Who Is The Michigan Player In The Nissan Commercial With A Wolverine?

If longevity is a marker of success, then Nissan's Heisman House advertising campaign is pretty darn successful. Now in its 13th season, Heisman House resurfaces during every college football season and is based around the premise that former winners of the prestigious Heisman Trophy live together in a decked-out mansion. The formula allows for an endless cast of footballers getting into hijinks, with Heisman House's tenants including Tim Tebow, Baker Mayfield, Bryce Young, and countless others. (Young has also lent his talents to Fansville, another long-running college football-season campaign.)

One ad from the latest crop of Heisman House offerings, titled "Missing Out," puts Charles Woodson front and center. The recipient of the Heisman Trophy in 1997, Woodson helped his alma mater, the University of Michigan, win the national championship that same year. Woodson is the only defensive player to win the award.

The commercial tackles a sore subject among some Michigan fans: the school's lack of a mascot. "You know, it never bothered me that Michigan didn't have a mascot," Woodson says to the camera. "But after living in this house for so long, you start to feel a little different." To a score of wistful strings, Woodson looks on as his housemates Tebow, Billy Sims, and Eddie George bond with their respective mascots.

Woodson enlists a ferocious wolverine as his personal sidekick, but the animal doesn't take kindly to George, who is shown covered in scratches and bandages. "And that's when I learned why the Michigan Wolverines don't have a mascot," says Woodson.

Michigan's lack of a mascot makes it something of an outlier among big college football programs. But Charles Woodson wasn't the first person who tried to bring in a caged wolverine. In 1927, Michigan's athletics director Fielding Yost wanted to boost morale by trotting out a real wolverine on a leash before the game. It was a dig specifically aimed at the Wisconsin Badgers, who had been impressing fans with a real badger since 1923. With the help of some connected alumni, Yost enlisted two wolverines — Bennie and Biff — ahead of a game in November, but the idea was nixed when Biff bit through his cage. Hopes of a mascot were dashed, and the animals were promptly sent to the zoo. Wolverines, it seems, are best left to Marvel.

Nevertheless, Michigan has proven that mascots aren't necessary to win championships. On January 8, 2024, the Wolverines decisively trounced the Washington Huskies 34 to 13, winning their first national championship since 1997. Woodson, who led the team to victory 26 years prior, was over the moon for his alma mater.

"Every Michigan man woman and child is floating on cloud 9 right now!!!" Woodson posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Team 144 you have left us with unforgettable moments and showed unbreakable confidence throughout this season!! We couldn't be more proud of you for what you accomplished this year as a focused and complete team!!!"