The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1014905
SEPTEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 49 I t was the middle of January, though, so he still had a few weeks left until Signing Day in February to make his decision. Other schools and coaches tried to make last-minute pitches and tried to get back in the picture with in-home and in-school visits, but none of them worked. Ohio State brought in Greg Schiano as its new defensive coordi- nator, and, thinking that his ties to Rutgers and New Jersey would help, the Buckeyes tried to get back in the picture. "Schiano came up with Urban Meyer because they thought they'd have a shot with Schiano," Kanoc said. "I finally said to Larry that, 'Jen can't get over what happened on the unofficial,' so he told Urban they weren't going to be in his top two or three. I felt bad for Larry because he was definitely their No. 1 defen- sive line coach until they really got to know Greg Mattison at Michigan." The month of January was starting to wind down, and Gary and Kanoc decided to take one more visit to Mich- igan. This unofficial visit would prove very helpful to Michigan's efforts since it had been a while since Gary was on campus in Ann Arbor. It was also right before he was scheduled to take his official visit to Clemson, so it gave Michigan an opportunity to see him in person before that trip. Kanoc brought Gary's cousin and his younger team- mate, Drew Singleton, who would eventually also sign with Michigan, on the visit. Unexpectedly, the weather took a turn for the worse while they were in Ann Arbor, and a large snow- storm cancelled their flight back home, forcing them to stay in Ann Arbor two days longer than expected. Gary was able to spend an ex- tended amount of time with the Michigan players and on the cam- pus, which ultimately brought him that much closer to the Wolverines. "That last visit did help us because we had Drew Singleton there on the visit, Jordan Fuller was there, who is doing great at Ohio State. Rashan fit in, so he enjoyed the visit," Partridge said. "When they got snowed in, the coaches can't talk to you, but you can hang out and do whatever you want. I think that comfort level just got bet- ter and better through that." Gary eventually made his way home and was prepping to travel to Atlanta to accept the Maxwell Award as one of the top high school players in the coun- try. Quite a few SEC coaches usually make their way to the award presen- tation. Although they are technically not allowed to talk to the recruits at the event, just being there is usually a way to get in front of the prospects at the event. Partridge found out that this took place and the day before the presentation he travelled to Atlanta to make sure he was also in attendance. He bought a suit at a local store in At- lanta and plopped himself down at a table with Saban and Malzahn and other SEC coaches. "Even though it's off limits, I knew these guys would try How RasHan GaRy EndEd Up at MicHiGan An Excerpt From ESPN Recruiting Guru Tom VanHaaren's New Book, The Road To Ann Arbor The following is an excerpt from the new book, The Road To Ann Arbor: Incredible Twists And Improbable Turns Along the Michigan Recruiting Trail from ESPN college football and recruiting reporter Tom VanHaaren, which hits bookshelves Sept. 4. The book goes in depth on 14 Wolverine stars and how exactly they wound up don- ning the maize and blue, from current head coach Jim Harbaugh and the greatest NFL quarterback of all time Tom Brady to current defensive linemen Rashan Gary and Aubrey Solomon, both former five-star recruits. Gary's chapter details the impact that current safeties coach and special teams coordina- tor Chris Partridge, who coached Gary for one year at Paramus Catholic before making his own journey to Ann Arbor, had on Gary and his mother, Jennifer Shepherd, in the process. Throughout the process, the family's main recruiting advisor was Paramus assistant Steve Kanoc, who gained the trust of Gary and Shepherd, handled early conversations with many of the college coaches, and organized and went on college visits with the pair. The trio officially visited Michigan in September, but took several other visits afterwards. Partridge knew Gary's recruitment would go down to the wire, so he worked his magic to get them back on campus for an unofficial trip weeks before National Signing Day — one of several times the coach's intimate knowledge of Gary and his mother paid off, though it was never a foregone conclusion that he would reunite with his former star pupil. The story picks up after a recent USC visit had moved the Trojans into Gary's top group, along with Clemson and U-M, heading into the home stretch …