The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE instead. The three-star lineman was considered the Maize and Blue's lone center prospect in the 2012 class, a void that will have to be filled by future re- cruiting classes. under Brady Hoke was heavily focused on the Midwest, with 18 of 25 signees coming from Michigan and Ohio alone. That's a departure from the recent past, when the previous regime fo- cused much of their effort on Florida and national recruiting. "I don't think you can build EMPHASIZE IN-STATE, REGIONAL RECRUITING Michigan's recruiting effort WOLVERINES a core to your football team un- less you take care of your back- yard," Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson said. "To me, you've got to canvass the Midwest, which Brady did, and cherry-pick everywhere else. There's enough good football players in Michigan and Ohio and Illinois to build a team." The state's top prospect, Michigan's Official Visitors Recruit OL Zach Banner TE Pharaoh Brown WR Jordan Payton WR Jehu Chesson WR Amara Darboh OL Joshua Garnett FB Sione Houma OL Erik Magnuson DT Ondre Pipkins OL Blake Bars LB Joe Bolden OL Ben Braden Nov. 25 Michigan Nov. 25 Michigan Nov. 25 Oregon UCLA USC TE Devin Funchess DB Allen Gant LB Royce Jenkins-Stone Dec. 9 OL Kyle Kalis OL Alex Kozan DT Matthew Godin TE Sam Grant DE Mario Ojemudia DB Terry Richardson LB Kaleb Ringer LB James Ross OL Caleb Stacey DE Tom Strobel TE A.J. Williams DB Jarrod Wilson Farmington Hills Harrison wide receiver Aaron Burbridge, signed with Michigan State, but Michigan's seven sign- ees from the top 10 inside its OL Jordan Diamond RB Drake Johnson DB Armani Reeves DT Willie Henry DE Christopher Wormley Dec. 9 DB Jeremy Clark Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Nov. 25 Michigan Nov. 25 Michigan Nov. 25 Michigan Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Dec. 9 Stanford Jan. 13 Michigan Jan. 13 Auburn Jan. 27 Michigan The Wolverines beat out the Buckeyes for four highly rated Ohio natives, including Cincinnati Colerain four-star linebacker Joe Bolden. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM own borders was the most that they have landed since the inception of Rivals.com's individual state rank- ings in 2002. The Wolverines have not landed Michigan's top prospect, according to Rivals.com, since five- star defensive tackle Williams Camp- bell in the 2009 class. That looks to change in 2013, however. Michigan al- ready has a commitment from Warren De La Salle junior Shane Morris, who is Rivals.com's No. 16 player nation- ally and No. 1 prospect in Michigan. Michigan's effort in Ohio was also commendable. The Wolverines hadn't beaten the Buckeyes for a player from the focus now shifts to their contribution in 2011 and throughout their careers. The staff of The Wolverine of- fers our take on what to expect next fall from this group and in the next few seasons. Staff Picks With this year's recruiting class signed and sealed, 34 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 Jan. 13 Michigan Jan. 13 Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Oklahoma Michigan Michigan Unsigned Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Cincinnati Michigan Michigan Michigan Michigan Ohio State Visited Signed With Sept. 9 Sept. 9 Sept. 9 their home state since corner- back Justin Turner — who has since transferred to Hawaii -— in 2009. In the 2012 class, Michi- gan landed Ohio's No. 1 player (Lakewood St. Edward five-star offensive lineman Kyle Kalis), the No. 17 player (Mentor defen- sive end Tom Strobel) and No. 22 player (Toledo Whitmer defen- sive end Chris Wormley), all of whom held offers from Ohio State. They also landed No. 5 prospect Joe Bolden, a four-star linebacker from Cincinnati Col- erain, who did not hold an offer from the Buckeyes, but saw late interest out of Columbus when Urban Meyer took over. leads the way at the top spot. The 6-3, 225-pound Ojemudia is ranked as a three-star prospect and the No. 12 in- state senior by Rivals.com, but The Detroit News considers him the No. 1 player in Michigan. He expected to play the rush linebacker position in college. The next three players on the list Chips list speaks to Michigan's dominance over in-state recruit- ing for the 2012 class. The top four players on the list — and nine of the 15 selections over- all — are bound for Ann Arbor. Michigan State landed two play- ers on the list, while Tennessee, Syracuse, Missouri and Iowa each have one signee earn the honor. Farmington Hills Harrison defensive end Mario Ojemudia CHIPS LIST FILLED WITH FUTURE WOLVERINES The annual Detroit News Blue DETROIT NEWS BLUE were middle school teammates on the Westside (Detroit) Cubs, and all are bound for Michigan. Cass Tech teammates Terry Richardson (a 5-9, 160-pound corner ranked a four-star prospect and No. 5 in the state by Ri- vals.com) and Royce Jenkins-Stone JOHN BORTON EDITOR Offensive Impact Performer in 2012: Defensive Impact Performer in 2012: Watch Out In 2013 or 2014 Offense: Watch Out In 2013 or 2014 Defense: Best Position Group: WR Amara Darboh DT Ondre Pipkins OL Kyle Kalis LB Joe Bolden Offensive Line