The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/49941
BY TIM SULLIVAN rady Hoke's first full recruit- ing class for Michigan is shaping up to be among the nation's best. With a couple months remaining in the 2012 recruit- ing cycle, the Wolverines have 23 com- mitments in the class, and Rivals.com ranks it the third-best in the country at this point behind only Texas and Ala- bama. Hoke's ability to sell his passion for Michigan and the program's tradi- tion helped him achieve success on the recruiting trail before he even coached a game — and a 10-2 record is making it easier now. Michigan's biggest need for the 2012 class was along the offensive line (center David Molk and tackle Mark Huyge exhaust their eligibil- ity following the 2011 season, leaving only eight scholarship options on the roster), and the coaches have done an excellent job filling that need with talented prospects. Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward offen- sive lineman Kyle Kalis is the head- liner of Michigan's class. The 6-5, 300-pound prospect has the power and footwork to play either guard or tackle in college, and is the perfect fit for the power offense that Hoke and his coaching staff plan to implement in Ann Arbor. Kalis is the only five- star prospect currently committed to Michigan, and he is talented enough to be rated as the No. 21 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. Carlsbad (Calif.) La Costa Canyon tackle Erik Magnuson and Nashville (Tenn.) Montgomery Bell Academy tackle Blake Bars are four-star com- mitments on the offensive line, and both have the necessary footwork to be true tackle prospects at the next level. Rockford (Mich.) High School tackle Ben Braden and Cincinnati Oak Hills guard Caleb Stacey are both known for their strength and are high-upside prospects if they can adjust to the speed of the college game. Michigan's overall offensive line group is ranked No. 1 in the country by Rivals.com. Offensive line isn't the only position where Michigan has roped in talented prospects, of course. Defensive tackle is also a need, and Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill prospect Ondre Pipkins is the perfect man to fill it. At 6-3, 325 pounds, he has the size to contribute immediately — which the coaching staff might need him to do next year. His strength and size combine with an 64 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2011 FIRST CLASS Brady Hoke's Initial Full Group Of Recruits Is Impressive In their first year on the job, Hoke and his staff have assembled a 23-man class that was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Rivals.com heading into December. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL impressive high motor to earn him a four-star ranking by Rivals.com, and the distinction as the country's No. 7 player at the position. The only strong need that has yet to go unfilled by Michigan's coaching staff is at wide receiver. However, the coach- ing staff has a handful of highly rated prospects — including five-star pros- pect Stefon Diggs, the No. 2 wideout in the nation according to Rivals.com — interested, and has several options for picking up top players at the position. In addition to filling needs, where Hoke's class has perhaps been the most impressive is in its return to Michigan's Midwest roots. Eighteen of the Wolverines' 23 commitments are from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. In last year's hybrid class between the Rodriguez and Hoke regimes, 14 of 20 signees were from those three states. During three recruiting classes un- der Rich Rodriguez's staff, just more than half (37 of 73) of Michigan's re- cruits came from the Midwest. "When Brady Hoke came in, he started talking about how Michigan was the most important state, and Ohio was the second-most important state," Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt said. "He has absolutely stuck to his word on that. He started repairing relationships that were damaged under the previous re- gime, and then used his natural ties to the state of Ohio, and that is the heart and soul of this class." Kalis, the Wolverines' top prospect, is ranked as the No. 4 offensive tackle in the nation and the top player in the state of Ohio by Rivals.com. Maybe more importantly, he picked Michi- gan over Ohio State — decommitting from the Buckeyes to do so. While Jim Tressel was the headman in Colum- bus, Michigan saw very little success recruiting against the Buckeyes, and Kalis' commitment, important in its own right, is also a symbol of the Wol- verines' resurgence. That resurgence is also based on a strong year for talent in the Midwest. Hoke's class has just a handful of out- of-region players. In many years, that could imply a subpar class. This year, however, that is not the case. "In this class, it's possible to put F B A B U L O U S