The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 58 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2022 DEUCE SPURLOCK LINEBACKER 6-2 • 220 MADISON ACADEMY MADISON, ALA. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ 1,031 45* 41 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 35* 38 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 108# 41 ✪ ✪ ✪ — — — ✪ ✪ ✪ — 52^ 30 * Ranked as an athlete; # ranked as a linebacker; ^ ranked as an outside linebacker STATISTICS Year Tackles TFL Sacks 2021 186 27 8 2020 89 7 3 2019 25 — 1 HONORS • Class 4A-Region 7 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior. • Alabama Sports Writers Associa- tion All-State selection as a junior and senior. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan Sept. 26, 2021 after picking up his offer from the Maize and Blue in June 2021. • Picked U-M over notable tenders from Auburn, Vanderbilt and South Carolina. • Recruited by Michigan linebackers coach George Helow. BY ANTHONY BROOME Deuce Spurlock's recruitment had not been firing on all cylinders the way it does for many talented prospects in SEC territory. It took a showcase in front of Michigan coaches to earn an offer from the Wolverines, and then things started to pick up for the Madison, Ala., native. "I wouldn't say it was quiet, but it wasn't how I wanted it to go," he said. "So we went up, and we were just going to a couple of camps. Michigan was the second one I think I hit. My recruitment went really good after that, and I got the offer. But before, it wasn't booming or how I wanted it to be at first." Spurlock committed to Michigan on Sept. 26, 2021 after an official visit the weekend of the Rutgers game. U-M al- ways felt right for him, a fact that was hammered home by the experience he had. "Just being able to feel the team cul- ture and then playing with these players for the next couple of years," Spurlock said of what sold him. "Being able to jell with them and see what they're like. So it just made sense for me to go there." He admitted that he came into the visit with his mind mostly made up, but the dramatic victory over Rutgers cre- ated an atmosphere he wanted to join. "I had made my mind up that night before because I was on my official," he remembered. "I was ready. I was in Coach [Jim] Harbaugh's office, down at the field and just talking to him. And it was crazy, because everybody's running up and down the hallways and stuff. So it was really cool. And one of the great- est experiences I've had." Spurlock owes his relationship with the Wolverines to linebackers coach George Helow, who kept the lines of Deuce Spurlock Looks To Reward Staff's Belief He's A 'Steal' 2022 Projection Spurlock had a highly produc- tive high school career and was an impressive find by the Michigan staff. He has some work to do in the weight room and will need a bit of an adjustment period to the college level. His quickest path to playing time is on special teams while he works his way up the depth chart at linebacker. How- ever, Spurlock could surprise if Michigan keeps a similar defensive scheme to last year, as expected. He runs well sideline to sideline and can cover. Spurlock is a three-star recruit listed as the nation's No. 1,031-ranked player per the On3 Consensus, but the U-M coaching staff sees a much higher ceiling for him. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND consensus