Process Over Prize: Although A National Championship Is The Ultimate Goal, Michigan Focused On Taking Things One Day At A Time

There's no doubt that the ultimate goal for the Michigan Wolverines in 2023 is to win a national championship, but they're not letting the overall goal distract from the daily work it will take to get there.

In a video released by the official Michigan Football social media outlets on Thursday, it's clear that the Wolverines are locked in on winning each day.

"We have to go through the process in order to get to the prize, there's multiple meanings, said running back Donovan Edwards. "We have to go through the process and enjoy the process to get to the prize.

"Everybody knows that our big goal is to win a national championship, but we can't win a national championship five months from now if we can't win today...because everything always adds up into everything that you do. How you prepare is how you're going to operate."

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We're focused on winning each and every day as we build towards the ultimate goal.#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/Ig6XsyaGbd
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) August 17, 2023

Entering his fifth season at Michigan, veteran offensive lineman Trevor Keegan echoed the same sentiment.

"Bonding, that's the biggest thing right now," Keegan said. "Talking in the hotel, playing cards, playing blackjack...it's just fun. It's fun to hang out with the guys, it's fun to see the process. Our big thing right now is 'process over prize.' We're not going to win a national championship right now in camp and we know that, so we're just going to take it day by day.

"We already have our whole playbook installed. You've got a lot of smart guys, coaches. It's just really getting deeper into the fine points, the smaller details, that's what's going to win us a national championship. Just overcommunicate, little things like that, that's what's going to get us to the next step."

Senior edge rusher Braiden McGregor has also noticed that the competition has elevated heading into 2023.

"You can feel it's a little different, just from the competition standpoint, McGregor said. "Everybody wants to be a starter on this defense, everybody wants to be a starter on this offense. We've got a lot of strong players on this team and a lot of really strong competition going on."

Regardless of who ends up earning starting roles on this talented roster, it's clear that the bond among the players is as strong as it has ever been. In fact, senior wideout Roman Wilson said this is his favorite team since arriving in Ann Arbor back in 2020.

"This is my definitely my favorite team I've ever been around. Guys like Donovan (Edwards), JJ (McCarthy), Colston Loveland, all the other receivers...CJ (Cornelius Johnson). Those guys really being my guys, those are like my family - extension to my family. They just make this place so much better than what it is."