The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 51 COMMITMENT PROFILE M ichigan has dipped into Georgia to recruit quite a bit since Jim Harbaugh arrived, and it's paid off more than a few times. Signing five-star defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon out of the Peach State in the 2017 class was a big deal, and three more Georgians signed with U-M in 2018 in three-star athlete Michael Barrett, three-star running back Christian Turner and four-star cornerback Myles Sims. In 2019, the Michigan staff has kicked it up another notch by landing five prospects originally from Geor- gia. Four-star defensive end Chris- topher Hinton and four-star offen- sive tackle Trente Jones still reside in Georgia, while three-star linebacker Charles Thomas and three-star cor- nerback DJ Turner II are now in Con- necticut and Florida, respectively. The fifth player from Georgia who is currently committed to Michigan is four-star cornerback Jalen Perry. The 6-1, 188-pounder had been pledged to the in-state Bulldogs for almost a year, from Oct. 30, 2017 to this Oct. 4, but decommitted and flipped his pledge to the Wolverines Nov. 19. Rivals.com's No. 14 cornerback and No. 170 overall prospect in the country always had his eye on Michi- gan, and finally pulled the trigger after a couple of visits to Ann Arbor. "The main reasons I chose Michi- gan were the academic and football combination, and knowing that both of those areas are towards the top of the nation," Perry explained. "Also, I have a great relationship with the coaching staff and love the atmo- sphere every time I'm on campus. "There was no particular moment where I said, 'Michigan is the place for me,' it was really the entire official visit that made me realize that Michigan is the school for me. It was in mind be- fore the official visit but that really con- firmed that this is the school I wanted to go to. I loved everything about it." Rivals.com Georgia recruiting ana- lyst Chad Simmons has seen Perry in person many times and really likes the corner's game. "Perry is a versatile athlete that stays on the field for his high school team," Simmons said. "He does it all, from playing defensive back to wide receiver to returning kicks. He is a great athlete who loves the game of football. He is an unselfish player who will help his team in any way." Simmons applauded U-M for their ability to go down and get a kid out of Georgia who was once committed to the Bulldogs. "I love this pick up for Michigan," Simmons said. "Perry is a versatile defensive back who could project at corner, nickel or free safety. He is a talented football player with many more pluses than minuses when you grade his film. If you know him off the field then his grade is even higher. He is going to go to work every day, he is very coachable and he will help the Wolverines in the near future." Perry is a very intelligent young man with a long-range view on his football and post-playing career. He'll be enrolling early in January to get started on his journey. "When looking at my future in Ann Arbor, I'm most excited about com- peting to get better every day and excelling in the classroom as well," he said. "I look forward to becoming the best player I can be there, and I'm ex- cited to play at such a great university with amazing fans. I am extremely close with several of the current 2019 commits so that helped a lot as well." As a junior, Perry recorded 44 tack- les, one tackle for loss, three intercep- tions and 16 passes broken up, and was named the Gwinnett Country Defensive Back of the Year by the Gwinnett Touchdown Club. He was also selected to the first-team all- county team by The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. Perry rushed for 637 yards and seven touchdowns, and also contrib- uted 534 yards and five scores as a receiver. He was chosen first-team 6-A all-state as an athlete and helped Dacula win the Region 8-6A title. As a senior, Perry recorded 28 tackles, three interceptions (one he returned for a touchdown) and 12 passes broken up. On offense, he car- ried the ball 42 times for 332 yards (7.9 yards per carry), and posted 26 catches for 297 yards (11.4 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. Dacula and Perry lost in the semi- finals of the state championships this season. — Brandon Brown Michigan Snags Defensive Back Jalen Perry Away From Georgia FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Jalen Perry is a very well built, lengthy and physical cornerback. He doesn't possess blazing speed, but his length and strength neutralize quicker receivers at the line of scrim- mage, which is exactly why position coach Mike Zordich and defensive co- ordinator Don Brown targeted him. He's perfect for playing press man in Brown's aggressive scheme. Areas Of Improvement: In high school, Perry's lack of top-end speed hasn't been an issue, but in college it could be. He'll have to continue to work on his strength, agility and quickness with the hopes of improv- ing his top speed, while also study- ing hard and perfecting the tech- niques of playing corner in order to play faster than he really is. Michigan Player Comparison: Perry is a lot like former Michigan de- fensive back Marlin Jackson. Size and build wise the two are very similar. Perry currently goes 6-1, 188, while Jackson finished his Michigan playing career at 6-1, 199 after coming in as a 180-pound freshman. Both are physi- cal, heady and lengthy players with- out elite top-end speed. Jackson was very efficient at Michigan, and Perry has all of the skills to do the same. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com Perry, the nation's No. 14 cornerback per Rivals, flipped to U-M after being committed to the in-state Bulldogs for nearly a year. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM