The Players’ Corner

From the moment he stepped onto the football field, Caden Kolesar held a singular dream: following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and representing the Michigan Wolverines. At times, it felt like a distant dream, but his hope never wavered.

When the chance to live out his lifelong dream became a reality, Caden seized every single moment. His story is a powerful narrative of how extreme discipline can not only achieve a dream but redefine who can leave a lasting impact.

The Michigan Family Legacy

Caden isn’t the only Kolesar to don the blue and maize on Saturdays. It’s a legacy bound through three generations, and one he dreamt of continuing.

He started his athletic journey loving soccer as a kid, but growing up watching his dad’s 12-minute Michigan football tribute video all the time, football was always meant to be. It didn’t take long for him to realize he loved football “more than anything else.”

Football came naturally for Caden, as he said, “My whole family is a football family… Football just runs in my blood, and I knew that early on.” The list of his family’s football careers is nothing short of incredible: his grandfather played at Michigan and spent time in the Canadian Football League, his father played at Michigan and for the Buffalo Bills, one of his uncles played at Miami of Ohio, and another one of his uncles played for the University of Arizona and the Buffalo Bills.

His family used their experience to guide him along the way, “My dad and my family did a good job teaching me about the importance of the game, having me meet all these notable people and legends of Michigan football, and teaching me how to play the game right. I feel like I was raised by a coach… I got all those lessons from him and my uncles.”

To Caden, football meant that much more because of the lessons and the legacy, and football in Ann Arbor especially meant more.

The Offer

“Michigan had been my dream this entire time, and I’ve just been hoping…hoping that they offer me,” the words that ran through Caden’s head before a meeting with Michigan Head Coach John Harbaugh in December of his senior year.

It was the week after Caden’s high school team, St. Edwards, won the Ohio State championship. And he was a few hours away from making his call to commit to play college football, but not for his dream school, “I was actually about to commit to UPenn, and I didn’t really want to go there… It was the week after we had won the state championship, and I had visited Penn. We got back that weekend, and that Monday after school, I was going to call the coach that was recruiting me and commit.”

During his econ class that same day, his plans took a spin when his coach called him, “[Coach Lombardo] was like, ‘Coach Harbaugh is here and wants to talk to you.’”

While Caden had a preferred walk-on offer from Michigan, he felt that the offer didn’t have much substance behind it given his family legacy, so he was careful not to get his hopes up, “I was like, ‘Alright, they’ve been here before, I’m not going to get my hopes up…he’s probably just gonna say, ‘Hey, tell your dad I say hi,’ because they played together so they have a little relationship.”

Caden, a teammate committed to Michigan, another teammate with a preferred walk-on offer, and the coaches were talking when Coach Harbaugh asked if there was a different place he could talk with Caden and Coach Lombardo.

Then, his dream became a reality, “We leave the coach’s office we were in and go down to the pit… I’m sitting there with Coach Lombardo and Coach Harbaugh, and he gives me the offer. In my head I’m like, ‘I can’t believe this is happening…’ I get chills every single time I talk about it.”

His family’s reaction was everything:

“I try calling my dad, but my dad’s not picking up… After I try to call him, I call my mom. She starts crying. I call my uncle. He starts crying. I call my aunt. She starts crying. Then I finally get a hold of my dad, and he’s just over the moon. My whole family is just in shambles. I remember after school being like, ‘I gotta drive right to my Nona’s house.’ I told her, and I just remember her crying on the couch. And I’m like, ‘Wow, this is why I do this.’”

The Expectations

Caden knew there were some outsiders that didn’t believe he would make an impact at Michigan. And he knew himself that it wouldn’t be an easy path, but he was determined to grow.

He recounted, “There were plenty of tweets and social media posts that I saw after it was made public that I was coming. One guy said, ‘He’s never gonna see the field. He’s going to play 4 years and he’s never going to see a snap.’”

But he didn’t let outside opinions get to him, “I just used that as fuel to the fire. I remember that one tweet I made it my lock screen. I remember these guys counting me out already. They don’t even know who I am.”

He was far from arrogant when it came to his expectations, but he wanted to make an impact. He remembered, “I knew I was coming into a big-time program. We have big-time athletes, guys who were bigger, faster than me. Big-time names. 5 stars. 4 stars. I actually came in with two other safeties… I was the third safety coming in with them. So right off the bat, I’m like, ‘Ok, I have competition in my own class first of all, not even to mention the seniors, juniors, sophomores already there.’ Going in, I was realistic about my expectations for playing. I knew it was gonna be special teams early on.”

Growth Through Discipline

“How you do anything is how you do everything,” the mentality it took for Caden to make an impact at a powerhouse football school despite not having quite as many natural gifts as some of his teammates.

He admitted, “When you get to Michigan, some of those guys are freaks, athletic specimens. Right when I get there, I’m like I’m not one of those guys. Yeah, I have a lot of gifts. I’m blessed in a lot of ways. But some of these guys are blessed in a little more. So I knew that I had to take advantage of every single thing that I could control to elevate myself as much as I could.”

He knew that to play at Michigan, it takes maximum effort in “Every extra thing you can do. You’re in the weight room and you’re pushing yourself to the max. There are no breaks. There are no shortcuts… I’m trying to be the fastest guy. I’m trying to lift the most out of my position. I’m trying to jump the farthest. I’m trying to be the best in conditioning. That constant sense of competition not only with the guys around you but with yourself. I’m going to be better today than I was yesterday.”

Caden credits a big aspect of his day-to-day improvement to having “A calendar I put on my door, and every single day at the end of the day, I would rate the day one to five stars. So a five-star day is I did everything I needed to do: I worked out, I did a little extra, I watched film, I stretched, I ate well, I slept well, I did my homework, I read, I journaled, I meditated.” It helped give him an edge on others because he took atomic habits like nutrition and recovery seriously.

He admitted that it took sacrifices along the way. “Some days you wake up and you’re like, ‘I cannot believe it’s 5:00 a.m., I have a 6:00 a.m. lift and then class all day. And then practice or film. I don’t want to be doing this today. My body hurts. I’m tired. I don’t want to be doing homework. I don’t want to go to class.’ But you have to remind yourself what your goals and your priorities are. You can only do so much. You have to sacrifice things. You have to sacrifice your social life; you can’t be going out all the time. I mean, if you have a lot of talent you can. There are stories like Johnny Manziel or [Rob] Gronkowski. I knew I couldn’t do that.”

When you don’t have a natural advantage, you have to make up for it in other areas. For Caden, it was extreme discipline and a holistic life to maximize his potential as a student-athlete.

Embracing Special Teams

Caden’s discipline guided him from playing in 3 games as a freshman and performing “okay” to being named the Special Teams Player of the Year twice.

While some programs and some players don’t take special teams seriously, Coach Harbaugh and the Wolverines emphasized it, and Caden embraced it.

He knew it was his chance to play at first, but as his career developed, he continued to take it seriously. He expressed, “I was so dedicated and committed to football and special teams. I was like, ‘I’m going to be the best special teams player on this team and in the country.’ I just committed myself to it and began to really fully grasp the concepts… It’s so crazy how deep it can get and the level of detail you can get into.”

After a few guys graduated, Caden got to take a big leap in his junior year and play all four phases of special teams. With more phases came more opportunities, even if they are limited. He explained that with special teams, “You have to be ready for anything at any moment. You have to be on your A-game at any moment because there are only 20 plays… There’s a limited opportunity for you to make a play. So when that opportunity comes, if you miss it, you’re going to hate yourself all week. It eats at you because you know there’s only so many opportunities.”

But he embraced having limited opportunities, because when the big plays happen, they’re even that much more important. Like when Caden blocked a punt versus UConn or flipped the field with his punt return versus Washington.

To him, running 40 yards down the field on the opening kickoff to a jumping stadium was football. Even if it wasn’t flashy, it helped the team, and he was always ready for the game-changing moment.

The Journey Versus the Destination

Growing up in Ohio and in an era where Ohio State dominated Michigan, Caden’s number one goal was to take down the Buckeyes.

In his junior year, he did just that, and it meant the world to him and his family. He recalled, “I remember just hugging my dad, and my dad is crying in my arms. We’re both just crying, and then my uncle, who didn’t even go to Michigan, he’s crying.”

While this moment checked off a huge personal and team goal, it was only one of the moments of glory for Caden in his time at Michigan. In his fifth year, his team won the final game of the year. They took down Washington in the National Championship to complete an undefeated season.

He expressed the honor that it is to be a part of such a historic moment, but said, “You’re working for the prize. You’re working for the goal. But the journey is what it’s all about… Yeah, I have rings, but they’re in a lockbox. I don’t wear them. I don’t look at them… They’re cool to have but… It’s all about the relationships and the memories that you created with your coaches and your teammates.”

Caden Kolesar’s journey through Michigan football is far more than a collection of highlights or even rings. It’s a testament to the power of a deeply rooted dream, fueled by an unbreakable work ethic and a commitment to the little things. He proved that impact isn’t always defined by star ratings, but by unfaltering discipline, personal sacrifices, and a holistic commitment. For Caden, the ultimate victory wasn’t just winning a national title; it was the process, the grind, and the joy it brought to the ones closest to him.