He stood at the podium, perhaps for the last time as a member of Michigan’s football team, and came close to letting his emotions show.

It hit Brandon Graham on Sunday and carried over into Monday. He was sitting on his couch, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and his friend, LaMarr Woodley, when the realization came: sooner rather than later, he’ll be gone from this place.

Woodley and Graham would talk and the pro would always say the same thing: “Before you know it, it’ll be gone.”

Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham, right, is widely expected to be a first-or-second round NFL draft pick.

Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com

That moment is closing in.

So, as Graham recounted his tale Monday, he fought back emotions. And when he does leave Michigan - either after a loss Saturday or a second-tier bowl game sometime in December - the Wolverines football program will be much poorer for it.

“Yeah, it hurt,” Graham said. “…We got no more if we don’t win this one. My college career is done. It’s kind of sad, growing up you’re dreaming for this moment in your life and now it’s gone. One last game.”

It’s unlikely Michigan will trot out the cliché “Win one for the ‘insert name, cause or dying teammate/relative/coach here’” speech Saturday. But if they did it shouldn’t be for embattled coach Rich Rodriguez or outgoing athletic director Bill Martin or in an attempt to save Michigan’s program from a second straight losing season.

It should be for Brandon Graham.

Michigan may not name captains for the season until the end of the year, but Graham has played and acted like one throughout. Michigan may not have more than two players on defense who will command an NFL paycheck for more than a year or so, but Graham, the standout defensive end, almost assuredly will.

On the worst defense in the Big Ten and perhaps the worst defense in modern Michigan history, there is one bright spot.

It is Graham - the Big Ten’s best defensive player on a defense that can’t stop anyone.

“It’s a wake-up call for me,” Graham said. “I feel like I’m ready for whatever but I’m going to make sure I’m going to enjoy this last game.”

Rodriguez said Graham was the quintessential team player, something obvious throughout the season. As his team has continuously failed down the stretch, Graham has publicly remained positive. As his team floundered to the bottom of the Big Ten, Graham kept speaking in the locker room loss after loss, trying to keep his team up, motivated and looking toward the future.

That’s what leaders are made of, that’s what players who clearly care about themselves and their futures do. This isn’t to say there aren’t other players on Michigan who are like this. There are.

But Graham is one who consistently shows it. Teams scheme to run the ball away from Graham - he finds his way to the ball anyway. Teams will chatter against Graham - he usually ends up individually with the better game although there hasn’t been much to brag about from a team perspective for him.

“Whoever is in my way, I let them know every play, don’t come my way,” Graham said. “Don’t come my way. Some people talk back, some people don’t.”

For all his talking, though, there is pain inside Graham. It’s not physical, although no doubt football is a rough game. It’s emotional. It’s why he had to pause for the slightest of seconds to not cry Monday.

He never thought he’d be in this situation when he arrived at Michigan, one loss away from two straight seasons ending in November. He never thought after a 4-0 start, that the Wolverines would need to beat Ohio State to break even in the regular season.

Yet, through no fault of his own, here he is.

“It hurts that we had the season we had,” Graham said. “I grew up as a person. I got humbled this year because you can’t take nothing for granted. I’m not saying we did but at the same time, it’s like I feel like I could work a little harder or something.

“I’m just trying to find the answer.”

He’s got less than a week - or the next time he puts on a uniform in a game that matters, he’ll be paid for it.

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan sports for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.