The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2021 THE WOLVERINE 53 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE HONORS • Tabbed as a Sports Illustrated All- American finalist in 2020. • Selected to the MaxPreps Florida All-State second team as a senior. • Named a second-team MaxPreps Junior All-American in 2019. RECRUITMENT • Committed on March 25, 2020. • Previously pledged to Notre Dame. • Also had offers from Alabama, Ohio State, USC, Indiana, Notre Dame, Penn State and others. • Recruited by former offensive line coach Ed Warinner. DID YOU KNOW? • Did not allow a sack during his ju- nior and senior seasons. • IMG finished among MaxPreps' top 10 nationally in all three of his years at the powerhouse program, including being awarded the outlet's national championship after an 8-0 season in 2020. • As a sophomore, the left guard was the only non-senior starter on IMG's offensive line. • Played with fellow U-M incoming freshman J.J. McCarthy at IMG. • Is enrolled early at Michigan. THEY SAID IT • IMG Academy offensive coordi- nator Josiah Sears: "He's one of the strongest kids we have in the weight room. … He can run in space if we try throwing screens on the perimeter. He does everything well." • IMG Academy offensive line coach George Hegamin: "He's a very dedicated kid. He goes about his busi- ness. He's as professional as anyone I've coached or been around from my days in the NFL and in college and working with elite high school offen- sive linemen. He's as good as they get. Work ethic and leadership are his big- gest strengths." BY CHRIS BALAS Michigan freshman Greg Crippen is the type who would rather be seen, not heard — a player who would rather be about it than talk about it. In short, he's a bit of a throwback. "He's very reserved; all about busi- ness," Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive line coach George Hegamin, who also played seven years in the NFL, said. "He's very business-ori- ented as far as football is concerned. There aren't any extra words with him; when it comes to talking about himself … that just doesn't interest Greg at all." What does interest him is winning, and it's something he made a habit of in his two years starting at center for IMG. The 6-4, 285-pounder played four years at the varsity level — the last three starting for powerhouse IMG — and was an outstanding leader. That leadership was one of the many aspects that impressed U-M head coach Jim Harbaugh when he started recruiting Crippen. "IMG was the national champions this year, and Greg didn't allow a sack as a junior or senior; a two-year captain at IMG," Harbaugh marveled. "He's very smart. He's going to be a cen- ter, most likely, and directing the run game, directing protections. He's very capable of doing that, and he's been doing it at a high level." As a bonus, he also did it with fellow Michigan signee J.J. McCarthy playing behind him at quarterback this year, so there's familiarity should the two team up again in the near future. IMG out- scored the competition 381-82 this year riding that combination, both standing out at their positions. Crippen's success was no coinci- dence, Hegamin assured. "Greg is probably, in all my years of coaching, one of the hardest-working, most focused students of the game I've coached," Hegamin praised. "He's ex- tremely dedicated about getting bet- ter, also looks forward to constructive criticism. He's extremely smart and as tough as they come. "He's an excellent leader; the guy you want at the point of attack … a sneaky athletic player is what he is. He's really strong. For his size, you would think he isn't as strong as he is, but he's got very good core strength." Hegamin noted that Crippen re- minds him of his former Dallas Cow- boys teammate and five-time Pro Bowl blocker Mark Stepnoski, high praise from a man who has lived and breathed the game for decades. "He's an avid basketball player, a great athlete who plays with very good leverage," Hegamin continued. "I talked a lot about Mark, how he approached the game, and Greg was always asking for advice about how he did certain things." He took it and excelled, thanks in part to being a "great finisher," Hega- min said, before adding he was excited about Crippen's future. "He's the kind of kid you want on your team," he said. Something he predicts U-M fans will see soon enough. ❑ Old-School Greg Crippen Is 'All About Business' Crippen played center on Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy 's 2020 national champion- ship-winning squad, snapping to quarter- back and fellow U-M signee J.J. McCarthy. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 Projection Like many young offensive line- men, Crippen is likely one or two years away from seeing significant snaps at the college level. He has flexibility in that he can play center or guard, which could help him carve out a role in the fu- ture. While the Wolverines are a bit thin at center, with only one return- ing player still remaining in redshirt freshman Reece Atteberry, Crippen will probably redshirt before com- peting for the starting job. GREG CRIPPEN OFFENSIVE LINEMAN 6-4 • 285 IMG ACADEMY (FLA.) NORTHBOROUGH, MASS. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 162 8* 26 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 7^ 80 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 297 14* 45 * Ranked at guard; ^ ranked at center