The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1212135
2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY AUSTIN FOX Baltimore St. Frances four-star linebacker Osman Savage was just a freshman when his Panthers squad took on perennial powerhouse Para- mus (N.J.) Catholic inside The Big House on Sept. 2, 2016, with the Pal- adins coming out on top by a final score of 38-20. Unbeknownst to Savage at the time, Ann Arbor would eventually become his future home, despite the fact he wouldn't pledge to the Maize and Blue until more than two years after that on Jan. 25, 2019. "I must have made a pretty good impression on the U-M coaches when we played inside The Big House my freshman year," Savage recalled. "They had an eye on me from that point on. We lost the game, but I played pretty well and had the second-most tackles on the team. "It was kind of crazy being in that stadium, not knowing I'd one day be committed there. When I came back a second time for a visit, it was weird to think I had already played a game on their field." Baltimore St. Frances annually faces one of the toughest schedules in the na- tion, and after finishing the 2019 cam- paign with an 11-1 record it concluded this past season as the No. 3 high school team in America per MaxPreps.com. The lone loss came at the hands of fellow powerhouse Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei by a final score of 34-18 in mid-September, though the Falcons then ripped off eight straight wins to close out the year, handing another prep football giant, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, its only loss of the season in the process. "Playing at St. Frances helped pre- pare me for the college level tremen- dously," Savage noted. "It wasn't only about the teams we went up against, but what we had to face in practice. We have so much talent on our own team that it's almost like we were playing against the best players right then and there." Two of Savage's teammates — four- star running back Blake Corum and three-star linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green — will also be joining him at Michigan, with the former tabbed as the second- highest-rated commit in U-M's class at No. 104 overall nationally (Milton [Mass.] Academy four-star linebacker Kalel Mullings is the highest at No. 92). Corum and Hill-Green enrolled early at U-M for the start of the spring semester, while Savage will have to wait until June to rejoin his teammates. "Blake and Nikhai been telling me about the classwork," he revealed. "They said it's fairly easy, but that it's a big load and I'll just have to manage my time properly. They've also said the workouts are super crazy and early, but it's nothing I won't be able to handle. "It's going to be great seeing their faces again up there, because they're my guys. We have a group chat with the other commits in the class too, so A 2016 Game At The Big House Served As A Foreshadowing For Osman Savage Rivals.com rates Savage as a four-star tal- ent, the No. 8 player in Maryland, and the No. 12 outside linebacker and No. 154 over- all prospect nationally. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Savage on playing at The Big House as a high schooler "It was kind of crazy being in that stadium, not knowing I'd one day be committed there. When I came back a second time for a visit, it was weird to think I had already played a game on their field."