Rookie Blue--Michigan Football RCs: part 6 (2007)

(For all posts in this series click here)

I've got lots of great COMC stuff to post soon, but before I do that I wanted to take care of a lingering project first:  showing off the Michigan Football rookies I've accumulated from complete sets, trades, and purchases.  I broke them down into eight manageable groups so that's how many posts you'll be seeing under this feature.

Each post will include a range of one or more years, and the cards from that range are sorted alphabetically by each player's last name and then by set (uh, mostly--sometimes I goofed on "official" set titles and sorted accordingly).  I'll list each player and card, plus anything done in this style indicates what I consider to be a Michigan uniform photo, regardless of airbrushing, etc.


We're just a bit under a day until the big Michigan State/Michigan matchup at the time I'm writing this post, and the big story for the Wolverines this year (besides new coach Jim Harbaugh and his amazing job turning around a moribund team) is their top-rated defense.  With that in mind, let's have a look at rookies from the outstanding 2007 draft class, which skewed heavily towards that side of the ball:

Tyler Ecker:  Bowman

Ok, so card #1 happens to be of an offensive player (one of just two today), but I had 28 cards to scan and that gave me a chance to highlight one.  I chose the lone RC of TE Tyler Ecker, who was solid in four seasons in Ann Arbor before the Skins took him in 2007's 7th round.  One reason he'll always stand out in my mind for a positive reason (let's just forget the Alamo Bowl debacle) was the Ohio State game in 2003 where, with Michigan leading by 7 in the 4th, a freshman Ecker came out of nowhere to catch a long pass that preceded two Chris Perry runs, resulting in an important insurance TD.  I remember yelling "YES!" after the play, and then adding "Wait, who was that?"  A great moment from what became a rare win over the Buckeyes recently.

• Alan Branch:  Artifacts;  Bowman;  Bowman Chrome;  Score;  Topps
• Steve Breaston:  Bowman;  Bowman Chrome;  Playoff NFL Playoffs;  Score

Aw yeah, now it's time for defense, including Alan Br--

ALAN BRANCH KILLS QBs!

Alan Branch did, in fact, kill QBs and I have five RCs to celebrate that fact today.  The big man doesn't get a ton of PT but is part of the D-Line rotation for your defending NFL champion New England Patriots, so that's very cool.

Today's other offensive player, Steve Breaston, joins Branch as a fellow 2007 Arizona draft pick (Branch was a second-rounder, Breaston went in the 5th).  If you hadn't noticed yet (and you will), 2007 Bowman/Chrome and Topps show up quite a bit in this post.  Steve somehow didn't merit inclusion in the latter for whatever reason, but he has some 26 RCs to his name, so no complaints from me!

• Prescott Burgess:  Bowman;  Bowman Chrome;  Topps
• Leon Hall:  Bowman;  Bowman Chrome;  Topps;  Upper Deck;  Upper Deck Trilogy
• David Harris:  Bowman

And now LB Prescott Burgess gets in on the defensive action with the three cards from the aforementioned sets that are popular in today's post.  He played three years in Ann Arbor before Baltimore chose him in 2007's 6th round, and he was with them for parts of four seasons, so not bad.

Star CB Leon Hall is tied for second in number of cards shown today with five, with the three usual suspects plus a pair of UD brands.  One of those is from the see-through Trilogy set and is numbered to "just" 399 while the other is of a just barely not full-bleed design that UD went with for some reason that year.

• David Harris (continued):  Bowman Chrome;  Topps
• LaMarr Woodley:  Bowman;  Bowman Chrome;  Donruss Threads;  Playoff NFL Playoffs;  Score;  Topps;  Upper Deck

Tackling machine David Harris (I'm pretty sure I always introduce him that way) is yet another player that appeared on the Bowman/Chrome and Topps trio.  I like how Chrome cards like these sometimes have the cool effect of making the player stand out thanks to its "outlines."

Beastly LB LaMarr Woodley, who had six playoff sacks for the 2008 NFL champion Steelers (and who's still alive and kicking with the Cardinals this season) is the day's big winner with seven cards, including the aforementioned trio, cards from three other sets I previously mentioned (Playoff NFL Playoffs, Score, and UD), plus a shiny Donruss Threads rookie that's numbered /999.  That's a decent start towards his 26 overall first-year issues.

Whether or not I post anything tomorrow depends on, among other things, if circumstances lead me to be in a celebratory mood.  Go Michigan defense and GO BLUE!