WATCH: Ben Bredeson UA jersey presentation
ESPN 300 offensive lineman Ben Bredeson isn’t ready just yet to end his high school career, which is part of why he’s looking forward to playing in the Under Armour All-America game on January 4.
The game will give Bredeson, a Michigan commitment, the opportunity to play in one more high school game and prolong his career before heading to Ann Arbor to play for the Wolverines.
“It’s a big deal. I’ve watched it every year and just the kind of kids that are in it year in and year out,” Bredeson said. “They go on to college and do great things and it’s an honor to be incorporate with that group. It will be the last high school game I ever play, so I’m trying to make it as memorable as possible.”
That doesn’t mean that Bredeson isn’t looking forward to joining his future team at Michigan, though. The No. 58-ranked prospect says he is excited to work with new coach Jim Harbaugh and the staff he has assembled.
“It’s nice knowing that when I’m done here I’m going on to something great at Michigan. With the coaches coming in, develop linemen the way they do, it gets you excited,” he said. “I was pumped when they hired Harbaugh and now that Coach (Tim) Drevno is there, you couldn’t ask for a better combination of NFL guys that are there.”
Bredeson has been committed to Michigan since June, but there are a few aspects about him that fans might not know. Here is a Q&A with the future Wolverines lineman on what he’s looking forward to at the Under Armour game and a glimpse of his personal side.
What players are you looking forward to competing with or against the UA All America Game?
There’s a bunch of good players that are going down there. I want to see how well I can do and how everyone else is. It’s just going to be fun to go down with a bunch of great guys. To be able to meet them and then play with them, the group that’s going from the list I’ve seen, it’s all the top guys in the country. Just being involved with that is a big deal.
If you could start a team with any other player in your class who would it be?
That’s a tough one. You couldn’t really pass up on someone like Rashan Gary or Greg Little, those top guys. They’re going to go to colleges and they’ll be cornerstones of their recruiting classes. When they go to their program, the schools will be building a team around them so I would pick either of them.
What was your earliest football memory?
I started playing in seventh grade in my backyard with my dad. It was the week before the season and I had just gotten my cleats. Somehow we had gotten one of those blocking shields and my dad took me out back and started teaching me basics. I was just excited to learn how to play because I had never played before.
Which football player did you watch as a kid?
Brett Favre. Growing up in Wisconsin you have to say that even though he left. Aaron Rodgers is good now, but as a kid it was always Brett Favre. At school they would have jersey day and every kid would be wearing a Brett Favre jersey, so it was just the thing to do.
If you could take on any pro in their sport, who would it be?
It would probably be hockey. That was my first love, what I grew up playing. I would have to go against Alex Ovechkin or Sidney Crosby in hockey just to see how good those guys really are. I couldn’t hang with them, obviously, but just to see how good they are at their trade would be fun. I was a left wing, forward, so I would like to try. I played from when I was three years old until eighth grade. I could move pretty well for my size, but they would park me in front of the net and I would get all the tips and deflections in front.
Why do you wear your number (74)?
Freshman year I walked in and I got the last pick for jerseys and that was what I got stuck with and I kept it. I’m going to try to keep that at Michigan, but we’ll see how it goes.
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
When I was younger I was an active participant in chess tournaments around Wisconsin. I used to go around and do chess tournaments when I was 10. I was totally into it for about two years, it was like a phase almost and then I just stopped doing it. I couldn’t even tell you how it happened, but I think my mom saw an ad for it one day and said I was good at chess at home and I should try the tournament. Apparently those are really competitive and a big deal. Some schools have teams and clubs that train for hours and have uniforms in the tournaments. I showed up and did fine, but it was 'nerd haven' there. I never won anything. It is so hard to win because some of those kids, that’s their lives. That was probably one of the most competitive things I’ve ever done is the chess tournaments. There were parents talking trash outside while the kids played.