The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2021 THE WOLVERINE 55 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE STATISTICS Year Carries Yards TD 2020 — 572 4 2019 128 1,328 20 2018 189 1,449 17 HONORS • Finalist for the state of Texas Super Team as a senior. • Earned first-team all-district honors as a sophomore and junior. RECRUITMENT • Committed on Sept. 12, 2020. • Also had offers from Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, USC, Washington and others. • Recruited by then-running backs coach Jay Harbaugh. DID YOU KNOW? • Is already enrolled at Michigan. • Added 20 receptions for 203 yards and three touchdowns during his ju- nior campaign. • Also ran track in high school. THEY SAID IT • Michigan head coach Jim Har- baugh: "Tavierre is a very competitive, explosive running back. Really, really athletic. He very much reminds me of [redshirt sophomore] Hassan Haskins; a tough type of runner but also has breakaway type of speed. He's a top- 15 running back in the country if you go by the ratings. … Just an outstand- ing football player and a really good student." • Del Valle (Texas) High School head coach Charles Burton: "I think the dude has an extremely high ceiling, and he's not near it. He's a big kid at 6-1, 208 pounds, but he has small-back skills as well. I think he's just scratching the surface of what he's capable of. "I'm excited to see what he does at the next level. I think his college coaches are going to be getting a gem and are going to be super excited about what he brings to the table." BY CLAYTON SAYFIE While fellow running back signee Donovan Edwards, out of West Bloom- field (Mich.) High, has the fanfare and home-run speed, Del Valle (Texas) High three-star early enrollee Tavierre Dunlap is a tough runner between the tackles at 6-0, 196 pounds and still has plenty of swiftness. Dunlap reminds Rivals.com South Central recruiting analyst Sam Spiegel- man of another former Big Ten back, one Michigan fans know quite a lot about, given that he played for in-state rival Michigan State. "He's patient. Sometimes I think he's too patient, but that could help Michi- gan, obviously; they recruit offensive line as good as any program in the country," Spiegelman said of Dunlap and U-M. "So if he's got the big guys to pave holes for him, his patience may pay off more than at the high school level, if you think of someone like a [former MSU back and current Kansas City Chief] Le'Veon Bell." Despite patience being a huge part of Dunlap's game, his burst when he does hit the hole is his biggest strength, Spiegelman noted, adding that being a change-of-pace back may be his best role at the college level. With a running back room that currently consists of redshirt sophomore Hassan Haskins, redshirt freshman Blake Corum and the aforementioned Edwards, that could not only be a perfect fit for Dun- lap, but a way onto the field. "He's 6-foot, 200-plus pounds, with 4.6 speed," the analyst said. "And when he's coming through the line with a head of steam, that's not some- thing any defender wants to stand in front of and take on." U-M offensive coordinator Josh Gat- tis, who is entering his third year with the program, has been tasked with transitioning the Wolverines' attack from pro-style to spread. While the smaller and speedier skill position players are becoming more and more common in college football as offenses spread things out, there's always going to be room for talents like Dunlap, who plays with a nasty edge when the ball is in his hands. "I think that's what the staff loves about him — he's a big, physical force coming out of the backfield," Spiegel- man said. "And when you have three and four wide receiver sets, you need to account for that; you can't be load- ing up the box against Tavi Dunlap. "The cool thing about Tavi is some- thing they really worked on going into his junior year was catching out of the backfield. So they've come up with a ton of creative ways for him to get the ball out in space, whether it's a short swing pass or a screen pass. As big and physical as he is, he also has reliable hands, and that same physicality can apply out in space with the ball in his hands, as well. "I think you can play smashmouth football with Tavi, and he has enough speed, enough physicality." ❑ Michigan 'Can Play Smashmouth Football' With Tavierre Dunlap Dunlap ran for at least 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns in both his sophomore and junior seasons in football-rich Texas. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 Projection It will be a tall task for Dunlap to crack the rotation as a freshman, considering the Wolverines' top player at the position, redshirt soph- omore Hassan Haskins, is the likely starter. He also enters with four-star fellow freshman Donovan Edwards and has to compete with redshirt freshman Blake Corum. Dunlap is a versatile back that could see time situationally in Ann Arbor, but that will likely be later on in his career. TAVIERRE DUNLAP RUNNING BACK 6-0 • 196 DEL VALLE H.S. DEL VALLE, TEXAS RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 29 77 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ 236 13 36 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 38 91