The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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football recruiting issue underestimate his athleticism.��� Stevenson said in Massachusetts summer league football, Hurst didn���t hesitate to jump in as a wide receiver, defensive back and occasionally quarterback. That sort of mobility definitely draws the attention of anyone looking to create a defensive line with both size and movement. ���Maurice Hurst, we picked him ourselves,��� noted Greg Mattison, who grinned in relating he informed Hurst there are no carries for him in Ann Arbor. ���There is an athlete.��� That���s what Stevenson saw from the moment Hurst began his three seasons as a varsity starter for the Westwood, Mass., school. The son of former New England Patriots defensive back Maurice Hurst showed he could move, both out of the backfield and up front among the big bodies. ���When Mo first came here, the most impressive thing was his first step,��� Stevenson said. ���It���s very quick and powerful. I���ve had other good guys on the defensive line that had good first steps but didn���t have quite as much power as Mo. ���Clearly, Mo is the best defensive lineman that we���ve had here at Xaverian Brothers High School. He���s the first player we���ve placed at Michigan, ever, from this school. We���ve placed lots of kids in major colleges and guys who have played in the NFL. ���We���ve had lots of good players, but we���ve never placed one at Michigan. That says a lot about what kind of player Mo is ��� he���s truly one of the best we���ve ever had.��� The comfort level of Hurst���s mother with Michigan helped make his commitment a reality. She initially wanted him to stay close to home, Stevenson recalled, but warmed to the fact that Ann Arbor really wasn���t that far away. Plus, Stevenson noted, it���s Michigan. ���Michigan is Michigan,��� he offered. ���It���s not like dangling Timbuktu at him. Michigan is a storied and great football program. When you hold Michigan in the air for somebody to have an opportunity to be at, it���s something you really have to look at and think seriously about. ���He did that, and he visited and liked the coaches. He liked some of the players he met that are going to be coming in, in this class. He decided he wanted to make that kind of step, to that level of program.��� Hurst admitted a special level of comfort with Michigan head coach Brady Hoke. ���He has a lot of patience as a coach,��� Hurst said. ���I got to see them practice, and I really like their practice style. They chase the ball down every single play. That���s something they���re trying to instill in their defense, and I really like that.��� Hurst stands ready to start chasing. Stevenson insisted watching him perform against the toughest competition in the state showed the senior���s ability to rise to the challenge. ���He had his very best defensive game his last game of the year, against our traditional Thanksgiving Day opponent, St. John���s Prep,��� Stevenson said. ���He just dominated