Aden Reeder may not have arrived in Ann Arbor with the kind of buzz that usually follows a freshman linebacker, but Michigan’s coaches noticed him right away for a different reason: he keeps showing up ready to learn.
Two games into his first college season, Reeder is already carving out a role on special teams, and the staff likes what they’re seeing from the 6-foot-2, 223-pound freshman. Special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs said Reeder’s approach stands out every day.
“The thing I love about Aden is he will watch tape and learn over and over again,” Coombs told the media on Wednesday. “He’s learning as much as he can and taking it all in. He has a high-care factor, and that’s important.”
Reeder came to Michigan as a three-star recruit from St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati after flipping his commitment from Wisconsin last November. He then got to campus early, enrolling in January, and that head start gave the Wolverines a chance to see how quickly he could handle the jump to college football.
Linebackers coach Alex Whittingham said Reeder has attacked that transition the right way.
“Aden is doing a fantastic job,” Whittingham told the media on Wednesday. “He’s new to college so when he got here in the winter, he did a great job in the weight room, putting on weight and developing into a collegiate body.”
The physical tools are part of what makes Reeder intriguing. He’s the kind of player who can move in space, rush the passer and tackle downhill. But what’s really winning over the staff is how quickly he responds when there’s something to clean up.
Coombs pointed to a recent example in which he texted Reeder to come back to the facility after a mistake showed up on film. Reeder didn’t waste any time getting there.
“He had a rep that he didn’t do it very well, so we texted him and said to come back in,” Coombs said. “He was in the academic center, so he ran over, was sweating and breathing hard, because he needed to know what it was right then.”
That urgency has been a common theme. Whittingham said Reeder is constantly in the linebacker room, watching film and asking questions, and that he’s not shy about reaching out on his own time.
“He’s one of the guys that every time I walk by the linebacker room, he’s in there watching film and asking questions,” Whittingham said. “He will send me videos and text me questions about what’s going on. He’s doing a really great job.”
Even with veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, Reeder is aiming to get on the field at linebacker this season. Whittingham thinks that opportunity is coming as long as Reeder keeps absorbing everything in front of him.
“He’s just going to continue to emerge,” Whittingham said. “I think he’s really starting to show up on special teams and eventually, as we get going further in the season, I can foresee him starting to get valuable reps at linebacker.”
In Other News...
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L.J. Casons return to Ann Arbor this week carried a little extra weight for Michigan fans who remember how much promise surrounded him before injuries and offseason turnover changed the picture. The three-star guard arrived under Dusty May, spent his lone season in the program during the national title run and then saw that year interrupted by a torn ACL, a sequence that made his exit feel less like a routine transfer and more like another reminder of how quickly the roster shifted.
Cason said Mays departure for the Dallas Mavericks played a major role in his decision to enter the portal, and he ultimately landed at Miami. Even so, coming back to receive his championship ring gave him a chance to reconnect with the program and speak about what he sees ahead for Michigan, a conversation that only added to the lingering what-if feeling among fans who wondered what his next chapter might have looked like in Ann Arbor. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Faces Pressure To Hold Off Rivals For Key Legacy Recruit
Marquis Ray has already made two trips to Michigan Stadium this season, and each visit has only deepened the sense that the Wolverines are in the mix for one of the more important in-state prospects on the board. The Saline standout carries a Michigan offer and, just as notably, legacy ties through his father, Marcus Ray, giving the pursuit a built-in familiarity that has helped him keep building relationships with the coaching staff since that offer arrived in June.
The competition is far from limited to Ann Arbor, though, with Kentucky, Illinois and Pitt all still in the picture as Ray works toward a decision that could come by winter. For Michigan, the appeal is obvious: this is the kind of recruit who matters beyond rankings, both because of where hes from and because of what his last name already means around the program. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Hail Mary Controversy Now Has An NCAA Admission
The final sequence of Michigans win over Western Michigan has moved from a one-off officiating gripe to something the NCAA itself has now addressed. The FBS Oversight Committee acknowledged that instant replay protocols were not followed correctly on the games last plays, a confirmation that gives fresh weight to the debate around how the finish was handled.
Even so, the result is staying put. NCAA bylaws do not allow the game outcome to be changed, so Michigans victory will remain official, even as the Mid-American Conference pushed for Western Michigan to be recognized as the winner for ranking purposes. For the Wolverines, it means the record book is safe, but the controversy around the ending is not going away anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]