The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE "Their thing is, they believe in themselves, in each other and the system. They will put the work in to win. They are coming from South Florida playing an aggressive style of football. They all have a mean, tough, smart, fast, physical mentality and will bring it to Ann Arbor." With the trio of Falcons set to be part of the roster this fall, a mini- pipeline has been built from Pem- broke Pines to Ann Arbor. Bush Sr. has been around football his entire life and understands how these things develop and sees it form- ing between his program and Har- baugh's. "You have kids that are going to influence other kids," he explained. "You are going to have kids who play with their brothers, and they want to continue playing with them. Not every kid has that opportunity. They love and trust each other, and they'll have a chance to continue that friend- ship and those memories of playing together. "As far as a pipeline with the kids, as a coach and a school, we won't ever force a kid to go to any school. It has to fit them and it has to be the right opportunity. It has to be what they're looking for and what they're comfortable with. The families have to be all in and be comfortable. "But when you have kids from a certain school going off to college, it's a huge advantage. The other kids will see what's going on and will trust what is happening. It will let them see that they can leave home and see that they can succeed like their brothers. At that point, you've established a level of comfort and then you have a pipeline built." Bush Jr., Metellus and Gil all see it happening too and are proud to be pioneers in the process. They have a lot of pride coming from South Flor- ida and would love to see more talent follow them to Ann Arbor. "South Florida has great talent," Metellus said. "It would be kind of dumb not to recruit down here. I think the best athletes are here, and you can't see anything like it any- where else." "What better way to do this in col- lege?" Gil asked. "To be able to do what we did in high school and bring it up to college and make more his- tory is a great feeling." "From my personal experience, if I get a chance to talk to any recruit, I'm going to tell them straight up that Michigan is really unique," Bush Jr. explained. "It's totally different than any other school." Michigan fans should be excited that future Flanagan Falcons could follow Bush Jr., Metellus and Gil to Ann Arbor because they know how to win. It has been ingrained in them by Bush Sr. and is one of the more at- tractive qualities in a football player according to Harbaugh. "These guys are winners," Bush Sr. said. "They came in and turned Fla- nagan's program around from day one. They've been winning since the beginning. "These guys are not going to go on the field and expect to lose. They don't care who they play." ❏