It’s almost dusk at Hollway Field, the site of Pioneer High School’s football games every Thursday and Friday. Russ Furrha is checking his reflection in the car window before walking to the field, the site of many of Russ’s own athletic exploits now nearly four years past. He needs to make sure his faux-hawk is perfectly quaffed. He’s at a photo shoot, after all, and must be ready for his close-up.

“I don’t think I’ve been here in four years,” Russ remarks to no one in particular.

Pat Collins and Will Heininger, two of Russ’s former teammates at Pioneer and current teammates on the Michigan football team, meet us at the field. They find a small opening in the right wing of the gate surrounding the stands, and the three walk through the tunnel under the bleachers that leads to the field. There’s a new sign above the tunnel’s exit. It’s a quote from John Wooden:

Success travels in the company of very hard work. There is no trick, no easy way.

“That quote’s stupid,” Pat says.

Will looks at him, slightly surprised. “Come on, that’s a great quote. You just don’t like it because it’s new.”

The trio shuffles under the sign and onto the field. Alex Linkner, a student manager for the football team and a fellow Pioneer grad, throws Pat a football he swiped from Schembechler Hall after practice. The guys toss it around against the backdrop of the setting sun.

You can see the skyline of downtown Ann Arbor quite clearly from the top row of the stands of the Holloway Field. But the most dominant form on the landscape is Michigan Stadium, just across Stadium Boulevard. The Big House. The colossal stadium functions as a physical manifestation of the omnipresent entity that is Michigan football in Ann Arbor. Without a doubt it is the city’s most recognizable landmark — at times it seems almost too big for Ann Arbor, whose entire population amounts to less than the Stadium’s capacity.

The three Michigan football players tossing the football around at Holloway field were once small boys who idolized Tom Brady, Anthony Thomas and Charles Woodson. They went to every home game. They were fans, just like so many young boy growing up in Ann Arbor.

The trio offers a unique glimpse into the connection between Ann Arbor the town and the University Michigan football team. Looking across the street from Holloway Field to Michigan Stadium, as these three have countless times, makes the distance between the two seem small. But in reality, there is still a vast gap.

Will, Pat and Russ bridged the gap.

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With South Park on in the background, the conversation at Linkner’s Ann Arbor apartment turns to high school. Specifically, to Will in high school.

“Will, his nickname in our group of friends has always been ‘Giant,’ ” Linker says, sitting beside me on his couch. Will is sitting in a chair to the right of us. “He’s always been a very large human being. In high school, you never imagined he’d be able to get that much bigger…”

Will interrupts absent-mindedly. He’s engrossed in peeling a banana. “Come on, it’s because of my personality, too.”

Linkner continues without a pause. “…But he gets here and you look at pictures from back then, and he looks like a small giant,” Linkner says. “Now, he’s just a huge, huge giant.”

It’s true. At 6-foot-6 and almost 270 pounds, Will is a behemoth. He’s the only one out of the three who actually looks like he plays football. But Will is right—his personality is bigger than life. Had he not injured himself in the spring, he would be getting significant playing time at defensive end, where he spelled Brandon Graham last year and played all 12 games. And he’d be a media darling. Will is smart, thoughtful and likes to talk about almost anything, especially Michigan football.

“I watched every game growing up,” Will says. “I can still remember a lot of games — well, almost every game, probably.”

Will, of the three subjects of this story, was the pioneer. A prodigious baseball talent in high school, Will played football for fun and to spend time with his teammates, who included Pat and Russ. Growing up, baseball was his focus. But his passion was Michigan football.

“Michigan football was everything to me growing up,” Will says. “We’d play there (Holloway Field) Friday nights and couldn’t wait for Saturday morning when you’d get up and watch the game or go down to the Stadium.