The Molk's on Blue

It's hard to say enough good things about former Wolverine OL David Molk, who graduated this past year and was ultimately drafted by the Chargers.  The kid (man?) who was the lynch pin of the 2011 Michigan football team as its center showed over the course of his career characteristics such as loyalty--staying through the hard times of a program in disarray after the death of its patriarch, even when nobody would have blamed him for leaving the mess far behind; leadership--Three and Out did a great job crediting Molk with holding the team together through multiple coaching and scheme changes, unheard of W/L records and booing fans; guts--to call the kid a "warrior" for playing through gruesome injuries because there was no other option would be an understatement; and heart--going out every day and giving his all for his team and his teammates.  David Molk was and is a Michigan Man.

For all those reasons, I was thrilled when Upper Deck (pfft, who was gonna do it, TOPPS?!) produced autographs--make that college-uni autographs!--of four Wolverines that have been otherwise shut out of the major manufacturer card world this season (aside from a couple of SPx issues--also an Upper Deck brand). The fact that Molk, WR Junior Hemingway, TE Kevin Koger and DT Mike Martin (a second-round defensive stud who STILL wasn't deemed worthy) all got into this set partly subdues my anger towards Topps, which continues to ignore quality rookies in favor of undrafted former college stars like Kellen Moore who are unlikely to do much in the pros.  I don't think this needs to be an either/or, though--Topps should think about making a college-themed set of just the year's draft picks (and major UDFA signings, sure)--I would be ALL OVER THAT.

Anyway, whether or not you read all that, here's one of my recent eBay pickups that makes the ode to Molk make some sense:

David Molk 2012 Upper Deck Rookie Autographs auto

Other than the extremely ugly green foil that mars the design, this is a wonderful tribute to Molk, whose helmet looked like that pretty much nonstop.  I'm excited to have him as the 87th different subject in the PC, and I'm also excited to announce that I have all three of his teammates headed my way from COMC in the near future.

For more on how much Molk meant to the 2011 Wolverines team that made Maize and Blue-wearing people feel all warm and fuzzy again, please check out this article and this one, among others.  And of course, if you haven't yet, please make sure to check out Three and Out, which is a phenomenal read by one of Michigan sports' best authors.

Good luck to Molk as he pursues his NFL career, and GO BLUE!