Cole Sullivan has spent more time in California than Michigan to kick off his collegiate career.
Sullivan — a 6-foot-3, 200-pound linebacker from Central Catholic in Pittsburgh — signed and enrolled early at Michigan this winter, and as such, he’s been able to participate in the Wolverines’ bowl practices.
So, as the Wolverines took down Alabama in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff, Sullivan was there. He’s directly in the midst of the College Football Playoff, and he isn’t the only one. There will be a few former WPIAL stars who will be in the national championship game.
Sullivan will be joined in Houston, Texas by another former WPIAL star.
Former Mt. Lebanon athlete Grayson Dee committed to Michigan as a preferred walk-on linebacker ahead of the 2023 season, and he’s finishing up his freshman season with the Wolverines. He may not have seen the field, but he’s working to help the Wolverines to a title himself.
Jalen Klemm — a 6-foot-5, 285-pound left tackle from Pine-Richland in Gibsonia, Pa. — transferred to Washington following one season at Kansas State in 2022. And after redshirting with the Wildcats, he’s played in seven games for the Huskies this season.
Klemm has taken snaps at left tackle in three games this season, recording 44 snaps, and he is the lone WPIAL product on the Huskies’ side. While he likely won’t see the field much in the title game, he’s on the other side of the field as his WPIAL peers.
It’s not as though the three WPIAL products will be featured heavily, if at all, in the national championship game, but all three are younger players working toward the chance to be in the spotlight in the near future.
Klemm has the best chance to see the field, working as a reserve tackle who could step in in the event of an injury ahead of him, but Dee and Sullivan are working with the Wolverines’ scout teams as it stands.
The 2024 College Football Playoff national championship is slated to kick off at NRG Stadium in Houston at 7:45 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 8. ESPN will broadcast the contest between the No. 1 Wolverines and the No. 2 Huskies.
