The Glasgow Brothers Take Overachieving To Another Level

Ryan, Graham and Jordan Glasgow are the epitome of overachieving.

David Turnley

Michigan came in at No. 15 on ESPN's Way-Too-Early college football rankings from earlier this year, which set the table for a look back at some of the biggest overachievers every to suit up for each program.

Every team has them. Two-star or no-star prospects, or perhaps even walk-ons, who become key contributors and even leaders and captains. Michigan might actually have the most unlikely trio of players from said list in the Glasgow brothers. 

Tom VanHaaren of ESPN looked back at every team from the top 25, going as far back as 2005, and singled out the players who outperformed expectations in the biggest way. It's not a surprise that all three Glasgow brothers were mentioned.

The Glasgow family has now produced three walk-ons for the Wolverines, all of whom have played important roles in different ways. Graham Glasgow is the oldest and played offensive line. Ryan, a defensive tackle, is the middle child, followed by Jordan, who played safety.

That worked out well for Michigan, as the three brothers have all turned into NFL players. Graham was selected in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions, Ryan was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2017 draft and Jordan was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the sixth round of the 2020 draft.

All three brothers going from walk-ons to NFL players is pretty remarkable.

NFL.com's Lance Zierlein nailed his breakdown of Graham when the big offensive lineman was coming out of Michigan.

Three-year starter who relies on power over athleticism to win his reps. Glasgow's strength at the point of attack will appeal to power running teams, but his inconsistent connection percentage on second level blocks may worry some teams. Glasgow needs to improve his hands, but he has enough upside to be a quality backup at two positions or maybe an eventual starter.

Graham just inked a four-year, $44-million deal with the Denver Broncos.

Zierlein was pretty spot on for Ryan, as well.

Glasgow wants in on the action at all times and is at his best when he's able to play the man in front of him. Glasgow's rock 'em, sock 'em approach should appeal to defensive line coaches looking for high effort depth along their defensive front, but his inability to rush at an NFL level means he's unlikely to be more than a two-down player which could slide him to Day 3.

Ryan is in the final year of his $2.8 million contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.

As for Jordan, Zierlein appears to have pretty high hopes for the Indianapolis Colts' sixth-round pick.

Glasgow is a fun player to watch with his boundless energy and fearless nature continuing to show up on snap after snap. He uses his hands effectively to help elude or unglue from blockers and he's a card-carrying special teams ace. 

The Colts are pretty deep at linebacker, but if Jordan is anything like his older brothers, he's going to figure out how to stick around.