The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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62 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2017 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY BRANDON BROWN In early June 2016, things played out as expected when U-M picked up a commitment from St. Joseph (Mich.) High four-star strongside de- fensive end Corey Malone-Hatcher. The 6-3, 245-pounder, who finished his high school career ranked as the No. 7 player in Michigan and No. 12 nationally at his position, took to Twitter when the time was right. He tweeted out the infamous line ut- tered by most in-state prospects and followed it up with a declaration. "The best players in Michigan go to Michigan," Malone-Hatcher tweeted. "I'm extremely excited as this pro- cess comes to an end. I would like to say thank you to everyone who has offered me a priceless opportunity, but after talking with my friends and family I have decided to announce that I will be continuing my football career with the University of Michi- gan. "With academic excellence and athletic superiority, the words 'Go Blue' take on a different meaning for myself and my family today." According to Saint Joseph head coach Gandalf Church, Malone- Hatcher's message is an exact reflec- tion of why the Wolverines were the correct choice. "He was very comfortable with Michigan," Church said. "He comes from a family with high expectations, so Michigan's pursuit of excellence was big to him. Michigan has the priority to do things the right way, and that excellence they're pursuing is coming really soon. "I think Michigan saw his charac- ter and it all rooted from there. He's very explosive and quick to the ball. He has great measurables. I think that's what stands out most about his game and probably what Michigan saw in him." Malone-Hatcher also used Twitter as a vehicle to recruit other players to U-M and was quite effective. He worked hard on three-star safety Jay- len Kelly-Powell and five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones of Detroit Cass Tech, four-star corner- back Ambry Thomas of Detroit Mar- tin Luther King and four-star wide re- ceiver Tarik Black of Cheshire (Conn.) Academy, and all of them are now his teammates. He played a role by creating videos, pinning tweets and pushing hashtags, such as #DPJtoAA, and ran with it. "I was aspiring to be a leader," Malone-Hatcher said. "I was trying to build a class that I felt like we could win a championship with. Mike Gil- lette, a former player at my school, was telling me about how Bo [Schem- bechler] used to do some crazy re- cruiting strategies and that had me determined to do something cool as well. I am not exactly sure where my ideas came from. It kind of just came to me while I was sleeping actually. "Nobody committed because of anything I did, it was just for fun for the recruits, but the university sells itself. I just presented facts and people built their own opinion and the guys that are here are here for the football program, the academic prestige and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh." That drive for a national champion- ship is something that 11 signees, in- cluding Malone-Hatcher, are already working toward as early enrollees. Defensive line coach Greg Mattison gave some insight as to why they wanted Malone-Hatcher in Ann Ar- bor. "Corey showed great talent and ability early in his career, even as a sophomore," Mattison said. "He bat- tled injuries as a junior, but fought through them. He is versed to foot- ball. He's a very good pass rusher, and we are looking for big things out of him." Michigan fans are expecting big things out of Malone-Hatcher and the other 29 signees in U-M's 2017 class that made up the No. 4 class in the country according to Rivals.com. The entire group is talented, balanced and really filled a lot of needs. Malone- Hatcher is excited to be a part of it and believes hopes have never been higher. "We've seen the rankings with four stars, five stars, three stars — but it really doesn't matter once you get here," Malone-Hatcher explained. "We're not trying to get the No. 1 class in the country anymore, we're try- ing to win national championships. If you ask any of our players they'll say we're going to win a national cham- pionship. "I know that's said every year, but the drive at this school and the desire to be great, to be remembered, to be the best player you can be, it's swarm- ing even. You have no choice but to be great." Malone-Hatcher has been living his life in a motivated way since birth, according to his parents, and really tested himself late in his high school career. He bounced back from a se- vere ankle injury that caused him to miss all but two games as a junior to record 90 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, seven sacks, one forced fumble, one safety, one blocked kick and two pass breakups as a senior. Malone-Hatcher had a top group that included Oklahoma, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, UCLA, Tennessee, Ohio State, Alabama and Penn State, but chose to stay in state by selecting the Maize and Blue. ❏ Corey Malone-Hatcher Is Focused On Winning Championships Malone-Hatcher posted 90 stops, 28 tackles for loss and seven sacks as a senior. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM