The defending national champion Michigan Wolverines looked for inspiration from an unexpected source this week, but suffered an unfortunate result.
Before their biggest game of the season against No. 3 Texas, Michigan brought in New York Yankees Hall of Famer Derek Jeter, who gave a locker room speech the night before Saturday’s game. Jeter, who captained the Yankees for 12 years, was part of five World Series championships, including a streak of four titles in five years from 1996-2000. Michigan is hoping for a similar run after winning its first national championship since 1997 last season.
Jeter served as honorary captain of the Wolverines on Saturday against Texas native Matthew McConaughey on the other side.
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But Jeter, who grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and was a lifelong Wolverines fan, admits he may not have had quite the right gift when it came to giving a football-related speech.
“Having absolutely no experience with football in my life, I don’t know if they noticed any of it,” Jeter said of his speech to the players during an interview on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff Show.
Jeter said he wanted to give the team advice on what it’s like to stay on top as defending champions. Although Jeter has enjoyed many of those repeat victories as a member of the Yankees, he acknowledges that maintaining that position is very difficult.
“I think it’s basically just about getting a message across, a message that says when you’re on top, when you’re winning and you’re trying to repeat, do it again. I mean, sustainability over a long period of time is a big, big challenge, and they’re hoping to do that this year,” Jeter said.
But Jeter wasn’t even sure what impact his pregame speech would have on the team. He said the outcome of the game would reflect how effective his advice was.
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Derek Jeter jumps into the stands to catch a foul ball. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II/File)
“Let’s wait and see how the game goes before you give me credit,” Jeter said.
Michigan lost 31-12. The loss ended the team’s streak of 33 consecutive regular-season wins and was the most lopsided regular-season loss since the team’s 49-11 loss to Wisconsin in the COVID-shortened 2020 season.
McConaughey claimed bragging rights over the former Yankees captain, and he exercised that right very early in the day, before the actor had even landed in Michigan. McConaughey sent Jeter a video message from his plane during the Big Noon Kickoff, boasting that he hoped and expected it to be a “long day” for Jeter’s Wolverines.
“Jeter, I hope and think it’s going to be a long day for your big blue,” McConaughey said.
Jeter was a student at Michigan for a while, but never played sports there or completed a college degree.
After playing in the minor leagues for the Yankees, he took courses at Michigan during the fall semester of 1992 and re-enrolled for the following fall. However, when the Yankees asked Jeter to play in the instructional league in 1993, he dropped out and did not return to college.
The defending champions beat unranked Fresno State 30-10 in Week 1, but must now rebound from that loss amid a season full of distractions.
Derek Jeter (Steph Chambers/Getty Images/File)
The program is still under investigation for alleged illegal theft of signs by a former employee Connor StallionsThe investigation began in the middle of last season and resulted in the suspension of former head coach Jim Harbaugh for the final three games of the regular season.
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After the team won the national championship against Washington, Harbaugh left the team to take over the Los Angeles Chargers long before the investigation was complete. But the NCAA recently issued a four-year hearing order against Harbaugh as a result of its investigation into Michigan’s improper contact with recruits and players during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile head coach Sherron Moorewho was Harbaugh’s top assistant in 2023 and served as interim coach during Harbaugh’s multiple suspensions, spoke about his alleged relationship with the Stalions two weeks ago. Moore was accused of deleting text messages with the Stalions.
“All I’ll say is, I look forward to her release,” Moore said of his text messages with Stallions.
Michigan’s next game is next Saturday against unranked Arkansas before a big conference matchup on Sept. 21 with No. 13 USC in the first game between the two storied teams as conference rivals.
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