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WEST BLOOMFIELD — When the University of Michigan won the 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this year, West Bloomfield High was well represented.
The Wolverines’ roster included four West Bloomfield graduates and a former coach.
Senior defensive back Makari Paige, junior running back Donovan Edwards, freshman offensive lineman Amir Herring and freshman wide receiver Semaj Morgan are all West Bloomfield High graduates.
West Bloomfield can also lay claim to a coaching connection. Michigan wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy led the Lakers for 11 seasons, including when the program won a Division 1 state championship in 2020.
Michigan won the program’s first national championship since 1997, as the Wolverines beat the University of Washington 34-13 Jan. 8 in Houston, Texas.
Paige had the opportunity to end his senior season with the Wolverines as a national champion.
He said he grew up watching collegiate national championship games on TV with his parents.
“This year, our plan, our mindset, was the national championship game, and being able to accomplish that goal that we had as a team, it’s a great feeling,” Paige said. “It lived up to my imagination of what it was supposed to be.”
In the championship game, Edwards ran for 104 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.
Prior to going to Michigan, he was considered one of the top running backs in the country due to the skills he displayed during his time at West Bloomfield, and his performance in Houston helped show viewers around the country why he was such a highly touted prospect.
Winning it all came as no surprise to him.
“It was a dream come true but also felt like it was where we were supposed to be,” Edwards said. “We said that we were going to win a national championship. … So, it just felt like the tables had aligned for all the hard work and all the adversity. … It was paying off.”
Herring described the atmosphere surrounding the national championship game as “kinda crazy.”
There were reportedly more than 72,000 fans in attendance, with the game airing in front of a national television audience on ESPN.
“My first year here, getting an opportunity to go to a national championship game, which a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to do — it was a great experience,” Herring said. “It was a pretty cool experience, growing up here in Michigan, seeing the success of Michigan, and finally getting that national championship was a great feeling, being a hometown kid. … Just remembering the journey that it took to go to this national championship, I’ll always cherish the moment.”
Keego Harbor Mayor Rob Kalman was among the attendees in Houston.
He is a University of Michigan alumnus and a season-ticket holder.
Kalman said that he knows someone in Texas who had an extra ticket.
“From the minute you pulled into the parking lot, it was electric,” Kalman said. “What a phenomenal experience. … It was … deafening in there. … I was surrounded by maize and blue where our seats were, and it was great.”
Along with the competition the Lakers faced during his high school playing days, Paige also credited West Bloomfield’s coaching staff for helping him prepare to play at the next level.
“There were very good coaches (who) taught us a lot of things about, just not play-calling, but, like, fundamentals of the game,” Paige said.
From Edwards’ perspective, some of the experiences he had during his time with West Bloomfield are equivalent to what he has gone through with Michigan, and he said that playing for the Lakers “absolutely” helped prepare him for a bigger stage.
“Everything that happened to me at West Bloomfield is the exact same thing that has happened to me at Michigan, so everything I went through is all coming back full circle,” Edwards said. “It’s great to see what God has done for me, to allow me to continue to grow as a person and as a player.”
Herring said that memories throughout the year are his biggest takeaways from the national championship experience. However, he also recalled the stiff competition that he faced as a player for West Bloomfield High and how that has paid big dividends for him at Michigan.
“Going against really good players year in and year out while I was at West Bloomfield helped me become the player I am here at Michigan, and they gave me the tools to succeed here — being prepared and doing the right things, on and off the field,” Herring said. “So, I feel like West Bloomfield’s a great stepping-stone for me.”
The West Bloomfield High connection to Michigan’s national championship team has not escaped Kalman’s attention, as that is part of the memories that he has taken from the Wolverines’ season.
“It was something years from now I’ll look back on and be like, ‘Yes, I was there; I saw Michigan, my favorite sports team, win the national championship,’” Kalman said. “I can’t speak highly enough about the experience. … The other thing that was really great to see, being the mayor of Keego Harbor — West Bloomfield is our high school, so it was really great to see four West Bloomfield High School alumni as part of the team. … That was a nice add-on bonus.”
