The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE "GARY IS SPECIAL" After playing at Scotch Plains-Fan- wood as a freshman and sophomore, the 6-5, 293-pound Gary moved to national powerhouse Paramus Cath- olic for his final two high school sea- sons, providing him the opportunity to prove his mettle against some of the best competition in the country. The schedule included conference games against the Big North group in Northern New Jersey, which in- cludes talented programs like Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep that send a half-dozen players to Division I programs each year. And there's league foe DePaul Catholic, which will send two players to Ann Arbor for next fall. Paramus also played football powerhouses from Maryland, Wash- ington, D.C., and Florida (a loaded IMG Academy squad, boasting three five-stars, six four-stars and eight other D-I signees in the 2016 class alone, plus an Ann Arbor-bound walk-on in wide receiver Kerrick Hahn). Gary not only held his own against these outstanding opponents, he ex- celed, notching 55 tackles each of his two years as a Paladin. As a senior, he had an astounding 29 for loss (with 13.5 sacks) in that total, and was named the USA Today National De- fensive Player of the Year, NJ.com's State Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and the Bobby Dodd Award winner as the nation's best defensive lineman. "Gary is special, that's why he's No. 1," said Rivals.com national di- rector of recruiting Mike Farrell. "As a defensive tackle, he's the best I've seen, and it's an impressive list be- hind him. He can play outside or in- side, on the nose or outside the tight end. It doesn't matter — he can be effective." Gary earned invitations to some of the biggest offseason camps sev- eral times during his high school career, as well. He was one of just three juniors invited to both the Ri- vals Five-Star Challenge and Nike's The Opening Finals prior to the 2014 high school season. At The Opening, particularly the combine testing portion of the event, he proved just how incredible his natural athletic gifts are. While mea- suring in at 6-4, 287 pounds, Gary ran a 4.74-second 40-yard dash and a 4.38-second pro agility shuttle — both faster than the averages for NFL Combine defensive line participants on the same tests (4.96 seconds and 4.50 seconds, respectively). Rivals.com national director of recruiting Mike Farrell "Gary is special, that's why he's No. 1. As a defensive tackle, he's the best I've seen, and it's an impressive list behind him. He can play outside or inside, on the nose or outside the tight end. It doesn't matter — he can be effective."