The Wolverine

March 2017 Recruiting Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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60 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2017 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY BRANDON BROWN It didn't come as a surprise to anyone when Detroit Cass Tech three-star safety Jaylen Kelly- Powell announced via Twitter that he had committed to Michi- gan back in mid-November, but it was still a nice way for U-M to start landing talent in Detroit. The 6-0, 175-pounder released a video outlining his final top group and ultimately revealed that Ann Arbor would be his future home. He put together a heartfelt mes- sage about why Michigan was the place for him. "First and foremost, thank you God for giving the ability to reach my dreams," he wrote. "I would like to thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches, Cass Tech as a whole, Detroit Dolphins, South- field Ravens, Max Ex and RSR for helping get to this point. "Special thanks to all the coaches that have recruited me. I truly appreciate you for show- ing how great your universities are. With that being said, I have decided that I will be attending the University of Michigan and look forward to early enrolling. Go Blue." A little over a month later, and af- ter the commitments of his five-star teammate Donovan Peoples-Jones and cousin Ambry Thomas, a four- star cornerback from rival Martin Lu- ther King High School, Kelly-Powell spoke about how the trio from De- troit ended up picking U-M. "It's family there," Kelly-Powell said. "Coach [Thomas] Wilcher went there, we're all cool with the head coach. They're going to take care of us up there. [I'm going to get a] great education at Michigan. "It's a pretty good situation. In the offseason, we competed against each other and helped each other get bet- ter. We told each other what DBs do and what receivers are thinking, and now imagine when we get to college we could be even better, work on techniques and things. We have a great bond." Wilcher is the head coach at Cass Tech, but before that he played run- ning back for the Wolverines. That connection has turned Cass Tech into a mini-Michigan pipeline and Wilcher is ecstatic that two of his players, and another from Detroit in Thomas, are heading to Ann Arbor for the next chapter of their careers. "I'm happy when any kid from any school picks Michigan," Wilcher said. "I'm happy when kids I know pick Michigan. I'm happy to hear kids from any school get offered by Michigan. "I think that kids should choose their home-state schools first. I think it should be Michigan, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State. I think we should try to choose our home- based schools. It's great for kids to stay home and then move forward. It shows that we have great football players and great athletes. It's just a good thing to watch kids come up and excel here at home." In order for Kelly-Powell to excel, he's going to have to put in the work and that's something he certainly will do according to his prep coach. Wilcher believes Michigan will utilize Kelly-Powell a lot like he did at Cass and thinks that will put him in multiple positions to succeed. "I think the fit is great with him because we play Jaylen like Michigan plays their defensive players," Wilcher said. "The best players are all over the field. We play Jaylen at corner, nickel back, free safety, strong safety — we try to blitz him sometimes. We do a lot of things with him. You can't just say he's going to line up and play this. We put him wherever we need to put him at to make an impact. He's helping the team out tremendously. "He's got great hands, he can run the ball. He does it all. If [Jim] Harbaugh wants athletes and players, he's getting one in Jaylen. That's exactly what he's getting." As the No. 34 safety in the country and No. 8 senior from the state of Michigan coming out of high school, fan expectations might not be that high for Kelly- Powell during his freshman sea- son, but he doesn't see it that way. He's already on campus and is ready to find a role and will do whatever it takes to keep his coaches happy. "My expectation is to do my best, do what the coaches tell me to do, hustle no matter what and just com- pete," Kelly-Powell said. "Every- thing else is going to take care of itself." Kelly-Powell named Oregon, Vir- ginia Tech, UCLA, Nebraska, Wis- consin, Ohio State and Michigan as finalists before ultimately throwing on the block M hat and Jordan-brand U-M gloves to give the nod to the Wolverines in his commitment video. That gesture was just the beginning of a scorching stretch in November and December where the two other big-time Detroit targets, along with five other blue-chip prospects, also committed to Michigan. If all goes to plan, that will simply be the first of many times that Kelly- Powell is a catalyst for good things heading the Wolverines' way. ❏ Safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell Started U-M's Detroit Invasion In 2017 Rivals rates Kelly-Powell as the No. 8 prospect in Michigan and the No. 34 safety nationally. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN

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