Tom Brady’s untouchable success more often than not overshadows his initial struggles. His football career could’ve looked entirely different had he not pitched himself by sending VHS tapes to the Michigan Wolverines, with little hope of getting in. 

“So we started thinking about all the schools, and one of the schools that I ended up sending a tape to was Michigan,” he told his son, Benny. “I ended up going there because I thought, man, that's a real hard school for me to get into, but why don't I try to give it a try? Without sending that tape, I don't think Michigan would have ever seen what I could do.”

The father-son duo was talking about Brady’s early career as Brady shared stories of their family. The former New England Patriots quarterback shared that the VHS tapes were his father’s idea. 

“As I got to be recruited by different schools, Papa said, 'Why don't we make VHS tapes...I actually had to mail it. I had to go to the post office, put it in an envelope, and send it,” Brady shared in the February 4 episode of Conversations, a series by Instagram. 

“You're old,” Benny replied. 

It is difficult to imagine any school, even Michigan, was out of Brady’s league. He joined the Wolverines in 1996 for an underwhelming season. As a sophomore in the 1997 season, he was part of the national champion squad.  

Brady played in just four games and threw no touchdowns in the 1997 season. The following year, however, cemented his stardom, which would follow him forever. Out of 323 throws, he completed 200 in 12 games. 

He threw 14 passing touchdowns for 2,427 passing yards. In 1999, his senior year, he led the Big Ten conference with a 61 per cent passing rate for 2,217 passing yards and 16 passing TDs. The Patriots picked him 199th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft. 

For Michigan, having Brady as their alumnus is an unparalleled boast, but the quarterback hadn’t always received the love he deserved from the college.

How the Michigan Wolverines had to right their disrespect toward Tom Brady

Tom Brady’s relationship with his alma mater is somewhat complicated. He was not the fan favorite in college, was booed off for his faults during an early-season loss in 1998, and was never the first QB1 choice. 

“Brady stood by the tunnel for an hour, humiliated, signing his name only a handful of times,” Kevin Van Valkenburg wrote for ESPN in 2016.

In his junior year, Wolverines’ fans formed a long queue for Drew Henson’s autograph. Still on last season’s championship high, they mostly ignored Brady, who in his senior year led the Big Ten in passing yards. 

Then, in 2016, he returned to the school as an honorary captain for their September 17 game against the Colorado Buffaloes. This time, he was a four-time Super Bowl champion, and the Wolverines fanbase showered him with love long overdue. 

“The plan was for Michigan fans to shower their late-blooming prodigy with the love he'd never quite received when he wore the maize and blue,” Valkenburg wrote.

What are your thoughts on Brady’s career? Tell us in the comments.

Read more at the Michigan Football Community!

Written by

Akanksha Biradar