The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
MARCH 2022 THE WOLVERINE 61 CJ STOKES RUNNING BACK 5-11 • 190 HAMMOND SCHOOL COLUMBIA, S.C. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ 788 59 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 45 13 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 56 9 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 38 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 60 11 STATISTICS Year Rush Yds TD 2021 1,000+ 28 2020 1,000+ 14 2019 1,306 18 HONORS • Helped lead Hammond School to three consecutive Class 3 state cham- pionships (2019, '20 and '21) with a combined 36-2 record; Hammond School won state titles all four years Stokes was in school. • All-Region as a senior; All-Region Co-Offensive Player of the Year as a junior. • Team captain and Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. RECRUITMENT • Pledged to Michigan June 19, 2021 after picking up his offer from the Maize and Blue in March 2021. • Picked U-M over notable offers from South Carolina, Missouri and Vanderbilt. • Recruited by Michigan running backs coach Mike Hart. DID YOU KNOW? • Born Feb. 28, 2004. THEY SAID IT • Hammond offensive coordinator Eric Wilson: "His biggest strengths are being very well-rounded and how fast he accelerates. He's got really good hands, so he's a threat out of the back- field. He's got good lateral and not just vertical movement, but he hits the hole really fast. With the accelera- tion, the way he hits the hole and his hands, he's an all-around back with a lot of speed. He also has a lot of ability to bring punishment." evaluate and put his board together after arriving in Ann Arbor early in that calen- dar year, but Stokes proved to be worthy of a take. "It was Coach Hart and all the staff just making me feel like a priority from Day 1," he said. "When I talked to Coach Hart the first time, he didn't even of- fer me. He was talking to me when he first got the job and he said, 'You're good enough to play here and it's just about me evaluating the board and seeing who I want on top,' and then he called me a month or two later saying he wanted to offer me." All it took from there was an official visit. "As soon as I hit campus for my of- ficial, I kind of just got a vibe like, 'This was the place I wanted to be,'" Stokes said. "It's a nice change from where I live now. Everything is so close together and it's just beautiful out there." Stokes' commitment, as with many of his 2021 peers, came during a time of un- certainty at Michigan. The program was re-emerging from a 2-4 record in 2020 and faced a ton of pressure to right the ship. He did not need to see the results on the field and instead elected to pull the trigger in June 2021. "I saw a sort of fire in their eyes when I was on campus and I saw they were ready to win. Even the players when we got to talk to them, they were all fired up about the season," he said. "So I just knew that the next season was going to be a treat." The Wolverines boast a crowded run- ning back room for the 2022 season with sophomores Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards at the top of the depth chart. Unless a transfer is brought in, there could be some competition for third and fourth in the pecking order. Stokes will approach his pitch for playing time in fall camp the way he has with everything else. The sheer will and intensity of how he prepares make him someone who cannot be written off to find a role during his Michigan career. "I'm going to put in the work," he said. "I'm always going to give it all I've got. And that's one thing to count on about me — I'm going to give it 100 percent." ❑ Stokes "Lots of people ask me why you don't smile more. … To tell you the truth, I am always mad. I'm always trying to look for a way to get better, be better, and that comes with a lot of bad days that I'm holding myself accountable. There's not a lot to smile about yet." 2022 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 2022 Projection Stokes is a complete back who projects to be an every-down rusher in college. Michigan has established backs returning in 2022 in sopho- mores Donovan Edwards and Blake Corum, so Stokes will have time to develop in the weight room and learn the playbook as a freshman. The Wolverines could find ways to get the 5-11, 190-pounder involved in the offense as the season pro- gresses, but a redshirt is more likely. Stokes chose Michigan over his hometown team, South Carolina, and other SEC schools including Missouri and Vanderbilt. PHOTO BY EJ HOLLAND consensus