The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
PREP PROFILES In the 2014 recruiting class, Michi- gan landed two players from Paramus (N.J.) Catholic — cornerback Jabrill Peppers, the No. 3 player in the coun- try, along with three-star offensive lineman Juwann Bushell-Beatty. The Paladins pulled something of a c o u p t h e m - selves in the tal- e n t - a c q u i s i t i o n game when elite defensive tackle Rashan Gary de- cided to transfer from Scotch Plains (N.J.) Fanwood High School to Paramus. It could be the beginning of a perfect storm for Michigan to reel in the 6-4, 290-pounder in its 2016 recruit- ing class. The No. 2 overall player in the nation opted for Paramus in part because of head coach Chris Partridge, who was hired this offseason to be a recruiting operations assistant for the Maize and Blue. The opportunity to rejoin Partridge could be a difference- maker in his recruitment — eventually. "I don't have a top five right now," Gary said of his process. "I cut my list down to 45, so I still have a long way to go. It's not overwhelming at all. It hasn't hit me yet because my mom is keeping a lot of the pressure off me." Among those in that final 45 are Ala- bama, Florida State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, USC and Wisconsin. U-M will certainly have to put in hard work to beat out a competitive field, rather than just counting on having Partridge in the fold. "I was thinking about seeing Michi- gan," he said. "I've talked to my mom about it to see if we can do it. The in- terest is just like everybody else. I feel like the pro- gram is the same as all of them, and I have high inter- est." Gary plans to make his first unofficial visit to U-M at some point this spring, h o p i n g t h a t a group of teammates from Paramus Catholic will make the pilgrimage and he can tag along. It's clear to see why Michigan wants him. "Gary is a tremendous physical specimen who explodes off the snap and plays with a tremendous amount of power," Rivals.com national direc- tor of recruiting Mike Farrell said. "He has good feet for a big man and avoids getting caught in traffic, but his strength is disengaging from blocks to make plays either at the line of scrim- mage or to the outside." Gary used those skills to tally 55 total stops, 24 tackles for loss, 14 sacks and a fumble returned for touchdown as a junior last fall. — Tim Sullivan Connections Could Lead Elite DT To Ann Arbor ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Paramus Catholic H.S. Paramus, N.J. Class: 2016 Position: Defensive Tackle Ht.: 6-4 • Wt.: 290 Rivals.com Ranking: No. 1 player in New Jersey, No. 1 defensive tackle na- tionally and No. 2 overall prospect in the country Rashan Gary