The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/70101
2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE 6-2 • 200 • Wide Receiver • Dowling Catholic High School • West Des Moines, Iowa AMARA DARBOH ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ on Feb. 1, 1994, in Freetown, Sierra Leone … Emigrated from Sierra Le- one to Iowa at the age of 7 … Will be the first Division I athlete in his fam- ily … Performed a maximum bench press of 280 pounds … Timed at 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash … Sports a 36-inch vertical leap. Rankings: Ranked as a four-star Personal: Amara Darboh was born and 18 touchdowns … Rushed 10 times for 54 yards (5.4 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. Senior Season: Star ted eight prospect, the No. 1 recruit in Iowa, the No. 30 wide receiver in the coun- try and the No. 215 overall player nationally by Rivals.com … Rated as the No. 13 wide receiver and No. 133 overall recruit in the country by MaxPreps.com … Listed as the games at wide receiver, missing four due to a separated shoulder … Helped Dowling Catholic to a 9-3 season, which included a berth in the state quarterfinals … Caught 48 passes for 765 yards (15.9 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns … Rushed 10 times for 54 yards (5.4 yards per rush) and four scores … Named first-team all-conference and all-state by the Des Moines Register, and named to the Register's All-Iowa Dream Team. Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming on Amara Darboh "He's a game-breaker type of receiver with good hands, decent size and brilliant speed. He's a guy that can catch anything within his frame. " No. 20 prospect in the Midlands, the No. 26 wide receiver in the nation and an All-American by SuperPrep … Tabbed as a four-star prospect, the top recruit in Iowa, the No. 26 wide receiver in the land and the No. 199 overall player nationally by 247Sports.com … Ranked as a three-star prospect, the No. 1 re- cruit in the state of Iowa, the No. 67 player in the Midwest region and the No. 82 wide receiver nationally by ESPN.com. Brady Hoke's Comments: "He's another lengthy receiver. He's a guy who can go up and get the ball. He's got good numbers when you look at his speed and length." Tom Lemming of Prep Football ceiver for a Dowling Catholic team that went 14-0 and won the Iowa Class 4A state championship … Caught 49 passes for 646 yards (13.2 yards per catch) and six touchdowns … Named first-team all-conference and second-team all-state by the Des Moines Register. Sophomore Season: Member of Junior Season: Started at wide re- a Dowling Catholic team that went 12-1 and fell in the state champion- ship game … Caught 25 passes for 371 yards (14.8 yards per catch) and one touchdown. All-Star Games And Camps: At- Report: "He missed a couple of games with an injury, but he had an elite senior year when he did play. He had a great yards-per-catch av- erage. He's a game-breaker type of receiver with good hands, decent size and brilliant speed. He's a guy that can catch anything within his frame. With him and Jehu Chesson, Michigan got two very good wide receivers." Career Totals: Started three sea- sons at Dowling Catholic at wide receiver … Caught 122 passes for 1,782 yards (14.6 yards per catch) tended camps at Nebraska, Notre Dame, Iowa State, and Northwest- ern in 2010 … Did not work out at any combines due to participation in AAU basketball. Other Sports: Ran track as a soph- Roundtree. Favorite Pro Player: Miami Dol- Favorite Michigan Athlete: Roy ida, Iowa, Notre Dame and Wiscon- sin. Date Of Official Visit To Michi- phins wide receiver Brandon Mar- shall. Other Schools Considered: Flor- gan: Nov. 25, 2011. Why Darboh Chose Michigan: "I liked the atmosphere in Ann Arbor. I hung out with the players and I liked them. Also with the coaches, I like the direction that they're taking the football program. For my in-home visit, we had people around the neighborhood and close to my fam- ily also come by, and get a chance to meet Coach Hoke, and make sure everyone's comfortable with the coach who's going to be in charge of me for the next four to five years." Dowling Catholic Head Coach Tom Wilson's Comments: "He's a big, physical young man. He contin- ues to get bigger and when he gets to focus on one sport, his upside is huge. He's far from being a finished product, and Michigan is going to obviously coach him up and develop him to allow him to be as good as he possibly can be." omore and junior, competing in re- lays and the long jump … Boasts a personal best of 22-10 in the long jump, and finished fifth at the Class 4A state meet in 2010 (21-6¾) and seventh in 2011 (21-9¾) … Three- year letter winner in basketball for Dowling, averaging 6.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. High School GPA: 3.2. Planned Major: Business. Darboh is ranked by Rivals.com as a four- star prospect, the No. 1 recruit in Iowa, the No. 30 wide receiver in the country and the No. 215 overall player nationally. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MARCH 2012 THE WOLVERINE 47