The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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PREP PROFILES With just one year of organized football under his belt and five scholarship offers to show for it, Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne offen- sive tackle Alex Akingbulu is truly a diamond in the rough. He stands 6-6 and tips the scales at 265 pounds, and he doesn't even know how to properly lift weights yet ac- c o rd i n g t o h i s head coach. "I had to teach him how to pick a bar up," Nar- b o n n e h e a d c o a c h M a n u e l Douglas said with a laugh. "He doesn't know anything about lifting yet. If he gets into a college weight lifting program, he'll get to 300-plus pounds easy." That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Akingbulu's po- tential. Concentrating on basketball until his junior year, Akingbulu has developed fantastic feet, speed and agility that translates perfectly onto the football field as a dynamic left tackle prospect. "The way he can get up and down the court is special," Douglas said. "He has great feet and long arms. He's 6-6 and moves like someone much smaller. You just can't teach that stuff, that's just God-given tal- ent. "He was smart enough to realize his potential in football even though he was a basketball player first. I re- ally think this kid can end up play- ing on Sundays someday because he has such great athleticism at left tackle and ideal size." Before he thinks about playing on Sundays, Aking- bulu will have to decide where he wants to play on Saturdays. The junior tackle has family near Ann Arbor and with a Michigan offer in hand and a rela- tionship with of- fensive line coach Tim Drevno, U-M looks like a realistic option. "Drevno was going to offer him when he was at USC, but he prob- ably knew he might be headed to Michigan and he waited until he got there," Douglas said. "Alex actually has family in Michigan, too, only about 20-25 minutes from Ann Ar- bor. I think it's pretty close family, too." With a senior season left to play, Akingbulu's stock is going to con- tinue to rise. Michigan was his first offer and he's already up to five to- tal. The California schools are now hot on his trail — but if Akingbulu works out a trip to Ann Arbor, ex- pect Michigan to be a major player in his blossoming recruitment. — Brandon Brown California Offensive Tackle Gaining Popularity ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Narbonne High School Harbor City, Calif. Class: 2016 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-6 • Wt.: 265 Rivals.com Rankings: Currently unrated Alex Akingbulu