Much less publicized than the campaign in Columbus, Ohio to be rid of Woody Hayes and the arrival of the Super Sophomores of 1968 that saved Hayes was what was going on in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The Big 10 was a little different in 1967 with Michigan posting a 4-6 record and rivals Ohio State going somewhat better with a 6-3 record. Neither of those records were acceptable at these schools and the fans weren’t happy at either.
Dump Bump became the saying around the University of Michigan and the word unhappy may not be good enough to explain the situation with Wolverine fans. Bump Elliott was the head coach at Michigan and he was just not getting it done on the football field. His best record had been in 1964 when he led the team to a 9-1 record and a Rose Bowl win. The rest of his time in Ann Arbor had been a major disappointment to Michigan fans. After his 9th season, in 1967, Bump Elliott had posted a 43-40-2 won/loss record and that just wasn’t what the Wolverines were seeking.
The horrible situations at the two Big 10 kingpins allowed Indiana, Minnesota and Purdue to tie for the Big 10 championship sending the Hoosiers to their one and only Rose Bowl trip in the history of their football program. Hoosiers Rose Bowl 1968
When Woody Hayes started going downhill with Buckeye fans, he went out and signed his famous Super Sophomore class. Super Sophs
All that class did was go out and win the national championship in 1968 and post a three year record of 27-2 and they probably should have won the 2 that they lost.
Recruiting in these times was completely different than it is today. Oh, there was a lot of cheating going on back then, too. But, it was not the year round sport that is in today’s college football. There are geeks, which I may be called myself, that follow recruiting as another sport. Today, we just click on the internet and find out all kinds of information about almost any recruit we are curious about. The information is out there and available if you are willing to search and sometimes even pay for it.
Back in these days, there wasn’t even a recruiting service unless maybe you count Parade Magazine or some other local newspapers. Information was hard to come by.
Hayes signed his spectacular class in 1967 and Michigan’s Bump Elliott did the same the following season of 1968.
After the disastrous 1967 season, his coaches hit the road and signed some very good talent.
Freshmen were obviously not eligible back in the 1960s and Michigan was without their services in 1968.
Even without the freshman class, the Wolverines had some talent in 1968. All Big 10 performers Dennis Brown at quarterback and Ron Johnson at halfback led the offense along with Pro Football Hall of Fame member Dan Dierdorf at offensive tackle, Jim Mandich at tight end and guards Stan Broadnax and Bob Baumgartner. The defense had safety Tom Curtis who picked off 10 passes that season along with defensive linemen Henry Hill and Phil Seymour who was the brother of Notre Dame great Jim Seymour.
This team promptly went out and lost their first game at home against the Cal Golden Bears. Fans
must have felt that more of the same was coming. It was going to be another bad season like 1967 all over again. But, then the Wolverines won 8 games in a row and they were 8-1 and ranked 4th in the country going into the game against bitter rivals Ohio State down in Columbus, Ohio.
The unbeaten and 2nd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes came out and just crushed Michigan, 50-14.
However, something happened when Ohio State scored their 50th point that would change the events of history.
Instead of kicking the extra point, Ohio State lined up to go for two. It failed, but who goes for two with 50 points on the board and the game clearly won? The attempt failed, but it was the principle that mattered. When asked why after the game by the press, Woody Hayes said something along the lines of ‘because I couldn’t go for 3’. going for 2
That move so incensed Michigan that it was technically the beginning of the famous 10 Year War between the two schools. The Wolverines fired head coach Bump Elliott and hired Bo Schembechler from Miami of Ohio. 10 Year War
One advantage Bo Schembechler had was the presence of the Bump Elliott signed class of 1968 which included:
Reggie McKenzie offensive guard; Detroit, Michigan.
Jim Brandstatter offensive lineman; East Lansing, Michigan.
Guy Murdock offensive lineman; Barrington, Illinois.
Paul Seymour tight end; Royal Oak, Michigan.
Tom Huiskens tight end; Bay City, Michigan
Mike Taylor linebacker; Detroit, Michigan.
Mike Keller linebacker; Grand Rapids, Michigan
Thom Darden defensive back: Sandusky, Ohio.
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Glenn Daughty wide receiver; Detroit, Michigan.
Tom Beckman defensive end; Chesaning, Michigan.
Billy Taylor running back; Barberton, Ohio.
Fritz Seyferth fullback; Darien, Connecticut.
Butch Carpenter defensive line; Flint, Michigan.
The offensive line was bolstered as soon as these guys were eligible. Reggie McKenzie was a product of Detroit’s mean streets and Highland Park High School. At about 6-4, 255 McKenzie was a very good sized lineman for the times and he was a star at offensive guard for the Wolverines. As a junior in 1970, McKenzie was All Big 10 and he was a consensus All American in 1971. Drafted in the 2nd round by the Buffalo Bills, McKenzie teamed up with Pro Football Hall of Fame member Joe
DeLamiellure who was from rival Michigan State to form one of the NFL’s great offensive lines. They called themselves the Electric Company and they helped OJ Simpson become one of the NFL’s all time greats. McKenzie was so good that he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Other offensive linemen included Jim Brandstatter and Guy Murdock. Brandstatter grew up in East Lansing, Michigan which automatically presents some problems. His father played at Michigan State and so did his older brother. But, Jim Brandstatter visited the University of Michigan and wound up signing with the Wolverines. Boy, I beat Christmas was a fun family time after that. Brandstatter was an All Big 10 tackle in 1971 and now he is the voice the Wolverines and the Detroit Lions on the radio.
Guy Murdock was a super quick center for the Wolverines and a 3 year starter. He was also All Big 10 all 3 years as a starter. Murdock was a late round draft pick by the Houston Oilers and made the All Rookie team. He was cut the following year and played some in the brand new World Football League. He played center for the Oilers at about 220 pounds in 1972. Pretty incredible.
Bump Elliott also signed 2 tight ends in this class, Paul Seymour and Tom Huiskens. Seymour came from a very athletic family. His older brother, Jim, was an All American split end at Notre Dame and another brother, John, was a running back for Army. His cousin, Phil, was an All Big 10 and All American defensive end for the Wolverines in 1970. I hope the cousins liked each other more than I like most of my cousins.
Paul Seymour was able to redshirt a season and played tight end in 1970 and 1971. Seymour was primarily a blocker as a tight end and only caught 19 passes in two seasons. But, in 1972, he was moved to tackle where he was an All American. The Buffalo Bills drafted him with the 7th selection of the 1st round and he joined college teammate Reggie McKenzie. The Bills moved him back to tight end where he mostly blocked for OJ Simpson.
Tom Huiskens was a back up until he busted up his knee in 1970 and he had to give up football. He was very highly recruited out of high school.
Glenn Daughty was another recruit signed out of Detroit. He played high school football at Pershing High School and was thought to be a wide receiver prospect coming into college. Michigan used him at running back and over 3 seasons, he rushed for over 1,400 yards. Daughty actually had more success in the NFL after he was a 2nd round draft pick by the Baltimore Colts where he played for 8 seasons.
Billy Taylor was a bull of a running back at about 5-10, 230 and he led the Wolverines in rushing for
3 straight seasons. His best year was in 1971 when he ran for 1,297 and he broke the Michigan all time rushing record with 3,072 yards rushing which held until Rob Lytle broke it.
Taylor has an interesting story. He had a couple tragedies happen back to back that distracted him from football and got him hooked on drugs and alcohol. After about 25 years, he claims to have heard the voice of God and quit drugs and alcohol instantly.
Fritz Seyferth was actually a walk-on and engineering student that earned a scholarship and became Billy Taylor’s lead blocker at fullback. He scored 4 touchdowns in one game, but was mostly a really good blocker. Seyferth played a couple of seasons in Canada and then worked for the Michigan athletic department for decades.
Coming to Michigan from the bay area of the state, Tom Beckman was a 4 sport star in high school. That versatility helped him play Linebacker, defensive end and defensive tackle for some great Wolverine defenses. Beckman made All Big 10 as a senior at tackle. He was picked by the St Louis Cardinals in the 3rd round but injuries shortened his NFL career.
Butch Carpenter was a defensive lineman from Flint, Michigan. An injury ended his career when he was a senior, but he got into law school at Michigan. He died at an early age, but he is not forgotten as their is a scholarship set up in his name for minority students wanting to go to law school at Michigan. Carpenter was an All Big 10 defensive lineman in 1971.
Another strong group in this recruiting class was linebacker. Mike Taylor was a top prospect out of Detroit and Mike Keller from Grand Rapids. Both were multi year starters and All Americans in 1971 with Keller at defensive end and Taylor at linebacker. Taylor was a consensus All American and a 1st round draft pick by the New York Jets and played in the World Football League, also. Keller was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, but only played a couple of seasons in the NFL.
Thom Darden was a hotly recruited defensive back out of Sandusky, Ohio. He was a big time star for the Wolverines making All American in 1971, also. He was the last hero of the 1971 Ohio State game when he picked off a late pass causing Woody Hayes to go berserk.
Darden was a 1st round pick by the Cleveland Browns where he played for 10 seasons picking off 45 passes during that span.
The recruiting class of 1968 posted an 8-3 record in 1969 and were partly behind the Wolverines upset of the top ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
In 1970, they posted a 9-1 record followed by an 11-1 record in their senior seasons of 1971.
This was a great recruiting class by Bump Elliott and coached by Bo Schembechler and maybe one of the best in Michigan football history.