Drake Nugent stood on the field after Michigan’s win in the national championship in Houston on Monday, maize and blue confetti raining down on him, and the center stretched his arms to the sky and smiled.
After losing much more than he won across eight seasons at Highlands Ranch and Stanford, he reached college football’s pinnacle with the Wolverines. In doing so, Nugent entered rarified air as the first Colorado product in 18 years to be a starting lineman on a Division I FBS national championship team.
“I transferred from Stanford because I really wanted to go somewhere where I could win some games,” Nugent said. “I was tired of losing, and Coach (David) Shaw was leaving, so I didn’t want to have to deal with a new staff coming in… I got my degree from Stanford, so I already had that box checked off. I just wanted to go somewhere that was the mecca of college football.”
Not since fellow HRHS alum Kasey Studdard started at left guard on Texas’ 2005 title team has a Centennial State recruit accomplished what Nugent did. Nugent anchored Michigan’s line after playing four years at Stanford, the last two as a starter and the Cardinal captain in 2022.
The son of former CSU quarterback Terry Nugent, Drake made the most of his status as a “one-year mercenary” for Michigan after winning the starting center job in fall camp. He was a Rimington Trophy finalist and first-team All-Big Ten selection.
“As I was standing under the confetti, I was thinking back all the way to elementary school when I started playing football,” Nugent said. “In the recruiting process, the Pac-12 schools looked at me, but nothing like Michigan and nobody from the SEC, probably because I was a little undersized. But when I came here, I looked around the locker room and was like, ‘Wow, we really do have the pieces to do this.’”
Nugent helped the Wolverines rack up 303 rushing yards in Monday’s title win over Washington at NRG Stadium, a storybook ending to a controversial fall for Michigan. Head coach Jim Harbaugh served a three-game suspension at the start of the season following an NCAA investigation into alleged recruiting violations in 2020, then later was dealt another three-game suspension for a sign-stealing scandal.
In the wake of Michigan’s 15-0 season — more wins than Nugent experienced in his four seasons at Stanford combined — the lineman believes his team was vindicated by their victories over rival Ohio State in the final regular season game, and then Alabama and Washington in the College Football Playoff.
“The timing of that sign-stealing thing acted as a catapult for us,” Nugent said. “Once that happened, the whole team knew, ‘Ok, they can call us whatever they want.’ But they took (Michigan staff member) Connor Stalions out of the program. And if we kept winning, and we went all the way to win it all, then it basically verifies the fact that everyone’s innocent.”
Nugent said his favorite moment of the season was the final play of the Alabama game in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
After Michigan’s offense engineered a fourth-quarter drive to force an extra frame, the Wolverines defense stuffed Alabama at the goal line in overtime to secure a 27-20 victory in what turned out to be Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban’s final game.
“As a Stanford guy in the Pac-12, all you ever think about is playing in the Rose Bowl,” Nugent said. “All I wanted to do was put that rose in my mouth and watch the fireworks go off in Pasadena. That was unbelievable, and arguably better than winning the national championship game.”
Nugent was one of two Colorado starters in the national title game, with Washington right tackle Roger Rosengarten on the other side. The Valor Christian alum turned in a great season — per Pro Football Focus, Rosengarten allowed zero sacks on 610 pass-block snaps leading into the championship — but was flagged for a key holding call against Michigan that negated a big play and zapped Washington’s momentum early in the fourth quarter as the Huskies trailed 20-13.
Columbine product Andrew Gentry also saw action on special teams for Michigan in its 34-13 win. The game also featured four other local alums on the rosters in defensive lineman Reece Attebery (Eaglecrest), linebacker Hayden Moore (Regis Jesuit) and offensive lineman Connor Jones (Palmer Ridge) for the Wolverines, as well as offensive lineman Zach Henning (Grandview) for the Huskies.
Nugent — who did not receive an offer from CU out of high school — hopes more recruiters take notice of what Colorado prep stars accomplished for college football’s two best teams this season.
“It’s tough because Colorado doesn’t have crazy numbers of (blue-chip) recruits,” Nugent said. “… But what (Rosengarten and I did) just shows there’s definitely some gems in there for these coaches to be able to find, even at the highest levels of college football.”
Now, Nugent will head to Frisco, Texas, to train at the OL Masterminds facility to prepare for Michigan’s pro day and the NFL Scouting Combine. Many draft pundits forecast the former All-Colorado lineman as a mid-to-late round pick. Nugent says he’s operating by the mantra of “don’t let the sugar rot your teeth.”
“That mindset is going to be crucial for me going forward, and it’s also how I attacked this year,” Nugent said. “All those (projections) are just noise. You could tell me I’m a second-rounder, or a priority free agent, or a non-priority undrafted free agent… Any way it comes, all I’m looking for is a shot, and to get my foot in the door is the best thing I need.”
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