Thanks to the suggested videos YouTube (and of course who many of us know as Wolverine Historian) puts on your front page while logged in – I dropped about 12 on the below video of Tshimanga Biakabutuka’s days at Michigan.  From Zaire to Montreal, Canada, TB is seemingly stronger now than he had ever been (sorry Vincent Smith and Mike Shaw and Sam McGuffie and Carlos Brown and maybe a couple others).  But you watch this video.  We haven’t seen that type of combination since maybe Chris Perry in his senior season, but TB has some moves, and speed and power.

In 1996 [EDIT: eating some cereal.  I realized that Biakabutuka could not have had his big season in '96... and it was the reference of Michigan beating OSU at home in '97, that made me feel like foo! 1995], TB rushed for 1,818 yards, still the single-season Michigan record.  TB also has the second highest total for rushing yardage in a single game, not that you don’t already know that.  The 313.  Not sure what area code that is, although it seems familiar.  That’s the single-game performance that TB dropped on the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes on one late November day.

I can already see it.  I’ll be talking about that game when I’m old, crinkly, and crusty.  I was there with my dad, 13 years old.  Dad had no confidence that Michigan even had a shot to keep it close that day.  Farmer in Carhartts next to him says Michigan will win, no problem.  The farmer was calm as could be, almost as if he was bored with the minutes and action leading up to Michigan spilling out of the tunnel and eventually kickoff.

Not to slight the greatness of Chris Perry, Anthony Thomas, Tyrone Wheatley, or Mike Hart.  But go ahead and remind yourself how good Biakabutuka was, maybe the best we’ve seen in a long time.

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