The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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star tailback Walter Cross. Henson, Terrell, Walker, Joppru and Petruziello would full their promise, making sig- nificant impacts. BEST DEFENSIVE CLASS: It may seem foolish to start this conversation any- where but 1995, when Charles Wood- son inked his letter of intent. A sup- porting cast that included defensive ends David Bowens and James Hall, defensive tackles Rob Renes and Josh Williams, and safety Daydrion Taylor certainly gives credence to that claim. However, Woodson's teammates were not highly ranked in 1995. The defensive signees of 2001 and 2003, on the other hand, earned hefty praise form the recruiting pundits. The 2001 class included five-star defensive backs Marlin Jackson and Ernest Shazor, and then four-stars: defensive lineman Pat Massey, corner- back Marcus Curry, linebacker Scott McClintick, defensive end David Spy- tek and defensive end Pierre Woods. All but Spytek would enjoy successful careers at Michigan, with Jackson and Shazor combining for three first-team All-America honors. The 2003 class also included a pair of five-stars, in defensive end La- Marr Woodley and safety/linebacker Prescott Burgess. Additionally, the cohort had five four-stars: linebacker Shawn Crable, cornerback Leon Hall, safety Ryan Mundy and linebacker Jim Presley. Only Presley failed to start at Michigan, with Woodley and Hall earning All-America accolades as seniors, and Crable and Burgess emerging as key players for the Maize and Blue defense from 2005-07. What They're Saying Through the years, we've collected opinions on future Wolverines from the recruiting experts at Prep Foot- ball Repor t ( Tom Lemming), The National Recruiting Advisor (Bobby Burton), SuperPrep (Allen Wallace) and Rivals.com (various). Here is a sampling of their thoughts on play- ers that would earn first-team All- America honors. Lemming on offensive lineman Jon Jansen, 1994: "Jansen is a big kid with good athleticism and good hands. He's good enough to play tight end, but may get moved to the offensive line because of his tre- mendous size." Wa l l a ce o n d e fe n s i ve b a c k Charles Woodson, 1995: "Charles is big and fast, an incredibly talented two-way guy. He's a football player with great athletic ability that makes a lot happen. He could have chosen Miami, Notre Dame … this was a big disappointment for Ohio State. He can stand out at a number of dif- ferent positions. He'll eventually do something exciting." Wallace on offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson, 1996: "Steve is big, fast and flexible. This was an- other big victory for Michigan over Notre Dame. He is a very physical player, a mauler type, which is one of the reasons he could play defense at a place like Michigan. He is one of my favorite recruits in this class."