The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
2015 RECRUITING ISSUE our high school team — he makes it to all the practices now — but when I was growing up there wasn't any pressure as a football player." Learning football along the way, Runyan has developed the skills re- quired to take another step on the path blazed by his father's footsteps: to Michigan. Similar to dad's insis- tence on not forcing his son onto the gridiron, there was no pressure for the Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep standout to make his choice for the old alma mater. "I talked to my dad and he said that I couldn't go wrong with choos- ing Michigan," Runyan explained. "Eventually, it was up to me and I really just didn't want to play any- where else besides Michigan." U-M became Runyan's first of- fer at the 2013 Wolverine Technique School summer camp prior to his ju- nior year of high school ball. When it took him less than a week to ac- cept, other schools decided to pass on the attempt to pull him away from the childhood favorite, so U-M remained his only Division I scholarship opportunity. That's just fine for the three-star prospect, who wanted nothing more than to wear the winged helmet like his father did. For a variety of reasons, the younger Runyan didn't even get to see a Michigan game live from The Big House until close to the end of his high school career. The elder Runyan played in the NFL through 2009, then the family didn't have an opportunity to make it to Michigan Stadium in 2010. When Jon Jr.'s St. Joseph's Prep team had games each Saturday during his high school career, the chance to visit Ann Arbor on a fall Saturday waited until his senior year. The Hawks played Cleveland St. Ignatius on the road Sept. 13, then had a rare bye week. That meant Runyan saw his first live Michigan game Sept. 20, when Michigan fell to Utah in a rain-soaked battle. That game didn't have the outcome Ru- nyan wanted, but for the next few years, he'll have his chance to impact the outcome on the field — and it's one he won't take lightly. He's got his famous name riding on it. — Tim Sullivan Runyan was a three-year varsity starter and helped Philadelphia St. Joseph's Prep to state titles during his junior and senior campaigns. PHOTO BY TIM SULLIVAN