The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING a freshman for his high school team and has already been recognized with offers from a handful of Mid- American Conference schools, plus Cincinnati, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee. He should be one of the most-offered prospects in the Mid- west's 2017 class in due time. The next offer went to East St. Louis (Ill.) standout wide receiver Jeff Thomas. Although he stands just 5-10 and 165 pounds, Thomas has already shown the explosive speed that will allow him to become an im- pact player down the road in college. Syracuse joins the Wolverines on his offer list, with many more certain to come down the road. The most recent 2017 player of- fered has a familiar name, and comes from a very familiar high school. Or- chard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary's line- backer Joshua Ross is the younger brother of U-M junior linebacker James Ross, and could end up being even better than his big bro. Michi- gan State and Oklahoma have also offered (his recruiter for the Soon- ers is former Michigan defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery), and the 6-2, 205-pounder will hear plenty more schools' recruiting pitches in the near future. While it's still early for 2017 pros- pects on the recruiting trail, Michi- gan's coaching staff is clearly ahead of the curve. JOSH ROSEN SET TO DECIDE The country's top prep quarter- back, Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco five-star Josh Rosen, is sched- uled to make his college commit- ment March 20. The 6-4, 205-pound Rosen's final group includes UCLA, Michigan and Texas. The Bruins are the presumed favorite, but a quick trip to Ann Arbor in the days before his decision inserted some doubt into Rosen's mind. "Coach Nuss [U-M offensive co- ordinator Doug Nussmeier], is a very convincing guy," Rosen said. "He talked about the pro-style versus Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco's Josh Rosen, the nation's top pro-style quarter- back and No. 2 overall prospect accord- ing to Rivals.com, was expected to choose between U-M and UCLA March 20. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM