The Best Michigan Player From: Arkansas
From sheer hype alone, no one can challenge former five-star quarterback Ryan Mallett, who was ranked the No. 5 overall player and the No. 2 QB in the Class of 2007. However, Mallett's tenure in Ann Arbor was brief - the gunslinger leaving after his rookie season following the retirement of Lloyd Carr and the arrival of Rich Rodriguez.
One can't argue with Mallett's career production - he threw for 8,385 yards and 69 touchdowns, marks that would rank third and fourth all-time, respectively, at U-M - but he did most of his work in two seasons at Arkansas. Thus the Texarkana native is disqualified.
I'm partial to interior offensive lineman Zach Adami, the starting center on Michigan's 1997 national championship team. The Maumelle native got his first career start at left guard as a redshirt freshman in 1994. He started 12 games at left guard in 1995 and 12 more at right guard in 1996.
When All-American Rod Payne's heir (Steve Frazier) struggled to win the job in 1997, Adami selflessly moved to center. The line's anchor, Adami mentored first-year starters on other side of him - Steve Hutchinson at left guard and Chris Ziemann at right guard. He was rewarded for his play, earning all-conference first-team honors. More importantly, he helped lead Michigan to the NCAA title.
Fans that grew up in the 1980s, 1990s or even later probably won't know the name James Pace (I came across him about a decade ago researching a story for The Wolverine), but the Little Rock native gets top billing from the state of Arkansas.
Pace was a 1957 first-team All-American running back and Michigan's Most Valuable Player after leading U-M with 664 yards rushing and seven touchdowns (5.4 yards per carry) in nine games. Pace started 16 games in his career and finished with 1,334 yards on the ground and 11 TDs, adding 190 yards and two scores as a receiver.
For good measure, he scored on a punt return, bringing his total to 14 touchdowns.
Back in those days, halfbacks also threw a little here and there, and he completed 8 of 21 pass attempts.
