The Wolverine

March 2016

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE mer U-M quarterback Jack Kennedy (rap) and Josh Gracen (country), Michigan grad and comedian Randy Sklar took the stage to host — and he was fantastic. "No matter what Zach Johnson tweets, it's gonna be fun," Sklar said in reference to a tweet from the PGA golfer and Iowa fan who took a shot at Jim Harbaugh for trying to go after a Hawkeyes recruit. "And I was supposed to host at USC. Har- baugh found out, slept over at my house, climbed a tree, took off his shirt, started throwing baseballs at my neighbors … and he flipped me." The latter was in response to some of Harbaugh's antics on the recruit- ing trail that drew national attention. Harbaugh, of course, was the head- liner, and the crowd responded to his introduction like they would a rock star taking the stage for his first song. "Who has it better than us?" Har- baugh shouted. "Nooo…body!" the crowd yelled back. "United we outwork them all," the coach said. "I love that mantra." ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET And outwork them he did. Not surprisingly, Mills shared, Harbaugh had a hand in just about every aspect of the production. His celebrity sta- tus as a former NFL head coach in San Francisco enabled the program to round up some of the nation's big- gest stars for introductions and cam- eos, some in person, some on the big screen in the background. On the other side of the stage, a three-man roundtable of former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, former Notre Dame head coach and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz, and current ESPN talking head Todd McShay added analysis and scouting of the recruits' highlight reels one by one. That in- cluded six of the seven early enroll- ees — only tight end Sean McKeon couldn't make it due to his class schedule. Michigan alum and ESPN NFL in- sider Adam Schefter — who, ironically enough, was one of the ones saying Harbaugh wasn't coming to Michigan in the early going (and the late going) — introduced quarterback Brandon Peters. Another quarterback, though — Michigan's own Tom Brady — re- ceived the loudest ovation when the New England Patriots star appeared on stage early in the production and stuck around for several segments. Brady admitted he didn't recall his own signing day like he used to, but he did talk about "those who stay will be champions." "And if you try hard, you'll stay," Harbaugh added. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh joined his brother on stage to introduce four-star tight end signee Nick Eubanks and hype his NFL potential, and longtime NFL executive Bill Polian — a friend of Harbaugh — talked about Detroit Cass Tech offensive lineman Michael Onwenu, but only after Onwenu was introduced by rapper and Cass Tech alum Big Sean. A c t o r s O w e n Wi l s o n , Vi n c e

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