6/5/26 card show report: the appetizer

I'm back from a quick vacation down south (possibly more on that in a future post as it did involve a baseball game and related card purchase), and tonight I'll be posting my pickups from the first of the two shows I attended in June. This was the usual monthly one at Taylor Town Trade Center, whereas next time I'll recap the big meetup in Kalamazoo.

If May's $170 spending made up for the paltry $25 I threw down in April, June was a regression to the mean (which I made up for a couple weeks later!) as I exchanged a decent $53 for what you see below and more:

A new Grandy! Did you know I now own 300 of his cards, good for #1 on TCDb as the first to reach that milestone? 1000+ guys Gwynn, Larkin, and Maddux all came along for the ride on some fun inserts too.

No Griffey, but the other Junior at least rounds out the big PC guys, and my Pudge PC continued to skyrocket this year thanks to another trio here.

A Pistons THJ Refractor represents the lone basketball item, but I did make up for that a bit this month.

A couple nice looking Nicos kick off the football content, including a die-cut Select parallel and insert from Topps Chrome, a product you'll see a good amount of tonight. I also came away with a couple new cards of national champ RB Blake "The Great" Corum, one of which sports Donruss's Rated Rookie logo that I value above Topps's All-Star Rookie cup.

This football scan brings a great mix of color, some of which was from Panini brands, but most of which hails from Topps Chrome. The Peppers Red Ice looks great with the Giants' unis, but the Oluwatimi is the card I'm most excited for here because the transfer C who led the OL for the 2022 Big Ten champs doesn't appear on much cardboard.

Hey, how about six total cards of GOAT DB Charles Woodson to wrap up the non-hits? The Heisman-winner is four cards away from becoming football player #3 to join the 400-club in my collection, and not that far behind leaders Brian Griese (431) and Jim Harbaugh (400 even).

I managed to snag a few fun hits as well without breaking the bank. The Select jersey of "Gift from the football gods" DL Mason Graham represents his debut in my hits collection, which is pretty exciting. Meanwhile, the Pink Prizm (but red jersey swatch) of transfer (out) QB Joe Milton III is, appropriately enough, #3. And last up, not only did I land a second relic of #1 WR Roman Wilson, I also lucked into finding a beautiful Prestige auto of Graham's fellow national champ. It's foil, it's Prestige, and it's a Michigan uni card, so I love it...even if it uses a photo from before he switched to the #1 jersey!

Ordinarily that would be it, but I wasn't spending a ton and noticed some interesting oddball stuff on one of my usual seller's tables. In the end, I decided adding $10 to my total was worth it for this:

Does anyone else who grew up during the 80s or who collects the decade recognize the name "Topps Gallery of Champions"? If you do, then you already know what to expect:

This is the 1988 set of 12 mini aluminum "cards" representing some of the award-winners from 1987. The set, also available in bronze and silver at much higher prices, replicates each player's 1988 Topps card.

Hopefully you can get a decent idea from these images, but I've also included the checklist here:

As you can see, each player is represented only once, even if they won multiple awards (Dawson, McGwire, and Bedrosian). Of course the big draw for me was Tony Gwynn, but I also thought it was fun picking up such an oddball item in its complete, boxed form.

Of course Topps wanted you to buy the more expensive versions too, for about $134 and $484 delivered--and that was in 1980s dollars! Those prices equate to about $378 and $1366 today. Whoa!

Nope, I'm totally good with the $10 I spent for the 12-piece aluminum set, thank you very much.

It was another good Taylor show, but as I said in my last post covering the trade package Jeff brought along, the Kalamazoo meetup a couple weeks later was an absolute blast, and I'll plan on covering that next, so stay tuned!

1/3 and 1/31/25 Show Reports: Two-fer '25

Because I attended both January's and February's shows during the first month of this year (as you can see in the title, February's began on 1/31, and I like to go on Fridays), you get a two-fer post tonight!

#1 for the year was Friday, January 3, and my spending sheet says I threw down a year-high $120, which made for a strong start.

First, here's a scan of some pretty nice trade bait:

I've tried to swing back into getting baseball fodder since it seems that's what many folks prefer, but the football stuff just ends up being more plentiful much of the time, both in quantity and quality. The printing plate you see (scanned sideways, for some reason) stars Bears QB bust Mitchell Trubisky, and it hails from 2019 Panini Luminance (well, it was inserted into that year's Plates & Patches, but you know what I mean). I can't remember the exact price but I snagged it for less than $10.

As always, if you see anything you like, just ask and we'll see what we can work out!

As for my keepers,

It doesn't get much better than some "90s inserts rule" goodness! Junior Griffey features on the front of a '96 Pinnacle Team Pinnacle insert, Gwynn looks spiffy on a '97 Skybox E-X2000 base, Maddux is the face of a 2003 Fleer Tradition mini insert, and Pudge is the back half of the catching duo on Pinnacle's '97 Team Pinnacle version. Oh, and Ripken completes the quartet with a new relic card courtesy of '24 Ginter. Sweet!

The well-traveled Burke was a fun throw-in on the basketball side of things, and I'm always up for a cool Donruss numbered parallel, especially the Season Stat Line cards.

And it may not look it, but that '92 Pro Line football card was one of the most significant pickups for me this time. I'll explain why in a moment as we look at some backs.

The Reds' Sanders was a reasonable pick opposite Griffey to rep the NL OF in '95, his lone All-Star campaign. Maddux's Black & White mini card has a nice bonus of being numbered /1936 as a throwback to that year's Goudey design. I don't know why I included the back of Cal's Ginter relic here, but I did. Piazza was a natural counterpart to Rodriguez on the other Team Pinnacle insert.

And then we have my second example of a signature card from 1992 Pro Line Portraits' Autograph sets. OL Greg Skrepenak suited up for the Wolverines before being drafted by the Raiders, and he'd play 68 NFL games over five seasons between them and the Jaguars. His brief career combined with that era of the hobby means his certified auto selection is extremely limited, and this is one I was hot after since it's his only NFL version. I love adding signatures of new players to my collection and was happy for Skrepenak to join the club!

Four weeks later I headed back east down 94 for another Friday show. This time I spent a slightly odd (but even) $76, and I don't recall how I ended up at that number. Despite shelling out less cash, I brought home even MORE trade bait, if fewer PC additions:

Trade bait scan 1 of 2 is just the vertical cards, and most everything here was in the $1-$2 range, I believe.

And the other nine were of the horizontal variety. Lots more football, as you can see (and hopefully I'll get those sent out in TCDb deals at some point) with a pair of baseball relics. Want any? Please ask!

As for my keepers:

We'll start off this small assortment with another "90s inserts rule" reference. I don't know for sure if 1998 was my favorite year for Topps inserts, but after dragging their feet long enough to get way behind the likes of Pacific, Pinnacle, Fleer, and UD, Topps produced some bangers late in the decade. '98's Clout Nine, Focal Point, Mystery Finest, and Clemente Reprints were highlights, and to that group I'd add Hall Bound, a 15-card die-cut set honoring players who were practically shoo-ins for Cooperstown. Of that total, Clemens, McGwire, Bonds, and Juan Gonzalez were the only misses, for obvious reasons. Cal, of course, had no such problems. And here I added the Chrome version of his entry in that beautiful set!

Next I rewound the clock a decade while picking up the Whitaker/Trammell double-play combo in Starting Lineup card form. I've had (open) figure/card pairings of the two (plus Matt Nokes) since the year I turned six and was in retrospect lucky to find them at Meijer or Toys R Us, and now I have the inaugural iteration's cardboard issues. It was great finding them together and I think they were just a buck or two each. Cool!

Lastly, I think I paid about the same amount to add relic cards of a couple more Wolverines that are joining the hits collection tonight. QB Joe Milton III is the guy that transferred to Tennessee after the wacky 2020 "season," and then the hapless Patriots spent a pick on him. He was just flipped to Dallas where he'll try to be Dak's backup, I guess. Meanwhile, NCAA champ WR Roman Wilson joins him, and though his post-college year in football proved to be a bust due to injury, I'm hoping to see him making some plays for the Steelers in a few months.

The three football additions you saw tonight put me at 260 unique subjects in my football hits collection, and that's a number I've proudly increased quite a bit the past few years.

Posting these show pickups lets me put some more cards away and continue to chip at my backlog. Next I plan on showing off my lone February trade package, one that was plenty big enough to get its own month!

2024 trade package #24: Cards on Cards

Continuing with my marathon posting of trade packages this evening, here's #1 from earlier this month: a basketball-heavy mailer thanks to Kerry from Cards on Cards. Maybe this is something he can read as he nervously awaits his Oregon team's Wednesday Rose Bowl matchup with the hated Buckeyes. My suggestion: the Ducks wear crazy-ass jerseys all the time anyway so why not make an Oregon version of the iconic winged helmet and wait for Ryan Day to poop his pants like he usually does? Oh, and I happen to know that he has another envelope from me that may include one or more Ducks whenever he gets a chance to open it.

Anyway, here's what Kerry sent me earlier this month:

Most of the baseball fit in this one scan. Like his cards above, Baddoo may be feeling Blue after being DFAed so new pitcher Alex Cobb could join the roster. Greene, whose roster spot is secure, looks groovy on the Big League card, and he also offers my first look at this year's Stadium Club Chrome insert (not to be confused with the separate base issue). I wonder if Jung will get a chance to stick with the club now that Gleyber Torres has been signed and other moves may be in the works. Donruss' recent products are geared toward folks like me who love collecting classics like Sisler. Skubal, who's going to be very, very rich within a couple years, was an All-Star this year, as the above Topps insert reminded me. Verlander comprises the rest of the baseball content, and the shiny version of his Attax card makes the all-too-common regular versions seem even uglier than they are, if that's even possible.

Topps' flagship design has always been hit or miss with me, mostly the latter, but Stadium Club is rock solid when it comes to looks. I love the horizontal Verlander photo of him finishing his pitching motion, and the Sepia parallel looks quite nice as well.

Most (but not all!) of the rest of the content is basketball, and Hoops-related products are well represented. That works for me since I needed practically everything here! As with football, Panini released a Halloween-themed product called Haunted Hoops, and Bufkin and the younger Howard are two of the former Wolverines you can find in it. Burke is "just" a regular Hoops RC (nice!) and former UM coach Howard gets just his second card from the past decade to join my collection thanks to 2023-24 Topps Chrome, with Topps having to do the logoless thing like Panini does with baseball.

LeVert, Poole, Robinson, and both Wagner brothers also get the Haunted Hoops treatment here. Every card you've seen has been a base except for the two Orange parallels--Bufkin above and Poole here. Poole also gets a new Panini Flux for his PC, Robinson joins Bufkin above from the apparently-difficult-to-scan Hoops Premium Stock product, and Franz adds appearances from Panini Illusions and the most recent Topps Chrome.

Remember a bunch of the guys we just saw? Well they're back--in sticker form! These are all 2023-24 Panini Stickers, and four of them are standard versions while Poole gets a cool holofoil entry and Franz appears in the Global Icons subset representing his native Germany. I hope both Wagner brothers heal up in time to run it back next season!

Lastly, I can always count on a fellow college collector like Kerry to send some Wolverines my way. Better yet, half of these are college uni photos! Hutchinson's season ended too soon earlier this year but with the injury luck the Lions have had in 2024 there's no doubt he wouldn't have made it through the season anyway. That doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for collecting him, and I continue to root for his team to keep winning to make my friends who are Lions fans happy.

His former teammate J.J. McCarthy suffered his own injury before even making it through the preseason, and I hope he returns to health next year as well. For now I'll keep collecting him, especially Michigan cards like the above pair of Score inserts which remind me of happier memories earlier this year when JJ led Michigan to a national championship.

And lastly, I guess the theme of this section is injured recent Wolverines because Wilson also dealt with similar issues in the preseason and has barely played so far in 2024. His pro debut may be done prematurely but boy did he come up big time and time again for last year's title-winners catching 12 TDs including the one that tied the Rose Bowl against Alabama with under 2:00 to go in the eventual OT win for the Maize & Blue. While I tend to favor Score's RC design, Prestige does sometimes have its moments, and I've always appreciated them using college shots as well.

Kerry, thanks again for this envelope stuffed with Tigers and Wolverines! I'll continue my full-throated support for your team especially as a matchup looms with a team with possibly the most toxic fans in the nation. GOOD LUCK, DUCKS!

Well that's three posts I've done today and that leaves three for New Year's Eve, giving me something to do as I watch Michigan's noon bowl game against Alabama (again). Most of the impact players will be gone due to the draft or transferring, and it was already looking like a mismatch before taking that into account, so I won't be expecting a win, but regardless I'll be thankful for one last 2024 Michigan Football game after the calendar year began on the best note possible. LET'S GO BLUE!

2024 trade package #23: Sports Cards From the Dollar Store

My other trade package from November was the typical awesomeness from Doug at Sports Cards From the Dollar Store. He actually managed to get it out in time that it wasn't impacted by the Canada Post strike, which was definitely a stroke of luck considering how long that went on and the fact that we're still dealing with the repercussions of the stoppage. As a matter of fact, I've had a package ready to send back his way for a couple weeks now but unfortunately USPS still isn't accepting mail to send across the border, presumably while their Canadian counterparts get caught up. Oh well, it'll just have to wait.

As for what I got in my final mailing from Kitchener, Ontario for 2024:

We'll start with baseball as usual. I remember Damon's brief stint with the Tigers in 2010 and his decent bat but noodle arm. Larkin and Morris are former Wolverines that won baseball's Ultra best prize in 1990. Walewander seems to be a cult favorite of some Tigers fans.

Heading over to football, Tom Brady starts us off with Topps' return to the sport thanks to their Composite product, one that brings to mind its long lost Fusion set that combined multiple brands, and in this case that includes Chrome. DE Len Ford was one of the most accomplished players to come out of the program, winning an NCAA title and then three NFL rings in a HOF pro career. Harbaugh, of course, needs no introduction, but I hope his ability to quickly turn around the fortunes of teams he coaches becomes the narrative around him instead of the stupid "QB whisperer" crap. Jenkins and Wilson were both drafted this year and I happily added a card each to their RC totals, plus a Scorecard parallel for the Bengals DL. And we go all the way back to RB Hassan Haskins' pre-college days with a Team USA jersey that came out when he was a lower-rated recruit and not yet a Buckeye-killing back.

The non-UM Red Wings all fit into this scan and they also serve as a nice transition into the hockey stuff, giving you a bit of an idea of a couple of the brands that were prevalent in this package: UD flagship and MVP. I'm old enough to remember Ogrodnick's name (likely due to video games made late in his career), though he was gone from Detroit by the time I was really paying attention to the sport. It's very cool to add such a relatively old Wings card to my collection!

Now let's take a look at some Wolverines and WolverWings! Young Kraken star Beniers kicks off the group with another example of UD taking advantage of owning Fleer's brand names like Metal. Compher's having a relative down year with the Wings but then again, who isn't at this point? Connor is once again on a great scoring pace and isn't too far from equaling his '23-'24 numbers, actually. Luke Hughes' stats are also down a bit from last season while last season's Norris winner Quinn continues to stack up points.

WolverWing Dylan Larkin continues to be the heart of the team as its captain, and hopefully a new coach will inspire the team to play up to their potential. Norris suits up for Doug's Senators and is among the team leaders in goals in his sixth season (though two of those saw him appear in just 11 games). Rare Wolverine-in-Buffalo Power just played in his 200th NHL game and has a chance to improve on some decent stats from last season. Trouba, of course, finally got out of New York as he was flipped to Anaheim earlier this month. And not-remotely-rare Wolverine/Blue Jacket Werenski has a chance to finally return to the 20-goal mark, his career high from 2019-20, which would be pretty cool for the stud defenseman. While I'm happy with the various base cards here, he appears on one of the best non-hits, a 2019-20 SP Game Used Orange Rainbow parallel that's numbered to just 103(?) copies.

There are just two horizontal cards to look at this time, but they're both worth a look! Beniers is back with a sweet die-cut numbered issue from 2022-23 SPx, which is probably the best of him in my collection besides the Metal Universe RC above. Connor also makes another appearance thanks to a UD insert called Stars of the Rink that has a cool rainbow "dots" pattern.

And then we have the hits, and boy are they nice ones! Number one is my first autograph of yet another Blue Jacket, defenseman Nick Blankenburg. The two-year Wolverine played three seasons with Columbus before signing with Nashville this past July. I absolutely love the look of his uncirculated autographed acetate RC from UD's Clear Cut brand.

The next autograph is somewhat similar with former Jets/current Wings C Andrew Copp signing an SPx card from the previous year's Clear Cut offering. The holographic background makes it a true throwback to SPx's origins and I feel like UD went away from that design aspect to its detriment, so it's a sight for sore eyes here. That's my fourth auto of the WolverWing.

And last up is one more Werenski appearance (hey, there's a reason he's a top-10 guy in my Michigan Hockey PC!). Though I previously claimed four hits to his name, it took #5 here to add my first signature. That comes from the shiny 2022-23 UD Stature Autographs set, one which appears to parallel the base set, which is already fairly high-end itself. I like that his name is fairly legible and as a bonus he even throws in his jersey number, one he has in common with my top baseball PC guy. Needless to say I appreciate Doug chipping away at the list of Wolverines for whom I need certified autographs, one I'm somewhat maintaining over on TCDb.

Doug, thanks so much for this outstanding envelope to end our year of trading. Again, I'm frustrated that I couldn't send a return sooner due to the strike, but I promise it'll be worth the wait, plus at least I have it ready to go at the drop of a hat. In the meantime I'll work on starting a new stack for you at this weekend's show. I hope you and Mischief had a merry Christmas!

I'll be back soon (possibly very soon!) with more trades from December.

2024 Facebook purchase: the Champs Feel a Draft

In case I haven't mentioned it lately, the Michigan Wolverines football team won the 2023 NCAA Championship. Yep, they did that! 15-0 including beating Ohio State for the third year in a row, taking the Big Ten Conference crown (ditto), triumphing over Alabama in an instant Rose Bowl classic, and finally suffocating Washington to put the icing on the cake.

I knew I planned to celebrate by buying various memorabilia to help me enjoy what's sure to be a once-in-a-lifetime type of team, and one of those purchases came about a week after the last of the confetti fell in Houston.

A Facebook Marketplace seller had listed complete 110-card sets of the NIL-funding 2023 Valiant Michigan Wolverines base cards, and while I skipped last year's due to the cost, I knew I wanted one from this past season. He was asking $175 each, and I talked him down to $150 each for two of them by meeting up with him and paying cash--one for me, and one for Jeff, naturally.

It worked out nicely for both the seller and me, despite being an absolutely skin-burningly freezing day where I was bouncing all over frozen drifts of snow. The guy had clearly bought a lot of packs and was making money back selling sets while compiling the autographs and other cool stuff.

I got back home, built the checklist, uploaded it to TCDb, and then got to work scanning the fronts and backs of all 110 cards. And now that I'm catching up from January, I thought today, the last day of the 2024 draft, would be a great day to recap them a bit.

Don't worry, I won't show off all 110 cards; You can head here to see the whole thing if you feel like it. But I am going to do a quick run through of the guys in the set who got drafted this year, the players still available as UDFAs, and a few stars that are sticking around for at least one more season.

First, here's a look at a typical front and back courtesy of scary returning DL Kenneth Grant. You've got white borders on two edges, black accents, number/player/position info inside maize and blue sections, and part of that iconic winged helmet up front. The photos of college action look great, and in a corner you can see the logo of Valiant, the marketing company that funnels money from purchases of these and other items to the players.

The back offers a different helmet, more of the same name/number/position data, a bit of biographic info, and notes from their Michigan and high school careers. These cards are unnumbered and I sorted them alphabetically by last name.

On to the draftees:

J.J. McCarthy (QB): 10th overall (first round), Minnesota Vikings

A few players got two cards and it's no surprise that the former five-star that promised to get the team back to the playoff and win it all is one of them. He'll take his athleticism and zen mindset to Minnesota to eventually replace absolute chud Kirk Cousins.

Kris Jenkins (DT): 49th overall (second round), Cincinnati Bengals

Jenkins was part of a defense that consistently stifled opponents, and he finished with career highs in TFL (4.5) and sacks (2.5) while also tacking on a fat guy interception.

Mike Sainristil (CB): 50th overall (second round), Washington Commanders

The converted WR who made the play of The Game against OSU in '21, Mikey is the embodiment of this team and played with zero selfishness after a positional switch. He made big plays and got to wear the Turnover Buffs very often. He'll be a football coach and/or US president when all is said and done.

Junior Colson (LB): 69th overall (round 3), Los Angeles Chargers

Colson is another bigger name guy that gets two cards here. He didn't put up gaudy numbers but was ultimately reliable in his three college seasons. His reaction to former college coach and new NFL boss Jim Harbaugh "choosing him again" was heartwarming.

Blake Corum (RB): 83rd overall (round 3), Los Angeles Rams

What else can you say about "Blake the Great?" The RB with tree trunks for legs isn't a speed burner but he was almost automatic at moving the chains and getting into the end zone from 10 yards out or less. The program TD leader leaves a legacy of big plays in big moments.

Roman Wilson (WR): 84th overall (round 3), Pittsburgh Steelers

The Hawaiian WR more than earned his #1 jersey by becoming a favorite target of McCarthy, finishing with 48 receptions, 12 of which were scores. His TD catch against a Nebraska player's helmet will be a highlight for years, but no play was bigger than the rising catch he made in comeback mode against Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

Zak Zinter (OG): 85th overall (round 3), Cleveland Browns

Zinter was a huge piece of the interior of an O-line that protected McCarthy and run-blocked for Corum and the other running backs, so when he went down with a broken leg in the OSU game, the team could have folded. Instead, Blake Corum scored a TD for "6-5" on the very next play, and the team finished their job without missing a beat.

A.J. Barner (TE): 121st overall (round 4), Seattle Seahawks

The Indiana transfer made the best decision of his life heading northeast to Ann Arbor for the '23 season. Though his numbers don't stand out, he appeared in all 15 games and got himself drafted after proving himself to be a solid TE2.

Trevor Keegan (OG): 172nd overall (round 5), Philadelphia Eagles

Another absolute monster that fits the stereotype of offensive linemen, he'll likely be a fan favorite on a team that just saw Jason Kelce retire.

Michael Barrett (LB): 240th overall (round 7), Carolina Panthers

Michael Barrett is a guy who'd been around since the 2019 season, meaning he saw the lows of the goofy 2020 COVID campaign and still stuck around through everything. His reward: glory and lots of hardware.

(No card) LaDarius Henderson (OT): 249th overall (round 7), Houston Texans

The Arizona State transfer tackle doesn't appear in this set, but he did a sold job at that position despite not being a star. Very cool that he gets to hang out with fellow Wolverine Nico Collins and troll his QB about winning The Game.

Jaylen Harrell (EDGE): 252nd overall (round 7), Tennessee Titans

I believe Harrell had another year of eligibility left but obviously opted to forgo that, and there's nothing wrong with going out on top. He improved on a pretty nice '22 season--7.5 TFL and 3.5 sacks, with 9.0 and 6.5, respectively, along with a pair of forced fumbles.

Cornelius Johnson (WR): 253rd overall (seventh round), Los Angeles Chargers

While Michigan didn't break the record of 15 players drafted, CJ's former/new coach Harbaugh made him #13, a program record. He scored just one TD on 47 receptions in a run-heavy offense that tended to favor Roman Wilson and the TEs, but he was often reliable with an occasional drop. The replays of him torching OSU DBs for long catch-and-run TDs will forever be burned in my brain.

A few ex-Wolverines who were also drafted:

• Xavier Worthy (WR), #28, Chiefs: he doesn't really count but was a one-time commit who couldn't enroll due to some of the usual admissions ridiculousness that tends to happen around here. I'm happy that he went on to have a great career at Texas that earned him a first-round selection
• Erick All (TE), #115 (4th round), Bengals: a very talented TE, All will forever be remembered for a game winning catch-and-run score against Penn State in '21. Injuries shortened his '22 season and then he transferred to Iowa, only to have his season cut short there. It's nice to see him get a chance in the league.
• Joe Milton (QB), #193 (6th round), Patriots: a QB that could amaze you and baffle you on consecutive plays, Milton opened the 2020 season with a bang, then lost his job to Cade McNamara. He could throw the ball the length of the field and sometimes even within a few yards of one of his teammates. He put up 20 TDs through the air and another seven on the ground in his third and final season with Tennessee, and reportedly isn't interested in a position switch. We'll see how that works out.

The following players, most of whom were in the set, are now undrafted free agents:

Karsen Barnhart (OG)

I'm a bit surprised the Paw Paw native didn't get drafted, but at least the team valued his versatility in Ann Arbor, where he played all along the OL except for center.

Trente Jones (OL)

Jones is one of a number of guys who could have come back, and in his case he very likely would have been able to put more on film after being a swing lineman, filling in ably as needed and working well in jumbo sets.

Braiden McGregor (EDGE)

I believe McGregor is another guy that could have stuck around for one more season. He put up career highs with 9.0 TFL and 4.5 sacks along with a forced fumble, and he made some important plays, though didn't pop up as much as some of the team's bigger stars.

(No card) Drake Nugent (C)

A transfer from conference foe Nebraska, Nugent came in and handled the center position well. I guess some of the transfers just didn't make it in time to be part of the set for whatever reason.

(No card) Josh Wallace (CB)

Wallace transferred in from UMass as a grad student and quietly had a pretty solid season that ended with some excellent plays in the two playoff games.

Two other former players who transferred also went undrafted (and weren't part of this set):

1. Eyabi Okie-Anoma (EDGE): a bit of a nomad, he suited up for Alabama in 2018, Michigan in 2022, and Charlotte last year.
2. Taylor Upshaw (DE): Upshaw was a Wolverine from 2019-2022 then headed to Arizona for his final season. He finished with 8.5 sacks but missed out on winning a title.

Finally, here's a few returning stars from the set who we'll get to see in 2024:

Donovan Edwards (RB)

Mason Graham (DL)

Will Johnson (CB)

Colston Loveland (TE)

Semaj Morgan (WR)

Alex Orji (QB)

That takes care of the 2024 draft for now, at least until I can start buying up and trading for cards of some of the above players. I'll be back with more posts soon but until then, as always, GO BLUE!