Eight Days Until Michigan Football

Senior Brennen Beyer, Defensive End

Number: 97

Hometown: Plymouth HS; Canton, MI

Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 256 lbs.

Three Things To Know About Brennen

1. Brennen has been heavily involved on the defense ever since he set foot on campus.  His first year he played extensively as a reserve SLB before making the transition to WDE his second year.  Jake Ryan's ACL injury forced Beyer back to the linebacker position.  Of course, Beyer was productive enough that when Ryan returned Michigan had to fit him in somewhere, and that spot ended up being SDE despite Beyer being too small for the spot.

This year he is sticking at SDE, but the 4-3 over should be more of a natural fit for Beyer.

2. Before Brennen was mixing it up in the backfield he was just as much of a terror in the church pews.

Young and antsy in a church pew, Brennen Beyer shifted endlessly.

This led his father and grandfather and even his uncle -- all pastors -- to believe one thing: Beyer wasn't destined to follow in their footsteps, let alone sit still.

"I don't know, I think I was just a wild young kid," Beyer said. "That was pretty much my M.O."

As so often happens, now, Brennen sees a role for himself in the church after graduation and he plans on pursuing that as a career.

3. Beyer plays defense, but he has made it into the end zone in his college career thanks to a tipped interception early in the Iowa game last year that he took back seven yards for the score.  Hopefully he can manage a couple more defensive touchdowns before his career is over.