GPS graduate reflects on life as a national champion

GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Thirty minutes separated the University of Michigan football from becoming national champions, and only seven points separated the University of Washington from being right back in the driver’s seat.

As the team gathered after the first half, Michigan sophomore defensive lineman Joey Klunder said the Wolverines coaching staff repeated one thing to the 143 guys who crowded the Houston Texans’ NRG Stadium locker room.

“‘Thirty minutes for the rest of your life’ is what they said,” Klunder said. “Thirty minutes, you close this out and you’re a national champion. Nobody can take that away from you. You have coach (Sherrone) Moore over there, the offensive coordinator, screaming, ‘Smash, smash, smash, smash,’ as he loves to say.”

The rest was history as Michigan defeated Washington 34-13, earning the Wolverines their first national championship since 1997.

Klunder, who graduated from Grosse Pointe South High School in 2022, had no shortage of offers coming out of high school, garnishing attention from the majority of the Mid-American Conference, all of the service academy and Ivy League schools — thanks to an impressive 3.9 GPA and 1,480 SAT score — and teams such as Bucknell, Lehigh, Columbia and Eastern Kentucky.

But born and raised to represent the maize and blue, starting off as a diehard fan on Saturdays, Klunder never took his sights off one day running out the tunnel and slapping the “Go Blue” banner.

So when he had the chance to introduce himself to coach Jim Harbaugh as a three-star recruit at a University of Michigan football camp in Ann Arbor, a camp where Klunder won defensive line MVP, Klunder jumped at the opportunity.

“All was about to be said, and nobody really came up to me saying they wanted to recruit me. I figured now was my shot, because coach Harbaugh was hanging out there at the 50-yard line, so might as well talk to him,” Klunder said. “I walked up, shook his hand and thanked him for having me out there, and I told him to his face, ‘Coach Harbaugh, I’m going to be a Michigan Wolverine.’ He looked at me and smiled like he was happy I said that, and he said to the other coaches, ‘Hey, can we get this kid an offer?’”

Two years later, Klunder now stood before a crowded room at The War Memorial in Grosse Pointe Farms in front of his family, friends and peers on Feb. 10 as a national champion, and it validated every feeling or question he ever had when choosing a preferred walk-on offer at Michigan over a scholarship elsewhere.

“It was definitely the best decision I ever made,” Klunder said. “Coming out of high school, taking a bet on yourself like that is risky. You don’t know if you’re going to make it on the field. Could be a year from now or it could be four years from now, or you might never get on the field. There’s guys that have walked on that haven’t played a snap in four or five years. It’s scary to do that, but if you believe in yourself, and now that you can be a part of something big and you want to be a part of something big, the only thing that can stop you is yourself.”

The War Memorial honored Klunder with a “Hail to the Hometown Victor” event as Wolverines fans gathered for a meet-and-greet event consisting of a moderated interview with Klunder and a question-and-answer session with the audience.

As the event began, Klunder led a singalong to the Michigan fight song, “The Victors,” as every Wolverines fan stood up and took part.

Everyone in the room had the same question in mind for Klunder as the interview began, and it’s a question every hometown football kid dreams of. How does it feel to be a champion?

“I would call it miraculous, but I don’t think ‘miraculous’ is the right word because it was a culmination of everything that every single person in that building put in every single day,” Klunder said. “We expected it from day one, and obviously it was amazing. We’re so blessed to be able to finish the way we wanted to. It was the greatest time of my life and something that I’ll cherish forever being able to share it with my family, my brothers and my teammates who are my family.”

Klunder made his Michigan debut this past season on Sept. 2 in a 30-3 win over East Carolina University, earning his first varsity letter.

Klunder was a focal point of the Wolverines’ scout team this season, but he said he expects to take the field more in 2024.

“I’m playing behind two potential first rounders, so it’s great to be able to learn from them and see how they play and emulate that,” Klunder said. “We do a big rotation on the D-line and we get a lot of guys in, so I think I’m going to see the field a lot more this year.”

Klunder gave thanks throughout the event to his family, who sat in the front row, and to Harbaugh, who recently took over as the Los Angeles Chargers head coach.

Klunder said Harbaugh was a coach who always treated his players like family, and the entire team is wishing the best for him.

As for the future of Michigan football, Klunder said the entire team is invested into new head coach Sherrone Moore.

“I think he’s awesome,” Klunder said. “I think it’s hard to argue with the facts, and the fact is that he’s an undefeated head coach for Michigan and coached a back-to-back Joe Moore (Award) winning offensive line. Everybody in the building is behind him, which I’m sure you saw when the coaching decision was made. I think he’s the perfect guy to keep this thing rolling.”