Michigan Wolverines Football: 30 greatest players of all-time
By Brad Weiss
In the history of Michigan football, few players had the kind of impact that Mark Messner had during his time in Ann Arbor. A stalwart on the defensive side of the ball for four seasons, Messner was a fixture in the starting lineup during the mid-1980s. He left school as one of the more dominant figures in school history.
Messner started for the Wolverines as a freshman in 1985, and was a member of one of the best defenses the Big Ten has ever seen. That Michigan defense led opponents to less than nine points a game. Messner was a big reason why they were so good against the run and pass.
An All-American in 1987 and 1988, Messner started every game of his college career, 49 in total, and left school with a ton of defensive records. He is the career leader at the university in sacks (36), and tackles for a loss (70). His five sacks in one game is also still a record. He was inducted into Michigan’s Hall of Honor in 2014.
The co-MVP of the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, Messner was seen as a bit undersized by NFL scouts. That is why he was not drafted until the sixth round of the 1989 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He played in only one season at the NFL level, as he blew out his knee in the NFC title game against the San Francisco 49ers and never played again.