The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2020 MICHIGAN RECRUITING Dixon, the No. 32 wide receiver nationally, pulled the trigger for U-M in June over double-digit Power Five offers. The four-star prospect logged 35 receptions for 611 yards and six touchdowns for national power- house Mater Dei last season. Connecticut has also canceled its high school football season, which means three-star Wallingford Cho- ate Rosemary Hall offensive tackle Tristan Bounds and four-star Suffield Academy defensive end Kechaun Bennett will not be suiting up this fall. Neither Bennett, the No. 12-ranked weakside defensive end nationally, nor Bounds, the No. 5-ranked recruit in Connecticut, plan to play in the spring or enroll early at Michigan. They both will, instead, practice with their teams in the fall and train in the offseason. Illinois has officially pushed back its high school football season to the spring. But three-star Boling- brook High outside linebacker Tyler McLaurin isn't going to miss his se- nior year. Unlike his fellow commits, McLau- rin plans to play for his team in the spring. McLaurin, the No. 30 out- side linebacker nationally, helped Bolingbrook reach the Class 8A state quarterfinals last season and wants to lead his team to a state title. Finally, the state of Michigan an- nounced Aug. 14 it will also push foot- ball to the spring, which will affect Sterling Heights Stevenson four-star offensive lineman Giovanni El-Hadi, Detroit Cass Tech four-star center Ra- heem Anderson, three-star Orchard Lake St. Mary's punter/kicker Tommy Doman and East Lansing High three- star wideout Andrel Anthony, who will enroll early at U-M. Expect more fall cancellations over the next few weeks. As it stands right now, the rest of Michigan's 2021 com- mits are set to play this fall. TWO MORE PLEDGES NAMED ALL-AMERICANS Michigan has two more All-Amer- icans on its commit list. F o u r- s t a r B re n t w o o d ( Te n n . ) Ravenwood linebacker Junior Col- son was named to the All-American Bowl, while three-star Orchard Lakes (Mich.) St. Mary's kicker/punter Tommy Doman was selected to the Under Armour All-America Game. Colson, who is ranked as the No. 3 outside linebacker and No. 83 over- all prospect nationally, recorded an eye-popping 175 tackles, including 30 tackles for loss and 14 sacks, as a junior last season. Colson committed to Michigan in late May over offers from Flor- ida State, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennes- see, Texas A&M, USC and slew of other major programs. Colson is one of the highest-rated commits in the Wolverines' 2021 recruiting class. "Junior is a big kid," his private trainer Buck Fitzgerald said. "He's 225 pounds and about 6-foot-3, but he's fast. He was the anchor leg of the 4x100. "He can really run. He can cover as well as any linebacker I've seen at this level. He has high school cor- nerback/safety cover skills. He rou- tinely covers wide receivers in the slot and on the outside. "Because of his background as a wide receiver, he kept that athletic ability and those ball skills. He's re- ally grown into becoming a better cover guy. Because of his athletic ability and speed, he's a guy that's able to cover really good skill guys." On the flip side of the coin, Doman is one of the nation's top special- ists. While it's not often that Michi- gan uses a scholarship on a kicker/ punter, Doman is special, and his All- American status proves it. Doman was invited to the Under Armour All-America Game after being named the top overall performer at the Kohl's kicking and punting event in Gatlinburg, Tenn., this summer. "He is a long, athletic prospect," specialist expert Jamie Kohl said. "His punting consistency might be the best in the country. Doman has great hands and is more technically 2021 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Markus Allen WR 6-2 185 Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) Raheem Anderson OL 6-3 295 Detroit (Cass Tech) Andrel Anthony WR 6-2 175 East Lansing, Mich. (East Lansing) Kechaun Bennett DE 6-4 225 Suffield, Conn. (Suffield Academy) Tristan Bounds OT 6-8 280 Gaithersburg, Md. (Choate Rosemary Hall [Conn.]) Junior Colson LB 6-2 215 Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood) Greg Crippen OL 6-4 270 Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) Cristian Dixon WR 6-2 185 Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Tommy Doman K/P 6-3 178 Orchard Lake, Mich. (St. Mary's) Giovanni El-Hadi OT 6-6 285 Sterling Heights, Mich. (Stevenson) Dominick Giudice DE 6-4 262 New Monmouth, N.J. (Mater Dei) TJ Guy DE 6-4 240 Mansfield, Mass. (Mansfield) Louis Hansen TE 6-5 225 Needham, Mass. (St. Sebastian's) Jaydon Hood ATH 6-1 212 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) Ja'Den McBurrows CB 5-10 175 Plantation, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) J.J. McCarthy QB 6-2 180 La Grange Park, Ill. (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Tyler McLaurin LB 6-3 215 Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) Rod Moore S 5-11 170 Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) Casey Phinney LB 6-1 228 Dedham, Mass. (Noble and Greenough) Quintin Somerville DE 6-1 233 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Saguaro) Xavier Worthy WR 6-1 160 Fresno, Calif. (Central) 2022 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Alex VanSumeren DT 6-2 260 Essexville, Mich. (Garber) Four-star linebacker commit Junior Colson, who logged 175 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 14 sacks during his junior season last year, was recently selected to play in the All-American Bowl. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM