The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1340560
2021 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 60 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2021 STATISTICS Year Tackles INT PBU 2020 19 3 6 2019 37 6 15 HONORS • A MaxPreps first-team All-American as a senior. • Named a first-team defender for Broward County's 8A-6A schools by The Orlando Sun Sentinel as a senior. • FloridaHSFootball.com first-team All-State defender for Class 7A as a junior. RECRUITMENT • Committed on April 24, 2020. • Former cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary were his primary recruiters. • Possessed an exceptional offer list that included opportunities from Flor- ida State, LSU, Miami (Fla.), Ohio State and Tennessee. DID YOU KNOW? • Spent his first two seasons at Amer- ican Heritage High in Plantation, Fla. • Led St. Thomas Aquinas to consec- utive state titles in 2019 and 2020. Those teams were listed No. 5 and 14 nationally, respectively, in MaxPreps' final rankings. • Also lettered in track and field while in high school, and brought a personal-best 11.01 seconds in the 100-meter dash into his senior year. • Tallied two pick-sixes as a senior and blocked four punts as a junior. • High school teammate of fellow Michigan signee Jaydon Hood. THEY SAID IT • TheWolverine.com recruiting an- alyst EJ Holland: "McBurrows brings some of that Florida speed to Ann Ar- bor. While he's not tall or super long, he brings great speed and should ex- cel as a pure cover corner. McBurrows also played against great competition." BY EJ HOLLAND The early signing period offered some late-cycle drama. With uncer- tainty surrounding Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, three-star Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas cornerback Ja'Den McBurrows had a tough decision to make — stick with his commitment to the Wolverines or stay at home and play for Miami. In the end, McBurrows honored his verbal pledge and inked with Michigan despite a late surge from the hometown Hurricanes. "Michigan was like home," McBur- rows said. "When they first recruited me, they treated me like family. When I went out there, I loved it, my mom loved it and my brother loved it. "I wanted to go to Michigan and make something happen and not just stay home at Miami. [The decision] was really close. Who wouldn't want to go to Mi- ami? It's close to my mom and it's the hometown school, but Michigan was the best choice for me." McBurrows originally committed to Michigan last April without ever hav- ing visited Ann Arbor. The Sunshine State product eventually made it to campus for the big visit weekend in the fall, which helped reassure him that he made the right decision. Fast forward to now and McBur- rows is still happy he's a Wolverine. Right now, his focus is on staying in shape so he can compete once he ar- rives in Ann Arbor in June. "I'm ready to go in and work for a spot," McBurrows said. "I'm running track, working out and lifting at home. But I'm excited to get there and work. "It's going to be a big change. I'm going to have to adapt, but it should be a lot of fun. Like I said, I'm ready to grab a spot." Since signing with Michigan, the Wolverines have made some ma- jor changes on the defensive side of the ball, parting ways with defensive coordinator Don Brown and corner- backs coach Michael Zordich. McBurrows had a positive first con- versation with new safeties coach and fellow Florida native George Helow. "Coach George told me that he watched my film and loves what I do," McBurrows said. "He's a really good coach. He's from Florida, so he knows how to talk to Florida boys. We should connect well. "We haven't talked about the new scheme or anything, but he just said he likes what I bring." Despite all the moving parts at Mich- igan this offseason, the nation's No. 36 cornerback nationally per Rivals.com remains excited about the future of the program and fully believes he and the other incoming freshmen can help change the culture at Michigan. "Our class is great," McBurrows said. "Everybody knows they're go- ing to come in and work hard to earn a spot. We have a great quarterback [J.J. McCarthy] coming in. I think we're all going to be great at Michi- gan." ❑ Ja'Den McBurrows Turns Down In-State Miami To Stick With U-M McBurrows helped national powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas win state titles as a junior and senior for Class 7A, the second-largest classification in Florida. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND 2021 Projection Though redshirt sophomores Gemon Green and Vincent Gray struggled as Michi- gan's starting cornerbacks in 2020, they each return and will be expected to re-earn their starting roles next year. There are a plethora of young corners on the roster behind those two, meaning playing time could be hard to come by for McBurrows in 2021. A redshirt is the most likely scenario, though some youngsters may receive more action than expected if Gray and Green underperform once again. JA'DEN MCBURROWS DEFENSIVE BACK 5-10 • 165 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS H.S. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 36* 68 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 38* 64 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 82* 142 * Ranked at cornerback