The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1014905
58 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2018 FOOTBALL RECRUITING strongside defensive end JC Latham, Belleville (Mich.) High strongside de- fensive end Damon Payne, Detroit East English Village offensive guard Davion Weatherspoon, Avon (Conn.) Old Farms tight end James Wilborn and Baltimore St. Frances inside line- backer Aaron Willis all made the trip to Ann Arbor. All of the rising sopho- mores held an offer from Michigan. Even Cambridge (Mass.) Bucking- ham Browne & Nichols freshman in- side linebacker Tyler Martin made the trip to U-M. He also holds an offer from Michigan before ever play- ing a down of varsity football. Bel- leville (Mich.) High freshman athlete Myles Rowser doesn't hold an offer from Michigan at this time, but as the younger brother of 2020 commit Andre Seldon, he is definitely on the radar and looked good in the uni- form at the BBQ. Both Martin and Rowser have to be viewed as very serious targets based on what they had to say after their respective visits. "Michigan was amazing," Martin said. "It exceeded my expectations for my first time in Ann Arbor. We split up into position groups with coaches and got to go over film and do some of their everyday drills. "The facilities and the way the coaches made me feel like part of the Michigan family already really stood out to me, along with the talk of the unbelievable combination of academics and athletics. I hope to be back soon." Rowser 's comments were very similar. "The visit was sweet," Rowser said. "I met Coach [Roy] Roundtree and got to speak with Coach [Pep] Ham- ilton as well. The defensive backs didn't really camp, but we did get to watch some film. The food was great, and the atmosphere was laid back and fun. Suiting up in the uniforms for pictures was my favorite part. "Some of my family [Seldon] is committed to Michigan, and the BBQ was awesome. It's "Go Blue" right now." Michigan has only offered five prospects from the 2022 class mean- ing 20 percent of the bunch was rep- resented by Martin in Ann Arbor. Rowser may pick up an offer down the line, and if he does, events like the BBQ will instantly put U-M in a very good spot with him. ❏ A Few New Offers In July And August The Michigan coaches didn't offer any prospects visiting for the BBQ this year, but did send out a few new tenders in the days leading up to and immediately following the cookout. July and August are very slow months in terms of new offers being doled out with coaches taking some time off in July and then gearing up for the fall in Au- gust. Still, a couple of new names are on the big board and are worth mentioning with the start of the season approaching. San Antonio Christian three-star tight end Nick Patterson If the name looks familiar, it should. Patterson is the younger brother of Michigan quarterback Shea Patterson and — aside from being a little bit bigger at 6-3, 215 pounds — looks a lot like U-M's signal-caller. Michigan is the rising junior's biggest offer on paper and will obviously have a chance to impress him in 2018, especially if his big brother can lead U-M to a lot of on-field success. Memphis (Tenn.) Freedom Preparatory Academy pro-style quarterback Tevin Carter Carter is one of the five offered prospects from the 2022 class and already has several other big- time tenders to go along with Michigan. Baylor, LSU, Memphis, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt have also offered the 6-3, 195-pounder before he even played a high school game, making him one of the more coveted signal-callers in the country at his age. St. Louis Desmet four-star wide receiver Jordan Johnson Rivals.com's No. 8 wide receiver and No. 42 overall prospect in the country from the 2020 class, John- son is obviously a big-time player. He hasn't been to Michigan before and hopes to visit this fall. The 6-2, 182-pounder already has 20 offers and will have many more before he makes his decision. Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four-star offensive guard Myles Murao At 6-3, 265 pounds, Murao looks like a prototypi- cal guard as a rising junior. Rivals.com's No. 4 offensive guard and No. 99 overall player nationally has a lot of Pac-12 inter- est already, including from USC, which means he'll likely end up a Trojan as so many from Mater Dei do. Miami Central four-star athlete Henry Gray The 6-1, 180-pound Gray committed to the hometown Hurricanes in March of this year and hasn't really shown any signs of displeasure, but the Michigan staff still decided to offer the rising junior. With nearly 20 other offers, the No. 7 athlete and No. 86 overall player in the country according to Ri- vals.com has many other options to consider if he does open his recruitment back up with programs like Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State on that list. — Brandon Brown