The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/678402
PREP PROFILES Jim Harbaugh and his staff scored their first major recruiting coup in Georgia when they landed 2016 linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse over nearly the entire SEC, and they're looking to pull a similar stunt when it comes to 2017 defensive end Malik Herring. The 6-3, 259-pounder has just about everyone in the country — much less the SEC — in pur- suit. His combina- tion of skills has him ranked No. 74 overall nation- ally, third among strongside defen- sive ends. " H e r r i n g i s great after first contact and uses his hands vio- lently," Rivals.com Southeast recruit- ing analyst Rob Cassidy said. "That combined with his quick first step makes for versatility and success. Her- ring is a nice combination of size and quickness, and mixes up his pass rush moves well." Fortunately for the Maize and Blue, their interest in the Forsyth (Ga.) Mary Parsons standout is being reciprocated. Herring includes U-M in his top 10, along with local programs like Au- burn and Georgia, and other such as USC. A connection to the Wolverines — through his close friend Kurt Taylor, a fellow Peach Stater who has already picked Michigan — could help U-M stay in the hunt until the very end. "Kurt, aka 'Baby Gorilla,' he's cool," Herring said with a laugh. "We always talk, and he's always hitting me up saying, 'Go Blue.' He really wants to play with me, and I really want to play with him. It's always just an off-hand comment from him. He does it prob- ably every week or twice a week." Thanks to Tay- lor 's urging, a summer trip up to Ann Arbor is likely for Her- ring, followed by a return for an of- ficial visit in the fall. Thanks to the Atlanta-area satellite camp the Wolverines have planned, Herring has a chance to be very familiar with Harbaugh and Co. by the time he makes his commitment. "Hopefully I can get up [to Michi- gan] over the summer, and then I'm going to try to catch a football game, too," he said. "I want to see just the campus, get to know the coaches and hang around the coaches more, talk to Coach Harbaugh; I really want to see that stadium, too. "They were telling me to picture myself playing in front of the biggest stadium in college football. They said I could do a lot." — Tim Sullivan Georgia End Will Get Plenty Familiar With The Wolverines ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Mary Parsons H.S. Forsyth, Ga. Class: 2017 Position: Defensive End Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 259 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 11 prospect in Georgia, and No. 3 strongside defen- sive end and No. 74 overall player in the country Malik Herring