There are invariably a lot of highlights I could choose when faced with the question: what is your favorite Michigan highlight? Just in the last few years Denard Robinson has put together a pretty impressive highlight reel himself. Then there is the long list of those moments from my young adulthood; the ones I watched and clearly remember: the Manningham Catch, Braylon-fest, Marquise Walker's one-hander. None of this even touches the long list of highlights from way back when.
But I keep getting drawn back to one that exists in my mind with a dream-like quality. Charles Woodson was, for me, one of the three defining athletes of my childhood. There was Michael Jordan (of course), Barry Sanders (ditto), and then a defensive back? Two of the most exciting offensive athletes to lace 'em up and a guy who played defense?
Well, if you watched much of Woodson at Michigan, you'd know there was nothing that the man couldn't do. I watched. I was young, but I watched, and even though I don't have much of a memory for it, that doesn't mean that somewhere, deep down in my mind, Charles Woodson's high-wire act against Michigan State doesn't stand out among the fray. If I imagined it, it would be less pronounced. Less dramatic. Less patently ridiculous. As you watch it unfold the first time in full-speed you don't quite catch it. That had to have been over his head. Todd Schultz was throwing that away.
You aren't supposed to be able to do that.
But there wasn't much that Charles Woodson couldn't do.
So enjoy my favorite Michigan highlight, and let me know what yours is in the comments.