The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/888498
NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 67 PREP PROFILES Michigan Checks A Lot Of Boxes For Junior Cornerback U-M is recruiting the state of Flor- ida hard in the 2019 class, with 26 junior prospects reporting an offer from the Wolverines. One of the more coveted from that bunch is Fort Lau- derdale University School four-star cornerback Joshua Sanguinetti. The 6-2, 170-pounder has been made a priority since being offered in May and appreciates the staff's effort. "They've been contacting me daily," he said. "If it's not every day it's every other day. It's really been the entire coaching staff. Once they could reach out to me on Sept. 1, they put me into a group chat. Coach [Mike] Zordich also texts me by himself, too." Sanguinetti really appreciated head coach Jim Harbaugh's message and now enjoys the convenience of having everyone, his family and staff alike, in one spot. "I think it's pretty cool," he said of the group text. "When they were first able to contact 2019s they were the first team to text me. They were the first program I heard from that night. The first text was from Coach Harbaugh, and it was nice." Sanguinetti feels more connected to Harbaugh and the staff because of the texts and feels like he's bonded quicker than would've been possible otherwise. "I feel like I know them pretty well at this point," he said. "At first I didn't really know anything about them, but now we're building that relationship up since they're texting me every day." The relationships have put U-M in a good spot early, and Sanguinetti feels like he could excel in Ann Ar- bor. An excellent student, he is look- ing at the big picture and knows what a degree from Michigan means. "I'm big on academics," Sangui- netti explained. "I know that Michi- gan is a really good school, and it's really hard to get into. A Michigan degree means a lot in the world. They have a really good combination of football and academics. I really want to find a school that will set me up for life after football. Michigan ab- solutely checks those boxes for me." As a sophomore, Sanguinetti was named to the All-Broward County 5A-2A second team as a defensive back after tallying 18 tackles and three interceptions. He returned one of those picks for a touchdown, and on offense he reeled in 29 catches for 534 yards and seven scores. He also had a punt return for a TD last year. — Brandon Brown ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ University School Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Class: 2019 Position: Cornerback Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 170 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 9 player in Florida, and No. 4 cornerback and No. 47 overall player in the country Joshua Sanguinetti Sanguinetti "A Michigan degree means a lot in the world. They have a really good combination of football and academics. I really want to find a school that will set me up for life af- ter football." Michigan has just about wrapped up offering recruits in the 2018 class, but sent out a late offer to Lorton (Va.) South County three-star wide re- ceiver Dillon Spalding in September. When taking a look at his stats, it's easy to see why the U-M coaches were interested. As a junior at South County, Spalding hauled in 67 catches for 1,069 yards (16.0 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns. Believe it or not, that was actually his third consecutive 1,000-yard sea- son — he racked up 1,191 yards as a freshman and 1,053 yards as a soph- omore, giving him a total of 3,313 yards through his first three seasons of high school ball. He made the USA Today All-Virginia first team as a ju- nior and was a second-team pick as a sophomore. Spalding visited Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' 29-13 victory over Air Force Sept. 16, and explained that is when he received his offer. "The visit was great," he said. "I got there on Friday morning and took a tour of everything. We saw the academic stuff, the facilities and all of campus — all the coaches were very nice. "On Saturday, we went to the game obviously, and afterward we walked into Coach [Jim] Harbaugh's office and that's when he offered me. "They just went over how they'd like to use me. They mentioned that I could be used in the slot, on the outside or even in the backfield. It was great." Despite owning just a three-star rat- ing by Rivals, Spalding holds impres- sive offers from the likes of Tennes- see, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. With Michigan throwing its name into the mix, though, the Virginia na- tive said he now has a lot to think about. "Michigan is an amazing program — they're high up for me," he admit- ted. "They're a great team and don't have any wide receivers in my class, so it'd be a great opportunity. To play for Coach Harbaugh and the rest of the staff would be an honor. "I need to talk with my parents and see what I'm going to do. I'm just riding out my recruitment, and plan on committing sometime in the next couple of months." — Austin Fox Wolverines Send Out Late Offer To Virginia Receiver ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ South County H.S. Lorton, Va. Class: 2018 Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 210 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 19 player in Virginia Dillon Spalding Spalding "Michigan is an amazing program — they're high up for me. They're a great team and don't have any wide receivers in my class, so it'd be a great opportunity. To play for Coach Har- baugh and the rest of the staff would be an honor."