The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/787035
MARCH 2017 THE WOLVERINE 69 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE MEASURABLES • Paea has recorded 14 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press and maxes out at 340. STATISTICS • As a senior, he blocked for a rushing attack that ran for 3,242 yards and 48 touch- downs. Defensively, he had 53 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble. • During his junior year, he notched 67 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, two sacks and a pair of fumble recoveries. HONORS • Selected first-team USA Today All-USA Michigan as a senior. • Named to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Teams. • Rated the No. 9 senior in the state by the Detroit Free Press, and checked in at No. 11 on the Lansing State Journal's Catch 22 list and the Detroit News Blue Chip List. • Chosen the Division 5-6 Player of the Year as a senior and named first-team Division 5-6 All-State as a junior and senior by the Associated Press. ALL-STAR GAMES AND CAMPS • Attended Nike's The Opening regional camp in Salt Lake City in 2015. • Selected for the inaugural Polynesian Bowl Jan. 21, 2017; he was the only participant to play on both offense and defense. RECRUITMENT • Committed April 2, 2016 and never wavered. An official visit to Oregon was discussed but never materialized. • Defensive line coach Greg Mattison and former director of player personnel Tony Tuioti were both instrumental in Michigan landing Paea. NOTABLE • Born March 25, 1999. • Is of Tongan descent and led his Berrien Springs team in the haka, a traditional war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand, before each game. • Paea is a distant relative of Michigan defensive tackle Bryan Mone. Their families originated from the same island in Tonga. • Roomed with fellow Michi- gan commit Joshua Ross at the Polynesian Bowl. 2017 PROJECTION Paea is a big, strong and ath- letic lineman who can realisti- cally play on both sides of the ball. He's listed as an offensive guard by Rivals.com but will start out playing defense at Michigan. His natural abilities have yet to be molded, giving him a lot of upside. He will prob- ably redshirt in 2017. THEY SAID IT Berrien Springs (Mich.) High Head Coach Tony Scaccia: "I think that his ceiling is a little higher on the offensive side be- cause of his athleticism. There are other athletic, 300-pound defensive tackles. He's about 285 or 287, so he'll be at 300 pounds eventually, and I just think he is a devastating run blocker. "We don't have a seven-step package or a lot of passing in our offense, and I think he could still grow leaps and bounds in his pass protection. I don't think he's even scratched the surface on what he can do as an offensive lineman. "He wants to run, chase and tackle, though, and he's going to be really good at that too. For a kid his size, to be able to run like he does — and with such agility — is special. He is strong as a bull too, so he'll excel at both." Rivals.com Midwest Recruiting Analyst Josh Helm- holdt: "He'll translate no matter what position he plays. We made him about as high of a three-star as you could make a guy without having seen him much in person. "We're always going to be conservative when we haven't seen a guy in person, so just off of film he's already on the cusp of four-star status. "He's a very talented kid and has a lot of potential. In my opinion, he was a no-brainer offer for the in-state schools. I'm excited to see more of him because I do think that his upside and his ceiling are very high." Defensive Line Coach Greg Mattison: "He is a very strong, explosive player. He reminds us of [current Wolverine] Bryan Mone as a football player. He has great character and a great family, and has shown his athleticism by excelling both of- fensively and defensively in high school." PHILLIP PAEA DEFENSIVE TACKLE 6-4 • 280 BERRIEN SPRINGS H.S. BERRIEN SPRINGS, MICH. RANKINGS STARS NAT. POS. STATE ✪ ✪ ✪ — 20 (OG) 10 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 29 15 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 31 8 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 30 10 Paea is a distant relative of Michigan defensive tackle Bryan Mone, and defensive line coach Greg Mattison noted that the new Wolverine reminds him of the rising redshirt junior. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN BERRIEN SPRINGS (MICH.) HIGH HEAD COACH TONY SCACCIA "For a kid his size, to be able to run like he does — and with such agility — is special. He is strong as a bull too, so he'll excel at both [offense and defense]."