The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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football recruiting Mason Cole, also a Michigan commit, had a similarly positive reaction. The commitments, of course, are supposed to enjoy themselves. It is the process of impressing those that have not committed yet that is paramount to future recruiting success. Six 2015 visitors held offers by the time they made their way into their seats at Michigan Stadium, and the Wolverines strengthened their position with each. "It was everything I expected and a little bit more," St. Paul, Minn., fourstar defensive end Jashon Cornell said. "They had 115,000 people and everybody was yelling 'Go Blue.' The visit helps them out a lot. It showed me more of what they had to offer." "This was my first game up there," four-star Cincinnati linebacker Justin Hilliard concurred. "The total experience was actually crazy. It was a record crowd, the halftime show was great, and everything was pretty cool. It definitely seemed like it was the Super Bowl or something." Detroit Cass Tech running back Mike Weber, another four-star, has been to Ann Arbor several times in the past. This trip was one of his best. "It was nice to see my old teammates play," Weber said. "It was kind of sweet how I used to play with them, and they're all playing big-time football. It was a blowout, so it was a nice fun game to watch. It was a good experience. It was crazy seeing Delano [Hill] and JD [Jourdan Lewis, freshman defensive backs from Cass Tech] playing. Those guys got big in a short period of time." Fellow offerees Joshua Alabi (a twoway lineman and Weber's teammate at Detroit Cass Tech); Saginaw, Mich., wide receiver Brian Cole; and U-M legacy Tyrone Wheatley Jr., a tight end from Buffalo, N.Y. (father Tyrone Sr., a former standout at Michigan, is the running backs coach for the Buffalo Bills) were more mum coming out of the trip. Still, the night game atmosphere made an impact on each. Several 2015 players who don't yet hold offers also saw quite a bit to like. Should they end up landing Michigan offers, prospects like fourstar defensive tackle Tim Settle from Virginia and three-star linebacker Tyriq Thompson of Detroit could follow in the footsteps of players such as Bosch and Butt, who earned offers (and pledged) after attending Under The Lights I. A 2016 prospect — just a sophomore in high school — was in attendance with a Michigan offer already in hand, as well. Downers Grove (Ill.) South offensive lineman Erik Swenson is a potential five-star prospect in the class, and he holds Michigan in very high regard. "They've always been my highest priority, so it didn't change after the game," Swenson said. "They've always been No. 1. My whole family was there. Mom, dad, my sister too. I think my sister really enjoyed it. She liked the halftime performance a lot, and my mom liked the flyover the most." Laying the groundwork for even further into the future (something U-M didn't do in 2011, hosting very