The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/116680
prep profiles Top-150 Lineman Wants To Learn More About Michigan Olney (Md.) Good Counsel High School has been good to Michigan in recent years, sending standout cornerback Blake Countess to Ann Arbor. The East Coast power, always heavy on talent, has another with Michigan interest in 2014 offensive guard Sam Mustipher, a devastating run blocker being recruited by the best of the best. Defending national champion Alabama was the latest to offer. "It's kind of a surreal thing when the defending national champions offer you a scholarship," Mustipher said. That said, Alabama isn't the only school in which he has interest. Visits will be critical in his recruitment, as will relationships, and he is intent on seeing as much as he can before trimming his list. That includes a scheduled trip to Michigan for the spring game. Mustipher has heard from Countess, Countess' younger brother Drew (in Mustipher's grade and a good friend of the lineman) and many others about what makes U‑M special. "Right after I got the offer, Drew texted me. He told me congratulations, and that I need to get up there as soon as possible," Mustipher said. "He said I'll love it up there … I talk to Drew on a regular basis. He's always trying to sway me towards Michigan's way. The relationship with them can only benefit the recruiting process." Michigan will have plenty of competition, including Notre Dame. Mustipher enjoyed an outstanding visit to South Bend in February, after which he realized the recruiting process might be more complex than expected. "At first, I believed during the spring time that would be when I would make Sam Mustipher ✪✪✪✪✪ Good Counsel High School Olney, Md. Class: 2014 Position: Offensive Guard Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 286 Ranking: Rivals.com's No. 122 player in the nation my decision, but sometimes when you visit these schools it kind of throws a curveball into the equation because you start liking a school more than you previously expected," he said. "I have a feeling I'll be making a decision towards the end of my high school season. I just want to be able to focus on my team during that time period and after the season hopefully I can take my officials and get to these schools, get a final opinion on them and make my decision based on that." He'll take more unofficial visits first, though, including a trip to Ann Arbor for the April 13 spring game. He hopes to get a sense for what Michigan is all about and perhaps trim his list to five schools after the visit. "That would be my hope. I just want to get a feel for the atmosphere," Mustipher said of the spring game visit. "I know it's not like it would be on a normal game day, but they have one of the best fan bases in the country, so I'll get to see probably half of what that is on a game day, too. So that'll be good." Good enough, though? That's a wait and see. — Chris Balas