The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE "The New Jersey part of it might be something we're building," he said. "Coach Partridge is really cool, and all the coaches are pretty cool. We can get a lot of guys from New Jersey in this class." The connections for Gary only grew stronger as the 2015 season wore on. Michigan became a major player for some prospects from the northern portion of the state, closer to his home. Those with whom he had longer-standing relationships were just another factor that helped guide him toward comfort in Ann Arbor. DePaul Catholic is one of Para- mus Catholic's primary rivals, just 13 miles down the road. Despite the potential contentiousness between players from the schools, Gary had a good relationship with running back Kareem Walker. That wasn't going to help Michigan much given that Walker had committed to its own rival, Ohio State, as a junior. Then Walker took an official visit to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' Oct. 10 game against Northwestern. Walker — a five-star at the time (he ended a four-star in the final Rivals rankings) — enjoyed the visit, and by the end of December he had not only decommitted from the Buckeyes but also switched to Michigan, another plus in recruiting Gary. U-M also opted to pursue another Big Ten commit from DePaul Catho- lic later in the process. With Houston defensive tackle Jordan Elliott waver- ing on his commitment (he would ultimately choose Texas), the Maize and Blue started to pursue another big body along the defensive front at the turn of the New Year. DePaul's three-star tackle Michael Dwumfour was committed to Penn State, but had spoken glowingly of a Michigan program — which had yet to offer — earlier in the process. The Wolverines offered, brought him on campus for an official visit and flipped him from the Nittany Lions. Dwumfour 's landing in the class was even more significant than any other Jersey prospect. He was a close friend of Gary's since childhood and a teammate at Scotch Plains- Fanwood for two years before both players went their separate ways to Catholic rivals. Dwumfour had the long-standing relationship that no- body else could boast. Even that led to a minor contro- versy when the Gary camp didn't want him to feel obligated to pick Michigan because he owed them for offering his friend. However, it was a net positive and helped guide the big man to his Wolverine destiny. WINDING IT DOWN With dozens of college visits over the course of his underclassman years, Gary was ready to narrow his focus, by the time his senior season rolled around. He took official visits to Michigan (for the Sept. 26 BYU game), Ole Miss (when the Rebels took on LSU Nov. 21) and Auburn (for the Iron Bowl Nov. 28) during his senior season. After the year, he added trips to USC Jan. 15 and Clemson Jan. 29.