Matt Patanelli Matthew L . " Matt " Patanelli ( July 13 , 1914 – May 27 , 1992 ) was an American football , baseball and basketball player and coach . He played and coached all three sports at the University of Michigan and was selected as the Most Valuable Player on the 1936 Michigan Wolverines football team . He was also the first University of Michigan football player to be selected in an NFL Draft . He was an assistant football coach at Western Michigan University ( 1944 , 1948 – 1951 ) and the University of Michigan ( 1953 – 1958 ) . Early years in Elkhart , Indiana . Patanelli was born in Elkhart , Indiana , in 1914 . He was a star athlete at Elkhart High School , earning 12 letters in football , basketball and track , and serving as the captain of the football and basketball teams . He was selected as an All State football player in 1931 and 1932 , and graduated from Elkhart High School in 1933 . University of Michigan . Patanelli enrolled at the University of Michigan in the fall of 1933 and played for the Michigan Wolverines football , baseball and basketball teams . He played on Michigan ' s freshman football team in 1933 , and received the Chicago alumni award , also known as the Meyer Morton Award , during spring practice in 1934 as the most promising freshman prospect . As a sophomore in 1934 , Patanelli played at both the end and halfback positions as a teammate of Gerald R . Ford . He was a starter for Michigan at the end position in 1935 and 1936 . In October 1935 , Patanelli recovered an Indiana fumble in the end zone for the game ' s only touchdown , giving Michigan its first Big Ten Conference victory since 1933 . At the end of the 1935 season , Patanelli was selected as a first - team All - Big Ten Conference player . He was also elected by his teammates to serve as captain of the 1936 Michigan Wolverines football team . In 1936 , Patanelli started all 8 games at the left end position for Michigan despite suffering from a strained ankle . The team finished with a record of 1 - 7 , achieving its only victory against Columbia University . Patanelli ' s play was one of the few bright spots for Michigan in the 1936 season , and he was selected as the team ' s Most Valuable Player . At the time of his selection as the 1936 Most Valuable Player , Michigan head coach Harry Kipke said , " He ' s a grand person and a great leader . He had courage and this year had to play under a handicap - - a bad ankle . I ' m sorry for one thing and it is that Matt never had the privilege of playing on a winning football team . Had he had this chance he certainly would have been picked on some all star eleven . " Kipke ' s belief that Patanelli would have been selected as an All - American if he played for a better team was shared by Associated Press sports correspondent " Pap , " who wrote : " Capt . Matt Patanelli of Michigan , in the opinion of numerous Big Ten officials and coaches , would rate an end job on any mythical eleven if he were playing with a winner this season . Michigan ' s grid fortunes have been at a low ebb , but this hasn ' t prevented Matt from turning in great games , especially on the defense , each Saturday afternoon . Against Minnesota , when the Wolverines were routed 26 - 0 , Patanelli broke into the Minnesota backfleld twice to throw runners for losses and his pass interception on the Michigan 7 - yard line prevented another Gopher score . " Michigan ' s ends coach ( and future College Football Hall of Fame inductee ) Bennie Oosterbaan called Patanelli " the best blocking end he has coached . " Patanelli was voted by fans as a member of the " Chicago Tribune " College Football All - American team that defeated the Green Bay Packers 6 - 0 in the College All - Star Game in August 1937 . He was also selected as a third - team All - American by the Associated Press . Patanelli was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 9th round ( 85th overall pick ) of the 1937 NFL Draft , making him the first University of Michigan football player selected in the NFL Draft . Coaching career . Patanelli later served as an athletic coach at Western Michigan University . Among other coaching responsibilities , he was the ends coach and chief scout for the Western Michigan football team in 1944 and from 1948 to 1951 . In July 1952 , he returned to the University of Michigan as an assistant coach , assisting with the baseball , basketball and football teams . He was an assistant football coach at Michigan under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan from 1953 to 1958 . Patanelli was in charge of the defensive ends in 1953 and was the lead ends coach from 1954 to 1958 . In that capacity , he helped develop All - Americans Ron Kramer and Tom Maentz . Honors . Patanelli has been inducted into the Elkhart County Sports Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame .