The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Wolverines were 6-2, 190-pound Jar- rod Wilson from Akron, Ohio; 6-4, 195-pound Jeremy Clark out of Mad- isonville, Ky.; 6-2, 205-pound Allen Gant from Sylvania, Ohio, and 5-9, 165-pound Terry Richardson from Detroit. The headliner among Michigan's running backs comes from right across the street. Drake Johnson (6-1, 205) played his high school football at Ann Arbor Pioneer and arrives with- out the usual hype that accompanies many running backs headed for high- profile programs. Johnson insists it's because he didn't attend the "look-at-me" camps and combines that tend to generate that talk. U-M running backs coach Fred Jackson assured he's seen enough of Johnson to be very com- fortable with him, as well as Sione Houma at fullback, a solid, 6-0, 215-pound blocker out of Salt Lake City. Michigan picked up one more per- something we had monitored for quite a while. Believe me, it's not like he just popped up. We knew how good of a football player he was. In our situation, we were only going to take the one back — we were going to take a fullback and a tailback. "Some things presented them- words, U-M would return to being a highly successful, tough program, marked by a strong running game and a rugged defense. An 11-2 season, capped by a selves, and we needed a guy who was electric with the ball in his hands. He's a kid who could find himself as a running back. He's a kid who could find himself as a receiver, and he's a kid that is definitely going to help us in the return game." Hoke's crew found themselves scrambling to fill out the 2011 class a year ago. They had less than a month until signing day to finish off a class started by the ousted Rich Rodriguez and his assistants. The new staff also found itself sell- Sugar Bowl victory, certainly didn't hurt when it came to backing their words. Countless recruits mentioned Michigan's season — including the comeback win over Notre Dame, the streak-ender against Ohio State and the Sugar Bowl victory — as confirm- ing their choice as a very intelligent move. That's the bottom line, Hecklinski acknowledged. "Michigan is very easy to fall in former at the last minute, Detroit's Dennis Norfleet (5-7, 170) switching his commitment from Cincinnati to Michigan just before signing day. Some compare the compact skill per- former to former Kansas State light- ning bolt Darren Sproles. "Dennis is electric with the ball in his hands," Hecklinski noted. "That's 2012 Football Signees Name Blake Bars Joe Bolden Ben Braden Jehu Chesson Jeremy Clark Amara Darboh Devin Funchess Allen Gant Matthew Godin Willie Henry Sione Houma ing a vision. Michigan had just la- bored its way through a three-year record of 15-22, with one bowl game — a blowout loss — to its credit. Needless to say, negative recruiting against the Big Ten's most historically successful program suddenly wasn't difficult. Hoke, Hecklinski and the rest fin- ished off the 2011 class and got off to a prep-star-studded start to the 2012 crew by emphasizing a return to Michigan, as Michigan. In other Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) WR 6-3 175 St. Louis, Mo. (Ladue Horton Watkins) DB 6-4 195 Madisonville, Ky. (Madisonville N. Hopkins) WR 6-2 200 West Des Moines, Iowa (Dowling Catholic) TE 6-4 205 Farmington Hills, Mich. (Harrison) DB 6-2 205 Sylvania, Ohio (Southview) Royce Jenkins-Stone LB 6-2 215 Detroit (Cass Tech) Drake Johnson Kyle Kalis Erik Magnuson Dennis Norfleet Mario Ojemudia Ondre Pipkins DT 6-6 265 Novi, Mich. (Detroit Catholic Central) DT 6-3 273 Cleveland (Glenville) RB 6-0 215 Salt Lake City (Highland) Christopher Wormely DE 6-5 250 Toledo, Ohio (Whitmer) 22 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 Terry Richardson Kaleb Ringer James Ross Tom Strobel A.J. Williams Jarrod Wilson OL 6-5 305 Lakewood, Ohio (St. Edward) OL 6-6 275 Carlsbad, Calif. (La Costa Canyon) RB 5-7 170 Detroit (Martin Luther King) DE 6-2 220 Farmington Hills, Mich. (Harrison) DT 6-3 320 Kansas City, Mo. (Park Hill) DB 5-9 165 Detroit (Cass Tech) RB 6-1 205 Ann Arbor (Pioneer) LB 6-1 215 Orchard Lake, Mich. (St. Mary's Prep) TE 6-6 265 Mentor, Ohio (Mentor) TE 6-6 275 Cincinnati (Sycamore) DB 6-2 190 Akron, Ohio (Buchtel) LB 6-1 225 Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) OL 6-5 275 Nashville, Tenn. (Montgomery Bell Academy) LB 6-3 230 Cincinnati (Colerain) OL 6-6 319 Rockford, Mich. (Rockford) love with," Hecklinski said. "And obviously, going 11-2 and winning the Sugar Bowl doesn't hurt things. The number one way to enhance your program is win football games. "Everybody knows that. You could be the greatest guys in the world, but if you're 0-12, it's going to be a hard sell." Michigan's sell in the state of Ohio became temporarily easier, when then-OSU coach Jim Tressel was caught repeatedly lying to the NCAA, using ineligible players and intentionally turning a blind eye toward the illicit extra benefits his Buckeyes were receiving. Hoke's crew stormed into Ohio and scooped up nine prep players from the state in the 25-man class of 2012. Urban Meyer has since taken the helm and assembled the Big Ten's other strongest class, but U-M isn't conceding anything in future recruit- ing battles in the state. "We're going to run into them," Hoke assured. "We're going to com- pete … I've recruited it enough, I ob- viously grew up there. At Ball State we did a lot of work in Ohio. There's a lot of fellowship there and some relationships. [Linebackers coach] Mark Smith has recruited the por- tion of Ohio he has for 25 years. Greg [Mattison] has recruited Cleveland and that whole area in Columbus be- fore. There are some preexisting rela- tionships that are pretty good." In other words, Michigan isn't back- ing down from any program in the days to come, on the field or the re- cruiting trail. Hoke, his assistants and his players sent that message on the field in 2011. They followed it up by securing reinforcements to underscore the message for years to come. ❏