Closer Look

Michigan kicker Brabbs hits his shot at redemption

Michigan's Philip Brabbs had missed field goals from 36 and 42 yards before nailing this last-second game-winner. AP

By Stewart Mandel, CNNSI.com

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- It was a solitary voice ringing from among the 111,491 at Michigan Stadium. With 1:24 remaining in the home team’s clash with Washington and the situation beginning to look fairly hopeless, his words summed up the Wolverines’ day to that point.

“We want Hayden!”

But Hayden Epstein, Michigan’s reliable kicker of the four previous seasons, was nowhere to be found. Nor were his equally capable predecessors, Jay Feeley and Remy Hamilton.

They'd been replaced by two unacclaimed newbies: Philip Brabbs and Troy Nienberg, who so far had combined to miss all three of their field goal attempts, including Nienberg’s 27-yard chip shot that would have put the Wolverines ahead with little time remaining.

What happened after that, however, allowed one of the day’s heretofore goats not only to redeem himself, but also to become a hero. He was at the center of a moment that some players described as “a dream come true,” “something every kid dreams about,” “one of the greatest moments in Michigan history” and “one of the most clutch kicks I’ve ever seen.”

Thanks to a couple of clutch plays by Michigan and a couple of absolute gaffes by Washington, the Wolverines wound up with another chance at a field goal, this one to win it. And Brabbs, a former walk-on benched in his first start after first-half misses from 36 and 42, not only returned but also came through, nailing a 44-yarder as time expired to send the 13th-ranked Wolverines to a memorable 31-29 season-opening victory over the 11th-ranked Huskies.

“I was hoping to hit a 57-yarder to beat Notre Dame,” Brabbs said. “But this will do.”

Described by coaches and teammates as “quiet,” “low-key” and “polite,” Brabbs didn’t hesitate to bask in his newfound glory. Receiver Tyrece Butler pointed and exclaimed, “You the man, Brabbs!” Defensive end Dan Rumishek took it one step further, giving the back of Brabbs’ head a smooch.

Hard to believe that only moments earlier, the Wolverines had been in the midst of a full-fledged kicking nightmare.

“I was a little rattled [by the misses], but for some reason I had this feeling there was going to be this opportunity to come through at the end,” Brabbs said of his first game-winner since his junior year of high school. “I didn’t want to let my teammates down again.”

Head coach Lloyd Carr acknowledged that Brabbs’ first-half struggles provoked a temporary change of kickers. But his confidence in the fourth-year junior apparently didn’t wane that much.

Sitting at the Husky 42 with 12 seconds remaining -- following Butler’s recovery of teammate Braylon Edwards’ controversial fumble on 4th-and-2, which kept the drive alive, and prior to Washington’s mind-boggling 12-men-on-the-field penalty that would move Michigan up 15 yards -- Carr had every intention of trotting Brabbs out for a 59-yard attempt.

“Brabbs has committed hours and hours,” Carr said. “Not a day passed this summer I didn’t look out and see him out there practicing kicks.”

The kicking game had been Carr’s overriding concern throughout fall camp, and for 59 minutes and 56 seconds, it appeared as if his worst fears had come true. But now, instead of uncertainty at the kicker position, the Wolverines instead have found a new hero, one whose addition to Michigan lore likely will be replayed for many years to come.

Not that the hero necessarily agrees.

“I wouldn’t really call myself a hero,” said Brabbs. “I only made one of three field goals.”

 

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