The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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2012 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Tom Strobel Now Aims To Break Buckeye Hearts Longtime OSU Fan tremely unlikely one for Mentor, Ohio, native Tom Stro- bel, especially considering the fact that, growing up in Buckeyes country, favoring the Wolverines was a taboo state of mind. In fact, the very idea of donning the Maize and Blue The journey to becoming a Michigan Man was an ex- Strobel said. "When you grow up around here, being a Buckeye is all you know." An admitted Ohio State fan, willingly smashing the was an unthinkable concept for the youngster as he ma- tured into the college recruiting process. "I never even considered going to Michigan at all," infamous winged helmet against the more familiar Scarlet and Gray plastic shell was a sour thought for the cerebral standout prep performer, who aims to enroll at The Ross School of Business after tallying a 3.7 grade-point average in addition to his 11.5 sacks and 33 quarterback hurries. "Growing up an Ohio State fan, when you think of Michigan, you think it is going to be awful," Strobel said. "You think the campus is going to be dirty, just terrible." But the four-star prospect's perspective of the school, and football program, underwent a drastic change largely due to an unexpected, and at the time, self-contested, visit to Ann Arbor following a largely positive visit to one of the Wolverines' archrival's stomping grounds. "We were on the way back from visiting Michigan State, and on the way back, my mom said: 'Ann Arbor is on the way, why don't we stop?" Strobel relayed. Strobel made no secret of his initial apprehension, but need to stop," he said. The rest was history. What began as a quick pit stop to appease his mother's his mother's instinct instigated what would turn out to be his most influential recruiting trip. "I really didn't want to, but she said: 'No, I think we intuition quickly turned into a survey of the city in which the 17th-ranked prospect in the state of Ohio will end up spending his collegiate career. "The feeling of the campus was awesome," Strobel said. "The people there were welcoming and made me feel like part of the family. "After seeing the campus, the facilities and the coaches — turns out I loved it." And turns out, the Michigan coaches took a serious lik- ing to Strobel well before he made his initial campus visit, and made him a prime prospect of interest as they aimed to rebuild the Wolverines one defensive recruit at a time. Strobel is a cornerstone player, said high school coach Steve Trivisonno, whose hard-hitting squad utilized Stro- bel's talent to intimidate foes on the way to an 9-1 regular- season record and OHSAA state quarterfinal appearance. "He's a great kid, one of the hardest workers I have ever had," Trivisonno said. "He plays hard and, as far as coming off of the edge in high school, he's definitely a mismatch for a lot of people. "His combination of size, speed and playmaking ability makes it difficult for a lot of offensive linemen to handle." 74 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2012 Rivals.com ranks Strobel as a four-star prospect, the No. 17 player in prove to be a chore for antagonists across the Big Ten while he progresses into his expected role as a backfield nuisance in the years to come. Strobel has the quick-twitch ability to assail the back- field from his slotted five-technique position at the next level, but also has the frame and the work ethic to grow into an inside presence for an attacking Wolverines de- fense dependent upon unpredictability. "He's so darn versatile," Trivisonno continued. "He Handling the versatile 6-6, 265-pound prospect should Ohio and the No. 16 weakside defensive end nationally. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM runs well, he's got a great frame to him, when they get him in the weight room and feed him right, they're going to make a pretty darn good player out of him. "He's tall, so he can probably be 300 or 310 pounds. He could end up being one big sucker before it is all over." Still, for his fellow Ohioans, most of whom pledge their allegiance to the Scarlet and Gray, their native son should grow into a dreaded pest for "The School Up North" — a notion not lost on the young man who strives to prove his naysayers wrong. "I get it all the time," Strobel said. "Trust me, from where I am, it's all Buckeyes. "It's ridiculous, but I just laugh at them and tell them not to hate on Michigan until you go up there and live through the experience." It remains all the more motivation for the former Ohio State follower as he aims to bring major hardware to Ann Arbor with his new Wolverine brethren, and repeatedly break Buckeye hearts. "A national championship would mean everything, it would be unreal to me — that and beating Ohio State four years in a row," he said. — Kevin Minor