddy has been able to do with the number on his back, if I can just keep that legacy going, if I can keep that 44 fullback, once you wear 44 and you're a fullback at the University of Michigan, you got to be a dude."

Why Owens picked Michigan

When Owens committed to Michigan, the Wolverines were coming off a national championship under Jim Harbaugh. Nobody knew what Harbaugh was going to do at the time, and he later left for the NFL. But Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore and Owens stuck with his commitment to the Wolverines.

Talking to Herbstreit, Owens was looking for a program that could fit his skill set as a fullback. He hopes to get to the NFL, but as Owens pointed out, the lifespan for NFL fullbacks is low. He needed to pick a school that would offer him life after football and he felt like Michigan was his best bet.

"It's very simple. I was sitting down, A, what school uses my play style and my specific skills to the best they can, and B, where can I get a degree," said Owens. "Because at the end of the day, I was told very early that football isn't forever. Even if I do end up making the NFL, which I hope I do. I want to. Who doesn't? The average fullback plays probably three years. You're lucky if you make it to your second contract.

"Going to a school where your degree matters, going to a school where you can build connections and meet new people that are going to help you in the working world once you're done with ball, I thought that was a very, very important thing to have in the back of my mind. Michigan happened to just win a national championship right before I committed...I just thought it was a seamless fit. I actually committed the day of the Purdue game in 2023, but I didn't announce it until after the national championship."

You can see the entire interview with Owens below.

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