The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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PREP PROFILES Wylie (Texas) East junior wide re- ceiver Marcell Ateman picked up "best target" honors from Rivals.com after an impressive early January showing at the Under Armour Combine. Soon afterward, the 6-5, 190-pounder im- pressed the Rivals analysts again with an outstanding performance at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Junior Combine. Those two showings — and Junior Pass Catcher From Texas Picks Up U-M Offer Marcell Ateman having camped at each last summer, and he unofficially visited Texas after camping there as a sophomore. Not surprisingly, the Longhorns were a childhood favorite. "I grew up being from Texas, so I always liked Texas," he explained. "But that was when I was little. Other offers show that they're interested, and they really like me." Ateman is big, athletic and physi- some homework by the Michigan staff — were enough to add U-M to Ateman's short, but growing, list of offers. Offensive line coach Dar- rell Funk informed him of the news when Ateman called recently. "They went to my school — I don't know what day it was — and they talked to my coaches and looked at my transcript," Ateman recalled. "I guess everything was good, so they said that they wanted to offer me. Coach Funk told me to call him up yesterday, so I called him up and he told me that the offer was official." The interest is enough to add U-M to the list of schools Ateman would like to visit this summer. He's al- ready seen Oklahoma and Baylor, cal, attributes he cites as among his best. Though not a blazer, he can get up for the deep ball and take a hit across the middle. He's also a self- described team player who loves to win. The lanky junior caught 67 passes for 1,047 yards and 10 touchdowns this year. He boasts offers from Ari- zona, Baylor and Tennessee in addi- tion to Michigan, with more on the horizon. "He won't ever stretch the field with his speed, but his size and 27.5- inch vertical makes him a threat on jump balls," Rivals.com analysts Chris Nee and Keith Niebuhr wrote after seeing him at the combines. "He does a good job of rewarding East High School Wylie, Texas Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-5 • Wt.: 190 40-Yard Dash: 4.5 seconds his quarterbacks for throwing it his way." Ateman is a solid basketball player in addition to being a gridiron stand- out, having spent last summer with Team Texas on the AAU circuit. He's admitted he might have more foot- ball offers if he chose to focus on just the one sport, but noted this summer that giving up hoops is easier said than done. "I see my future brighter in foot- ball, but basketball is my first love," he said. "When I was little, I wasn't as good at football. As I grew up, I matured into a better player. I look forward to playing football, but bas- ketball is something I like to do." In the near future, though, it will likely be a hobby while a football scholarship pays for his education. — Chris Balas Pennsylvania Junior Wideout Holds Early Offer From Wolverines Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame … and now Michigan. Those are just a few of the top-end pro- grams whose coaches have offered junior wideout Robert Foster, and the list continues to grow for one of the nation's top junior wideouts. Some services have Foster ranked as the top junior receiver in the country, in fact, and he showed why without an outstanding showing at the recent U.S. Army All-American Junior Combine. Despite an outstanding fresh- man season, Foster didn't get as much notice until last year, when he earned class 3A all-state honors as both a receiver and punt returner. He caught 584 yards in passes as a junior and rushed for 419 more, ac- counting for seven touchdowns, and started to hear from college foot- ball's big boys on a regular basis. "My sophomore year I got a few offers, but as I started to progress I got more and more," Foster said. "I started to step up my game, and as a freshman I wasn't noticed as much 66 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2012 Robert Foster Central Valley High School Monaca, Pa. Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 170 40-Yard Dash: 4.49 seconds because we were Single A. When we merged to 3-A, I got an opportunity to get myself out there." The recent Michigan offer put the Wolverines firmly in contention. "I like Michigan," he said in mid- January. "I'm busy now with school, and I'll probably try to take my vis- its in the summertime." Foster was one of the most impres- sive receivers at the U.S. Army Ju- nior Combine, and he's a candidate for five-star status when Rivals.com releases its initial junior rankings. "Foster caught almost every pass thrown his way, showed off great hands, ran great routes and has great body control," Rivals.com an- alysts reported from the combine. "The Pennsylvania recruit backed up all his impressive offers and has to be considered among the best re- ceivers in the East. He's also com- petitive and didn't shy away from going up against cornerbacks who wanted to battle him during one-on- one drills." Foster had an extended conversa- tion with new Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer recently and said he received "a lot of love" from the coach. He stressed he knows the im- portance of academics, and he's al- ready visited Notre Dame, Purdue, Ohio State and Pittsburgh. Decision time, however, remains far off. "I'm really not looking at any schools right now," Foster said. "I'm just undecided. I'm just going to keep working and keep working and see what comes in my heart … "The most important thing about going to a school is being comfort- able there, feeling like you're in high school again. That's the main thing. You've got to feel comfortable." — Chris Balas