The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2019 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 175 FOOTBALL RECRUITING With the recruiting calendar speeding up more and more each year, Michigan and every other program across the country are spending more time evaluating and recruiting the rising junior and sophomore classes in comparison to previous years. Michigan is in good early position with the five 2021 players listed below, and Wolverine fans will need to keep an eye on them moving forward. TIGHT END CANE BERRONG 6-4, 225 Bowersville, Ga. • Hart County The Skinny: Michigan tight ends coach Sherrone Moore has been productive on the recruiting trail. His biggest coup so far is five-star safety Daxton Hill, and he's been very solid recruiting tight ends. Moore has identified Berrong as his top target in 2021 and hopes he can pull him out of SEC country. Berrong made his way to Ann Arbor in early June, indicating that he does have legitimate interest in the Wolverines despite being with more than 20 offers. Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin, among others, are also part of his offer list. RUNNING BACK DONOVAN EDWARDS 5-11, 193 West Bloomfield, Mich. • West Bloomfield The Skinny: As an in-state product high on Michigan's recruit- ing board, Edwards is definitely a priority. The versatile back used to be listed as an athlete because of his ability to carry the ball out of the backfield, line up as a receiver, make plays in the return game and even cover talented athletes as a defensive back. Because of that, he's tailor made to play in space in Josh Gattis' offense. He's a wanted man with nearly 30 offers, including Kentucky, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and the Wolverines. It doesn't hurt that Edwards' good friend and teammate, four-star inside linebacker Cornell Wheeler, is committed to Michi- gan, and his head coach, Ron Bellamy, is a former Wolver- ine. That being said, he's his own man and will make the best decision for himself. CORNERBACK KALEN KING 5-11, 175 Detroit • Cass Tech The Skinny: Cass Tech has a reputation for pumping out talented cornerbacks and King looks to be the next big thing. He already had good size, but is growing at an alarming rate and could end up being a dominant force in the secondary. Michigan already has a commitment from a Detroit-area cornerback in four-star An- dre Seldon out of Belleville, who projects as a true nickel corner, so bringing in a guy like King would be a nice compliment. King has around 20 offers with some of his bigger ones being from Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Penn State and West Virginia. Michigan is his biggest offer on paper and as local program, should he heavily involved moving forward should they choose to be. OFFENSIVE GUARD ROCCO SPINDLER 6-4, 275 Clarkston, Mich. • Clarkston The Skinny: As the son of former Detroit Lion Marc Spindler, Rocco obviously has good bloodlines and looks the part as a rising junior lineman. For now, he's listed as an offensive guard, but he may project even better as a defensive tackle. He's very strong and quick and is built like a bulldog. He doesn't have great length, but he is very proportionally built to play in the interior of either line. Many people close to Spindler's recruitment seem to think he's a lock to Michigan. With that said, he does have 10 offers from schools, including Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin, among others. SAFETY BRYCE STEELE 6-1, 195 Alexandria, Va. • Episcopal The Skinny: Steele planned to be a part of Michigan's massive visit weekend from June 21-23 and has been vocal about being very high on the Wolverines. At 6-1, 195 pounds, he has great length and size for a rising junior cornerback. Safeties coach Chris Partridge made it a point to swing by Episco- pal during the evaluation period to put eyes on Steele, and Michigan's pursuit of him went up after that. It's also worth noting that he attends the same high school as current Wolverine defensive end Luiji Vilain. Duke, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Penn State and Virginia Tech are among the schools that have offered Steele. — Brandon Brown Names To Know In 2021 Michigan has identified Bowersville (Ga.) Hart County standout Cane Berrong as a top tight end target in 2021. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM