Tom Brady’s relationship with Michigan has never been particularly straightforward. But there’s no denying the role Michigan played in shaping the person and player he ultimately became.
In a first-look teaser for FOX Sports’ upcoming two-part documentary, “The Team: Michigan Football,” released Saturday during “Big Noon Kickoff,” Brady offered a reflection on his time in Ann Arbor.
“If I look back on Michigan, that wasn’t the choice,” Brady says in the teaser. “I went to a place that there was no guaranteed success. If anything, when I look back, I was guaranteeing a lot of hardships.”
Brady left his hometown of San Mateo, California, in 1995, to play for a Michigan program that already had a crowded quarterback room. He redshirted during his freshman year and spent the next two seasons as a backup, watching Brian Griese lead the Wolverines to an undefeated season and a share of the national championship in 1997.
Brady would go on to finish his college career with a 20-5 record as a starter, including wins in the Citrus Bowl and Orange Bowl, but it wasn’t always easy. Those challenges were central to the person he became.
“Do I look back and wish I would have changed anything? No, not at all,” Brady said in the clip. “Is my relationship with Michigan a little bit complicated? Yeah. It definitely is.”
“From age 17 to when I walked on the campus to when I left, those 4.5 years really shaped who I was as a person,” he added. “It really defined who I could be going forward.”
Executive produced by Brady and former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, “The Team: Michigan Football” will offer a deeper look at the program’s history and legacy.
Part 1 premieres Friday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m. ET on FOX, the night before Michigan and Ohio State meet in “The Game” on “Big Noon Saturday.” Part 2 will air Saturday, Dec. 12, at 6:30 p.m. ET. Both installments will also stream live on FOX One.
