The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Gary was set to make his college commitment on National Signing Day Feb. 3 at ESPN's World Head- quarters in Bristol, Conn. With just a couple days to go before the deci- sion, the intense discussions between Gary, his family and members of his trusted inner circle would be the final step before making a college commit- ment. Even if he settled on Michigan the night before — after favoring Clem- son for a couple days — the two- hour trip from Northern New Jersey to Bristol made for an agonizing ride nonetheless. According to Kanoc, there was some back-and-forth on the trip. "I think there was still some hesita- tion, because it's a huge decision and he had some really great schools in the mix," Kanoc said. "The night be- fore they had an idea, but the ride up was still a time to think, 'Is this really the best place?' It was still kind of playing in his head and mom's head for a little bit. "It was very quiet. There were nine of us, including his family. It was kind of quiet, but Jen was still getting some text messages and calls before she finally put it down and shut it off. Rashan just had his headset on, and was just trying to chill out and relax before the big day." Although the broadcast of the deci- sion gave the impression that Gary was unsure of his choice, Kanoc in- sists that it was a technical issue at ESPN, not any last-second hesitance on Gary's part, that made for a stone- faced attitude during the decision. "After the decision itself, in the interview, he was smiling and in a good mood," Kanoc explained. "What people didn't realize is that they were having technical difficul- ties at ESPN. He was hearing nothing in his earpiece, so we were there for 15 minutes and didn't know the time. He was ready to announce and it got confused a bit by some technical is- sues they had." At 1:10 p.m. — just after the sched- uled conclusion of Michigan's "Sign- ing of the Stars" event — Gary took the screen on ESPN's SportsCenter. Surrounded by family and friends, he donned a Blue cap emblazoned with the Block M. "I'll be furthering my education and my football career at the Uni- versity of," he said with a dramatic pause, before finishing, "Michigan." And with that, the Wolverines landed their first-ever No. 1 overall prospect, and the rare player to be named the unanimous No. 1 overall recruit from all of the major rankings. WHAT THEY'VE WON Gary's ability to make an impact at Michigan is apparent based on nothing but the rankings alone. Pep- pers was the No. 3 overall prospect nationally, the previous high for a Michigan commit. All he did — af- ter missing most of his true fresh- man season due to injury — was put together a redshirt freshman cam- paign that saw him earn the Big Ten's Thompson-Randle El Freshman of the Year award, first-team all-league honors from both the media and