The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
MARCH 2021 THE WOLVERINE 57 2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE STATISTICS Year Tackles TFL Sacks 2020 46 7 6 2019 60 43 24 HONORS • First-team All-New Jersey pick by USA Today as a senior. • Earned his division's Co-Defensive Player of the Year honor. • Named Jersey Sports Zone All-Zone as both a senior and junior. • Selected for the Mater Dei Prep All- Decade Team (2010-19) on defense. RECRUITMENT • Committed to Michigan on March 25, 2020, despite never having visited U-M's campus. • Pledged to Michigan just hours af- ter picking up his offer from the Wol- verines. • Recruited to play both on the edge and the interior of the defensive line. DID YOU KNOW? • Helped Mater Dei finish as the state runner-up as a junior. • Played both on the defensive line and at offensive tackle throughout his high school career. • Called Michigan his "dream school" upon his commitment, revealing he'd always imagined playing for the Wol- verines and had been working toward the goal since he was 5 years old. • His father was a two-time all-con- ference offensive lineman at UMass. THEY SAID IT • National recruiting expert Tom Lemming: "Dominick Giudice is un- derrated. I had a chance to see him in person last year when he came over to an event at Bergen Catholic [High School in New Jersey]. He's just a blue-collar, tough and aggressive ball player who's productive. Guys like that almost always make it." BY CHRIS BALAS "Project." "Only a two-star." "Lots to prove." Michigan defensive line signee Dominick Giudice of New Monmouth (N.J.) Mater Dei has heard it all since he pledged to U-M March 25 of last year. Though the 6-4, 265-pounder put up huge numbers in his last two seasons, critics pointed to the absence of top- notch competition on his schedule and limited exposure as red flags despite his impressive résumé. None of the detractors have fazed him or his excitement about playing for his childhood favor- ite Wolverines. "I've definitely seen it, and I try not to look at stuff like that too much, so it doesn't affect me," Giudice said. He paused. "… But I definitely have a chip on my shoulder, and not just because of that," he con- tinued. "It's the way I've always played. I'm go- ing to be relentless and play with a high motor. I'm always going to run to the ball, never stop- ping, and my hands never stop moving. "I'm going to get there and take your head off." On that, even Rivals.com East Coast recruiting analyst Adam Friedman — one of the experts behind Giudice's two-star rating — would agree. It was that effort that helped Giudice earn what most would consider his first major offer after Air Force, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Temple and UMass — his father's alma mater, where he was a four-year letterman and team captain — stepped up first. Former U-M basketball coach John Beilein used to say he was looking for kids 'beating down the doors to get to Michigan.' Giudice certainly qualified on the football side, a U-M fan since early in his childhood who dreamed about wearing the winged helmet. It's not lost on him that he committed sight unseen due to the COVID-19 pan- demic. He still hasn't seen the campus, in fact, but insists he didn't need to. "It literally was always the only school I wanted to go to," he said. "They always played the way I played. I saw them as being old-school, smash- mouth football with great academics as well as great football. That's what I loved about them." Giudice helped lead Mater Dei to a state run- ner-up finish as a junior by posting a phenom- enal 43 tackles for loss and 24 sacks, the latter number ranking No. 1 in New Jersey and No. 11 nationally. He got a ton more attention from offensive lines this past fall, but still finished with 46 tackles, includ- ing seven tackles for loss, six sacks and 42 quarterback pressures. "I'm excited to see if that can translate and to see how he's able to de- velop," Friedman said. "The level of competi- tion is next to nothing for him where he is. His film shows a guy who can make plays, but from a technical standpoint, he still has a lot to prove. "He has some physical tools, but he needs to get stronger. His hand tech- niques, leverage, how to play within a scheme … that's a whole new ball game." But one Giudice can't wait to tackle so he can prove his detractors wrong once again. ❑ Dominick Giudice Is Ready To Prove His Critics Wrong In his final two seasons of high school, Giudice recorded a com- bined 50 tackles for loss and 30 sacks. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 Projection Michigan has several of its key defensive line contributors returning in 2021 (most notably redshirt junior end Aidan Hutchinson, redshirt sophomore tackle Chris Hinton and redshirt junior tackle Donovan Jeter), so playing time could be hard to come by as a freshman. A redshirt year would allow him to bulk up and get used to the size and strength of the collegiate game, especially if the U-M coaches plan on making the interior his primary position. DOMINICK GIUDICE DEFENSIVE LINEMAN 6-4 • 265 MATER DEI PREP FREEHOLD, N.J. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ — — — ✪ ✪ ✪ — 83* 27 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 199^ 36 * Ranked at weakside defensive end; ^ ranked at defensive end