The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 39 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE has dug water trenches in Thailand and volunteered in the 'Dare to Play' football program for young people with Down syndrome] to faith [he earned the Valor Football Leadership Rooted in Christ award this season]." Along the way he picked up ev- ery other major prep football honor the state had to offer, including being awarded the state's Gatorade Player of the Year honor and also getting named to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. He played well in front of the best of the best. "He showed through the week nice judgment and vision running against the stacked defense on the West team," Rivals.com recruiting analyst Nick Krueger said before McCaffrey went 2-of-4 passing for 40 yards with no touchdowns and zero interceptions for the West team. He also had three car- ries for 11 yards and played only two series while splitting time with two other quarterbacks. "When you watch him as a passer, he has a nice, easy drop back and matching delivery," Krueger added. "I didn't see him unload on too many deep balls, but mechanically he has that high, over-the-top release you like to see from traditionally strong passers. "Of the three quarterbacks on the West, he took the fewest chances on passes into coverage. His footwork is solid, and he has an ability to keep a nice, steady base to load and fire up those passes." ANN ARBOR BOUND Now he's ready to take his act to Michigan, and he can't wait to get there. McCaffrey didn't show up until the second day of Army Bowl prac- tices after accepting an award from the Denver Broncos, but he did some recruiting of his own while he was in San Antonio, trying to convince many four- and five-stars to join him. Two — five-star receiver Dono- van Peoples-Jones and four-star pass catcher Tarik Black — are already en- rolled. "I'm pumped they're coming," Mc- Caffrey said. "That's really a quarter- back's dream right there. I got to talk to them a lot on my official and I talked to them here … they are great dudes. "Those are the kinds of guys who I want to go to college with, guys I want to surround myself with for four years." He hit it off well with several of the other recruits, too, Ed McCaffrey noted, and feels at home in Ann Arbor. The U.S. Army game gave him a taste of what competition will be like at the next level. "I know college will be even faster than this because everybody is bigger and faster by then," he said. "Still, it's just a great feeling to get fast game play, quick reps." And while his dad wonders how his son will adapt to the biggest of the big stages, his third son doesn't seem a bit concerned. "I love it," the Ann Arbor-bound passer noted. "I love Michigan's of- fense, and that's a huge reason I chose there. It gives the quarterback a lot of options. I firmly believe nobody is go- ing to work harder than me, especially off the field mentally where I will just learn our offense and learn when to call which plays. "Michigan is the place to be if you want top-notch football, academics and student life. There's no other school that beats it. It's a great atmosphere, a place you want to be for four years. Even if I weren't playing football, it would be a great school to go to." ❏ 2017 PROJECTION McCaffrey is still quite thin but should have plenty of time to learn the system and bulk up during his first year or two at Michigan. Wilton Speight, John O'Korn and Brandon Peters are expected to battle it out for U-M in 2017, and with Peters being just a year ahead of McCaffrey, there won't be a huge need to thrust him into action too early. THEY SAID IT Denver Post Preps Editor Neil Devlin: "I think he's going to sur- pass both of [Florida quarterback] Luke Del Rio and [former Washington quarterback] Cyler Miles. … After his senior year, I'd probably say that he's about as good as I've seen here, for sure." Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Mike Farrell: "Watching Mc- Caffrey on film, you continue to see things that impress. He has the size of his father, former NFL receiver Ed McCaffrey, and some of the athleti- cism of his brother, Heisman final- ist Christian McCaffrey. His ability to keep defenses honest with his feet opens things up for his arm. He can make things look very easy at this level and is just starting to become a polished pocket passer. The sky's the limit for the Michigan commitment." Valor Christian Head Coach Rod Sherman: "Throughout the year, he played extremely well as a drop-back passer: five-step, seven-step, play ac- tion. I think he's got a great feel in the pocket. … The other thing that a lot of people didn't notice, he got us into the right play so much with kills and alerts at the line of scrimmage. That allowed us to be in the right play against the defense. The com- bination of those three things are going to make him a really special quarterback at the next level." O f f e n s i v e C o o r d i n a t o r / L i n e Coach Tim Drevno: "Dylan is a really competitive guy. He's super smart, and I love the way he throws the ball. He has a quick release, which is al- ways important for a quarterback. He also has great accuracy, another im- portant trait, and he is going to do a great job operating this offense and getting his teammates in the right place. He comes with great pedigree, and we're excited to have him join our team at Michigan." McCaffrey threw for 5,596 yards and 58 touchdowns with only nine interceptions while leading Highlands Ranch (Colo.) Valor Christian to back-to-back 5A state titles in 2015 and 2016. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM