The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE had landed only Peppers and Bush- ell-Beatty out of Jersey since the 2009 class, which brought in defensive end Anthony LaLota (who transferred to Rutgers after one year, and then re- tired from football). New Jersey had produced an aver- age of 7.2 four-stars and 0.7 five-stars per class in the past decade, and capi- talizing on that talent became a prior- ity for Michigan. The Wolverines were able to bring i n s o m e o f t h e state's best 2016 prospects, which was a positive in its own right. Just a s i m p o r t a n t l y, though, it helped land the big fish, Gary. Just as he had g r o w n f a m i l - iar with Peppers t h r o u g h t h e i r shared life as elite athletes and foot- b a l l p r o s p e c t s , Gary forged bonds with other pros- pects from the state in his own class. Gary visited Ann Arbor for a 2015 spring practice along with a few players from his school (2017 line- backer Drew Singleton and 2017 de- fensive lineman Corey Bolds, both of whom picked up offers shortly thereafter). South Jersey prospects Ahmir Mitchell, Brad Hawkins and Ron Johnson were also on campus at the time for a visit of their own. Gary visited twice more before the summer arrived. Once he made the trip with that trio, and he came again another time when Mitchell and Johnson were also on campus (along with Johnson's 2017 team- mate Cesar Ruiz, a four-star offen- sive lineman who was offered at the time, and 2016 Philadelphia tight end N a s e i r U p s h u r, who signed with F l o r i d a S t a t e ) . However, he took the trip with his mother, Jen Coney, and only spent a bit of time with the group. S l o w l y b u t surely, those play- ers opted to give t h e i r w o r d t o p l a y i n c o l l e g e for Michigan. The four-star defen - sive end Johnson was first to end his recruitment, pledging June 25 while on the latter of those visits. His teammate, four-star wide receiver Hawkins, joined him within a week. Four-star wide receiver/athlete Mitchell pledged to the Wolverines before the season began. Michigan was starting to develop significant inroads into the Garden State, and Johnson acknowledged that it would make it easier for Gary to eventually follow suit. Gary becomes the second No. 1 player by Rivals.com, which started ranking recruits in 2002, to choose a Big Ten school —Ohio State's Terrelle Pryor (2008) was the first. PHOTO BY TIM SULLIVAN