The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE year, his 7.1 yards per carry didn't lead the team (classmate Nasir Hooker averaged 7.4 yards per touch). Though he still has the frame to be a bruiser when he builds up his 6-0, 210 pounds into something around 225, Walker was a little more tentative as a senior. That's something Michigan will be able to correct in short order, according to Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) St. Thomas Aquinas head football coach Roger Harriott, who led the Team Armour running backs in the Under Armour All-America Game (in which Walker rushed seven times for just 15 yards behind a porous offensive line). That Walker is already on campus means he should be back to form by the fall. "Enrolling early will absolutely help him," Har- riott said. "He's extremely mature. Michigan, Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and his staff are going to get a strong product for the years to come. "He absolutely got better [during the week]. He's extremely coachable, he has two hands on the ball through traffic, he lowers his hips and pad level, and accelerates through contact. I think you'll see positive and productive perfor- mances from him." He drew major headlines when he decommit- ted from Ohio State to ultimately end up pick- ing Michigan — especially when he'd been a Buckeye for nearly a year before making the flip — but Walker is at home in Ann Arbor already. Walker's teammate at DePaul, defensive line- man Michael Dwumfour, is the lowest ranked of the bunch. The only three-star Michigan landed from New Jersey, the 6-2, 310-pounder is something of a developmental prospect, but will grow into the nose tackle position thanks to a strong lower body that simply needs a bit of refinement. "I think in this system, he'll develop into that interior type of player," Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman said. "That's primarily because of how broad he is — he's not a super-tall or long guy. He does have broad shoulders and there's room to add weight to his frame. "He's not a super-explosive guy off the edge, but from the middle it's a positive for him. His body type is going to be destined for the inside." The No. 24 prospect in the Garden State earned his Michigan offer while com- mitted to Penn State. The U-M coaches sensed that they were losing their grip on Egg Harbor City Cedar Creek standout Ahmir Mitchell — the country 's No. 30 wide receiver and No. 139 overall player accord- ing to Rivals — is part of U-M's strong six-player haul from the Garden State. PHOTO BY TIM SULLIVAN