The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2019 THE WOLVERINE 61 FOOTBALL RECRUITING fers and they would clean up. They'd get 10, 12 maybe even 15 commit- ments out of the one event." Rivals national recruiting director Mike Farrell also remembers Mack Brown raking guys in during his ten- ure as the Longhorns head coach and puts Michigan's recent harvest right up there with that stretch of success. "Texas used to really land a lot of guys during their junior days, but it was much earlier; sometime in Feb- ruary," Farrell explained. "The new schedule has really changed things and Michigan seems to have recog- nized that and come up with a good plan to handle it. "June is a month you have to get commitments in and they just did it about as good as you can. To land 10 guys out of one weekend is pretty impressive. It sets the bar pretty high." Rivals national recruiting analyst Adam Gorney has been covering re- cruiting for 14 years, so he has seen a lot unfold. He thinks that U-M can possibly build on the June 21-23 suc- cess throughout the rest of the sum- mer and into the fall. "What this means in terms of mo- mentum heading in to the late sum- mer and the season is hard to know," Gorney said. "Michigan already has 21 pledges so top remaining targets are really the only ones left to fill the class. "Things will probably calm down as players focus on their own sea- sons and if Michigan has a big sea- son — and the offense looks to be in better shape — then heading into the early signing period and the all-star events should be another busy time for recruiting." RECRUITS REFLECT ON THE VISIT ITSELF Of course, the visiting recruits are the men of the hour. The entire week- end is geared around impressing them and showing them that they're wanted and needed in Ann Arbor. The whole deal is a sales pitch, but the Michigan staff seems to pride itself on being genuine and trans- parent while legitimately convincing kids that U-M is a special place to be and that none of the red carpet is a façade. So far, 10 of the visitors that week- end were sold on what they experi- enced and have since committed to the Wolverines. Brooklyn (N.Y.) Eras- mus Hall four-star outside linebacker William Mohan, Williamstown (N.J.) High three-star strongside defen- sive end Aaron Lewis, Centennial (Colo.) Eaglecrest three-star offen- sive tackle Reece Atteberry, Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic four-star safety Jordan Morant, Shrewsbury (Mass.) St. John's three-star wide receiver Eamonn Dennis, San Juan Capist- rano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic four-star offensive tackle Jeffrey Persi, Frank- fort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East four-star all-purpose back AJ Henning, Milton (Mass.) Academy four-star outside linebacker Kalel Mullings, Baltimore St. Frances four-star running back Blake Corum and Olney (Md.) Good Counsel three-star strongside defen- sive end Kris Jenkins Jr. were all in Ann Arbor from June 21-23 and are now all a part of the 2020 class. Henning, the No. 3 all-purpose back and No. 84 overall prospect na- tionally per Rivals, is going to play slot receiver for Michigan and was one of U-M's biggest overall targets heading into the weekend. The 5-10, 183-pounder was extremely high on the Wolverines before arriving in Ann Arbor and the official only took it to another level. "It was really cool being a part of the big official visit weekend," Hen- ning said. "I got to connect and build friendships with players from all over the country, some who will be future teammates. "The visit had a huge effect on me. Getting to really see what it's like to be a student-athlete at the Univer- sity of Michigan while on my visit, I knew that no other university would be a better fit for me." Warinner had been combing the country for a long, athletic offensive tackle and he found one in Persi. The 6-7, 265-pounder wasn't necessarily billed as a U-M lean heading into the late-June extravaganza, but he was a Wolverine in his head before heading back to California. "It was a great time," Persi said. "It was cool to have so many other guys on official visits, too. It was great to meet some of the guys that I will be playing with in the future." Rivals' No. 35 offensive tackle in the country is excited to play for Warinner, and has no problem with the concept of redshirting and get- The Wolverines were not in the lead for San Juan Capistrano (Calif.) JSerra Catholic four-star offensive tackle Jeffrey Persi prior to his official visit June 21-23, but his trip to Ann Arbor helped greatly in securing his pledge. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM