The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2015 RECRUITING ISSUE school. He does not seem like a fresh- man. He's got an older soul to him. He has fit right in and been very seri- ous about football. I like that about him. He's been serious about school, and it's been really good." Gentry certainly turned heads when he turned down the Longhorns and instead opted for Ann Arbor. "Zach is also very talented," Har- baugh pointed out. "He's very fast. He's got some real physical attributes that not every quarterback has. He's somebody who works extremely hard at the game, especially in the offseason — on his technique, on his throwing. "I'm excited about both Alex and Zach. The two things common to them and everybody in this class that have really been fantastic to see is a desire to compete in the classroom and on the football field. I really like those kind of people the most, that compete in both those areas to the highest level." Those are among nine players on offense in the 14-man class. Brian Cole, a 6-2, 190-pound athlete from Saginaw, Mich., wants to start out at wide receiver, where he'll join Grant Perry, a 6-0, 185-pounder out of Bloomfield Hills, who served as Malzone's top target at Birmingham Brother Rice last fall. The Wolverines brought in three of- fensive linemen: Jon Runyan Jr., a 6-4, 275-pounder out of Philadelphia and the son of U-M's All-American tackle of the same name; Grant Newsome, a 6-7, 280-pounder from Lawrencev- ille, N.J.; and Nolan Ulizio at 6-5, 293, from West Chester, Ohio. Along with filling a big need at tight end via Wheatley — who goes by "T.J." — the Wolverines pulled Higdon away from Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeyes. Higdon, Harbaugh noted, showed the type of desire he wants from those coming into the program, after trouble with a flight out of Florida caused him to miss the first day of an official visit. "He came back the next morning and caught a 5:20 [a.m.] flight to come up to Ann Arbor," Harbaugh said. "That's the night we had five, six, seven inches of snow. He had to get up at two in the morning. "That spoke volumes to me. He got up here for one day on an official visit, and now he's a Wolverine. He is an excellent example of somebody who competes at the highest level in the classroom and on the football field." DEFENDERS FEATURE TALENT, NOT NUMBERS Only four players in the class are designated to join the U-M defend- ers next fall: Johnson, Washington, 6-4, 225-pound defensive end Reuben Jones out of Lakeland, Fla., and 5-11, 200-pound defensive back Tyree Kin- nel from Huber Heights, Ohio. The Wolverines will expand signifi- cantly on those numbers in the 2016 class, but Harbaugh sounded excited about the performers that could im- mediately challenge for time and add depth. Washington, bound for the U-M secondary, enjoyed a spirited conver-