in Cleveland. Sam Willaman, the school's football coach, told Friedman, who was then five feet, six inches, and less than 150 pounds, that, due to his small size, he would never make it as a football player. After being rejected by Willaman, Friedman transferred to Glenville High School on the east side of Cleveland. He played football, baseball and basketball and led Glenville's football team to the city championship in 1922. University of Michigan Friedman enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1923. He played on the all-freshman football team in the fall of 1923. 1924 season As a sophomore for the 1924 Michigan Wolverines football team, Friedman began the season as a backup. However, after an embarrassing 39–14 loss to Red Grange's Illinois team, head coach George Little made several changes to Michigan's lineup, including inserting Friedman as a starter at right halfback. Friedman remained at the right halfback position for the final five games of the season, and the Wolverines compiled a 4–1 record in those games. According to one account, "Friedman immediately changed Michigan from an ordinary football team into a great one." On October 25, 1925, in his first collegiate start, Friedman helped Michigan defeat Wisconsin, 21–0. The New York Times noted that Michigan had found "a new and dazzling gridiron meteor". Friedman was responsible for all three Michigan touchdowns. In the second quarter, he completed a "perfect pass spiraling" to Herb Steger for a 35-yard gain and Michigan's first points. In the third quarter, Friedman broke through Wisconsin's left tackle and ran 26 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, he threw a 29-yard pass to Charles Grube who was tackled at the seven-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Dutch Marion. Two weeks later, Friedman threw three touchdown passes in a 27–0 victory over Northwestern. One of Michigan's touchdowns was set up when Friedman intercepted a Northwestern pass and returned it 13 yards. On the next play, Friedman threw a touchdown pass to Dutch Marion. At the end of the 1924 season, Friedman was the subject of a feature story by syndicated sports writer Billy Evans. Evans described Friedman's soft passing touch: "Michigan receivers say that Friedman's passes float through the air like a feather, literally float in the air until you pluck the ball out of the ozone." 1925 season As a junior, Friedman moved to the quarterback position and started