The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
"That went viral, all over the coun- try," Atkinson said. "That was a special moment for him. That was pretty in- credible. "We knew it was a pretty big play, but you know how social media is now. It went all over the country. MaxPreps picked it up, and a bunch of sports me- dia outlets picked it up. It went viral, which was pretty cool for him." And pretty cool for anyone who missed it live. HEADING BACK HOME Despite a close friendship with Mich- igan sophomore wideout Andrel An- thony — with whom he played youth football — Clemons didn't make the call for the Wolverines until the last possible moment. Larry Clemons insists that 15 minutes prior to his son's announce- ment, the destination remained up in the air. He recalls giving the young man some last-minute advice: Be uncomfortable to- day to be comfortable 40 years from now. "Five minutes before [the announce- ment], he goes, 'I think it's going to be Michigan,'" Larry Clemons noted. And it was. "I think he's in heaven," Atkinson of- fered. "He's going to be a super hard worker. He's going to do everything asked of him and more. He'll compete. I know he's loving every minute of it. He's a football junkie. "His best characteristic among all of them — size, speed, strength — is that he's a great person. That's my highest praise of him, being a really good team- mate and person. He's not a me guy. He's very humble. "He cares about his teammates and he cares about leadership. It's really spe- cial. You can have talent. You can have body type. That's all great, and people love that. They want to see all the num- bers and everything. But if you have a great person, a great leader and a great teammate, that's when good things re- ally happen." Those words make any father beam with pride. "He has a big heart," Larry Clem- ons assured. "For me as a dad, when I see Darrius care for others, that's more important than scoring a touchdown. Football is going to come to an end one day. But your character is going to be attached to you for the rest of your life. "This last year, this parent came up to my wife and I and said, 'Thank you. Your son was so awesome with my son.' We're like, what did Darrius do? "Darrius found a way to get this kid's football fees paid for. I don't know how he did it, to this day. But he made sure that kid's football fees were paid for when they played the season. "You may have that kid who doesn't play a lot on the football team. He would spend more time with them, to make sure they feel a part of the group, than with the kid who is the other star of the team." Clemons' arrival on the Michigan campus marks the culmination of end- less sweat and relentless effort, on the part of many. "It means a lot," Woods said. "He's damned near my son. I've got two kids, and he's big bro to my daughter and my son. It's just great to see." Grind Time remains far from fin- ished. As strong a teammate as Clem- ons proved to be, on the field, he will not back down at Michigan Stadium or elsewhere. "He's going in early, so he can start," Woods insisted. "He's not going in there to say, 'Oh, I'm a freshman. I'm going to redshirt.' No, he's like, 'I'm go- ing in there to take somebody's spot, and dominate.' That's what we've been developing throughout these last few years." ❑ MARCH 2022 THE WOLVERINE 37 THEY SAID IT • On3 director of scouting and rank- ings Charles Power: "Darrius Clemons has one of the best combinations of play speed and size among wide re- ceivers in the 2022 cycle. He's a legit field-stretcher as a vertical threat at 6-3. Clemons bursts off the snap and eats up cornerbacks' cushions quickly." Oregon didn't play high school football in 2020, so Clemons suited up at Pleasant Grove High School in Utah and snared 38 catches for 817 yards and 10 touchdowns in eight games. PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/ON3.COM 2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE