The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/641955
2016 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Crawford, Hawkins and Mitchell all bring with them a four-star rat- ing, while Evans, Johnson and Mc- Doom are three-star prospects ac- cording to Rivals.com. The Michigan coaches addressed several areas of need among wide receivers with the group, adding speed, raw athleticism and size. Mitchell is already on campus and taking part in winter workouts as an early enrollee, and he will be on the field for the spring game in April. The New Jersey product is probably the most athletic player of the bunch and at 6-3, 205 pounds he's also the biggest. Mitchell is still getting better at playing wide receiver and hasn't come close to reaching his full poten- tial yet. Early in the process, several teams were looking at him as a safety, but at receiver he's a mismatch be- cause of his size and speed. Rivals. com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell certainly thinks his ceiling is higher on offense. "Mitchell is a really good athlete and could be a safety or a receiver in college," Farrell explained. "He's athletic enough that if it doesn't work out at wide receiver he could switch over and play defense. Is he an elite safety? No, he's better as a wide re- ceiver with the ball in his hands. "He's a guy we've seen a ton, and he never shies away from competi- tion. Mitchell is a super-talented kid that I've liked a lot since he was young." His talent has earned him the No. 30 ranking at wide receiver and No. 139 spot overall nationally. The No. 4 player in New Jersey is excited to be at Michigan and believes that his coaches will make him far better than he is right now. "Michigan has a great coaching staff, all from the NFL," Mitchell said. "I have great companionship with the coaches. The thing I like most about them is the track record. Coach Har- baugh has been to the championship in the NFL, and he's a great guy. It's a good time talking to him." Hawkins won't arrive in Ann Ar- bor until this summer, but he's been a solid member of the class for nearly eight months. The 6-2, 205-pounder pledged to the Wolverines in July and helped recruit other talented pros- pects from the Garden State to U-M. It was an easy sell for Hawkins be- cause of how he felt from day one on Michigan's campus. "When I went out to Michigan I just loved everything about it," he said. "From the facilities to the coaching staff, the players — everything about it was like a family far away." Rivals.com Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt believes that Hawkins could play early because he doesn't see a glaring weakness in his abilities. "Hawkins does everything well," Helmholdt said. "He's an all-around wide receiver who can break press coverage, get on top of defensive backs in a hurry and catch everything thrown his way. "He has a basketball background, and that comes through in the way he's able to high-point the football and outleap defenders."