The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MICHIGAN RECRUITING ball within 40 minutes of campus. The 5-11, 175-pound defensive back is the latest in a long line of similarly sized players out of Cass Tech, and could be next to end up in Maize and Blue. Oak Park (Mich.) High offensive lineman Marquan McCall is Gervin's only fellow in-state recruit with an early four-star ranking, and the 6-3, 323-pounder can be a dominating guard. The high school teammate of U-M offensive line pledge Ja'Raymond Hall also has several Mid-American Conference offers along with Michi- gan State, but some of the big boys may be scared away by the assump- tion that he'll follow Hall just down the road to Ann Arbor. Old Bridge (N.J.) High quarterback Artur Sitkowski is one of the most recent offers by the Maize and Blue, earning his opportunity on the final day of April. The 6-5, 205-pounder plays in a high school system that doesn't cater to his talents, but camp performances this summer have put him on the map with the likes of Boston College, Maryland and South Carolina competing with Michigan. Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne ath- lete L'Christian Smith plays at an- other program that has been kind to Michigan in the past. Wayne most recently sent safety Tyree Kin- nel to Ann Arbor in the 2015 class. Kinnel's former teammate is a 6-5, 215-pounder who is a wide receiver on the gridiron, but may ultimately opt to play basketball on the college level. A handful of players who hold Michigan offers are already off the board: Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian quarterback Matt Corral is a USC commit, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bar- tram Trail quarterback Joey Gatewood has picked Auburn, Harrisburg (Pa.) Bishop McDevitt defensive end Mi- cah Parsons pledged to Penn State, Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne line- backer Raymond Scott will join Corral at USC and Moore (Okla.) High offen- sive lineman Brey Walker has made an early pledge to Oklahoma. Neither of Michigan's early 2018 commitments — Dayton (Ohio) Dun- bar linebacker Antwuan Johnson and Springfield (Ohio) tight end/defen- sive end Leonard Taylor, made the Rivals100 — but both have a strong chance to earn four-star status when the full rankings are revealed. WOLVERINES HAVE ELITE WIDE RECEIVER OPTIONS Michigan stocked up on the wide receiver position in the 2016 recruit- ing class, signing six players that will begin their college careers catch- ing passes in Ann Arbor. While that includes some potential position switches (Chris Evans can end up a running back or defensive back, and Ahmir Mitchell has the athletic ability to be an elite safety if he chooses), the Maize and Blue filled a major need in resounding fashion. Despite that success in 2016, the 2017 wide receiver group has a chance to be even better. Some of the nation's top prospects are high on Michigan. Detroit Cass Tech five-star Donovan Peoples-Jones — the nation's No. 2 wide receiver and No. 13 overall