The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/465847
PREP PROFILES Wolverines Back In It For Philadelphia Tight End Michigan struggled on the field in 2014, and it ultimately led to the firing of Brady Hoke and his staff. It also affected the perception of the program for many recruits, including Philadelphia Imhotep tight end Nas- eir Upshur. The four-star junior once held Michigan in high regard, but left them out of his first top group because of the un- certainty moving forward. "I was high on Michigan before, b u t t h r o u g h - out the process I stopped hearing from them," he explained. "New c o a c h e s w e r e coming in, and I didn't put them in my top 15." Now that the new coaches have had some time to get comfortable in Ann Arbor and re-evaluate 2016 prospects, the 6-2, 223-pounder found himself right back on the Wolverines' radar. "They re-offered me, and I'm get- ting in contact with them again," Upshur said. "I'm going to switch them with Florida State, because Flor- ida State was in my top 15. "The coach — the offensive coordi- nator and offensive line coach [Tim Drevno] that I got the offer from told him that they're very, very high on me. I got a direct message from the coach on Twitter and he said, 'We're fired up about you.' That got me go- ing. It just got me excited when Coach Drevno told me that." The No. 3 tight end in the country according to Rivals, Upshur visited Michigan before he initially left the Wolverines off of his top list. The visit wowed his father and him so much so that his dad couldn't believe Michigan didn't m a k e t h e c u t . Now that they h a v e re - e s t a b - lished themselves among his favor- ites, Upshur plans to check Ann Ar- bor out again. "I'll be able to make it maybe next year, or for a basketball game this year," he explained. Michigan seems to have positioned itself well with Upshur after falling off for a bit and likely will have to make up some ground on other pro- grams. Miami and South Carolina, in particular, are both standing out to Upshur and could be considered his co-leaders. Upshur is in no rush to make any sort of decision and plans to trim his list again before he does. After a productive junior season when he snagged 23 passes for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns, a solid senior year will see his profile grow even more. — Brandon Brown ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Imhotep Charter Institute Philadelphia Class: 2016 Position: Tight End Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 223 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 2 player in Pennsylvania, No. 3 tight end in the country and No. 59 overall prospect nationally Naseir Upshur