The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/201975
football recruiting his time even more as a high school senior. Sixteen of the 24 who were faster in the 200-meter dash (and one who tied his time of 21.13) have moved on to the next level. Michigan fans were consistently impressed by the speed quarterback Denard Robinson showed in his four years for Michigan's offense. Robinson's speed was borne out on the track when he ran a 10.44-second 100-meter dash as a high school senior (the fastest of any Michigan football signee in the past decade), and when he briefly participated on the U-M track team — winning the 60-meter dash in a dual meet against Ohio State with a 6.87-second time in his only competition as a team member. While Peppers and Crawford aren't to Robinson's level, they are an indication that the U-M coaches are putting an emphasis on recruiting serious team speed. They're pursuing and landing some of the fastest high schoolers in the country. Fitting It All Together There is one aspect of Hoke's recruiting priorities, especially when it comes to the speed demonstrated by Peppers and Crawford, that speaks to his concept of how to construct a team that can compete for Big Ten and national titles. While most of Michigan's fastest recruits from 2008‑10 were slotted to play offense, the two fastest players this staff has recruited thus far are on the defensive side of the ball. Once again, that falls in line with Hoke's emphasis on winning with power in the trenches and a strong defense. Both Peppers and Crawford are running backs (and wildcat quarterbacks and slot receivers) for their high school teams, and may get opportunities with the ball in their hands on offense or special teams when they arrive in Ann Arbor. The identity of this Michigan team, however, dictates that their biggest impact will come patrolling the secondary. Those two won't be the end of it, either. The U-M coaches use each class to build on something that the previous group lacked. The 2012 group saw the introduction of some serious size, and 2013 took the depth in recruit quality to a new level. The 2014 class includes the second-fastest U-M recruit in recent memory (while 2015 will add someone not too far off from that standard). Translating recruiting success to results on the field will only see the Michigan coaches have even greater opportunity to add more top players to the roster. The 2011 season helped boost recruiting for the 2013 group and beyond, and while the 2012 season saw a slight step back, by the time these big, fast, highly ranked recruits are earning the majority of the playing time, the improvement in recruit quality may develop into a self-perpetuating cycle. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com.