Tom Brady’s pregame speech to the 2016 Michigan football team last week never will see the light of day, because the New England Patriots quarterback didn’t allow cameras in the Wolverines’ locker room.
But based on the reaction from Michigan players in an ESPN feature on Brady’s return to Ann Arbor, it was a good one.
“It was a chilling speech,” offensive lineman Ryan Glasgow said. “It made the hair on the back of your neck stand up.”
Brady asked players at each position to stand up before kickoff against Colorado and told them they represented Michigan greats of the past.
“It made me realize maybe the greatest quarterback of all time was saying that I represent him,” Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight said. “That got me in the mindset that I wanted to go out and play even better than he ever did.”
It never was a certainty Brady would accept the invitation to be an honorary captain at Michigan during his four-game Deflategate suspension because the school knew “Tom felt estranged from the program,” booster Todd Anson told ESPN. But Michigan had Brady’s “closest friends and former teammates” reach out, and he surprisingly accepted the invite.
Click to read ESPN’s full feature on Brady’s Michigan return >>
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
