The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1252590
46 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2020 BY EJ HOLLAND D espite the coronavirus pandemic forcing offseason activities like camps and seven-on-seven tourna- ments to be put on hold, Rivals.com's national team spent some time in the film room and made some minor tweaks to its top 250 rankings for the 2021 class. However, the new Rivals250 doesn't bring good news to Michigan fans. All six of Michigan's commits in the rankings suffered drops — albeit minor ones. Michigan quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy remains the highest- ranked recruit in the class. He came in at No. 33 overall, falling two spots from the last update. Just before the dead period, Mc- Carthy was sensational for his seven- on-seven team, Midwest Boom, at Pylon Chicago and Pylon Las Vegas. He has also been hard at work with private quarterback trainers Mike Giovando and Greg Holcomb over the last two months. The most often-asked question in regards to ranking McCarthy is about his size. But those questions now seem a bit ludicrous. The La Grange Park, Ill., native who will wrap up his prep career at powerhouse IMG Academy in Florida has bulked up quite a bit as of late and is hovering around 200 pounds. Sterling Heights (Mich.) Stevenson offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi, Needham (Mass.) St. Sebastian's tight end Louis Hansen and Brent- wood (Tenn.) Ravenwood linebacker Junior Colson suffered minor drops as well. El-Hadi moved down from No. 49 to No. 51, while Hansen fell No. 66 to No. 68. Colson dropped two spots as well, going from No. 81 to No. 83. There were talks about Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive line- man Greg Crippen moving up in the rankings. However, Crippen tum- bled a bit, moving down seven spots to No. 136. Detroit Cass Tech offensive line- man Raheem Anderson suffered the biggest drop of the Michigan commits, sliding down 10 spots to No. 149. Still, Anderson proved to be one of the top centers in the country as a junior and led Cass Tech on a deep playoff run. Overall, Michigan still boasts a top- 10 recruiting class nationally, check- ing in at No. 6 in the Rivals team rankings as of May 26. J.J. MCCARTHY WORKING OUT IN ARIZONA Before heading off to IMG Acad- emy, Rivals100 quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy is spending some time training in Arizona. McCarthy has family in the Phoe- nix area, which has given him the opportunity to work with elite quar- terback trainer Mike Giovando on a regular basis. "It's great," McCarthy said. "You can take bits and pieces from both of them [Giovando and Chicago trainer Greg Holcomb] and make it your own. They are very highly intelligent in what they do. They do it for a liv- ing. I try to take as much as possible from each one." While training with Giovando, Mc- Carthy has worked side by side with guys who are already lining up un- der center in the college and profes- sional ranks. McCarthy, who embraces com- petition to the fullest, impressed Giovando immediately thanks to his relentless work ethic. "I like his willingness to want to come out and get the extra work in with the guys that I have out here like [Oklahoma quarterback] Spen- cer Rattler and Brian Lewerke, who I'm getting ready for the Patriots," Giovando said. "J.J. got to be around those guys and train. "From what I can tell, he loves the process. He loves to work. He loves football." McCarthy, ranked as the No. 33 overall recruit nationally, also brings special arm talent to the field, an elite football IQ and the ability to make plays with his legs. McCarthy has also filled out this offseason and is up to about 200 pounds. Giovando has taken notice of Mc- Carthy's progression and believes the four-star prospect can be the fu- ture of the quarterback position at Michigan. "Man, he has a strong arm," Giovando said. "He can really throw it. It's hard to make a comparison because I haven't trained him from the get-go. But I like that he is ath- letic. He can throw on the move. He's good in the pocket and is going to get even better. "He has a lot of good qualities. He's got his own little vibe going. It's hard for me to say, but you can defi- nitely tell he's a top-tier guy. There is no doubt in my mind. "When you see him throw, you just go 'Yeah, that guy is good.' You rec- ognize it quickly. He's got it. He's just scratching the surface, and that's the cool thing. He's going to keep getting better and better." McCarthy will return to his home in Chicago in June before departing to Florida for his senior season at IMG Academy in July. NEW 2021 OFFERS GO OUT Michigan is already more than halfway done with its 2021 recruit- ing class, but that hasn't stopped the MICHIGAN RECRUITING Rivals Updates 2021 Top 250 National Rankings At No. 51 overall, in-state product Giovanni E l - H a d i o f S t e r l i n g H e i g h t s ( M i c h . ) Stevenson is the second-highest-rated com- mit in the class of 2021 for Michigan. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN