The Wolverine

December 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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DECEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 51   MICHIGAN RECRUITING expect to win games. I'm not mak- ing a guarantee, but I am almost 100 percent certain I will take an official visit after the season." Patterson is committed to the Sun Devils, but wasn't overly convinc- ing when asked how solid he was to ASU. Michigan will have a chance to flip him when that official visit takes place likely in December. Norcross (Ga.) Wesleyan three- star tight end Tommy Tremble The Wolverines have two tight e n d s c o m m i t t e d i n the 2018 class (Luke Schoonmaker and Mus- tapha Muhammad), but will still host Tremble for an official visit for the Ohio State game. The 6-4, 225-pounder has a different build than U-M's two tight end com- mits and brings unique versatility to the position. He's also high on Notre Dame, Georgia, UCLA and others. U-M will get a shot to impress during the big- gest game of the year. Bradenton (Fla.) Braden River three-star strongside defensive end Taylor Upshaw Another Florida commit, Upshaw may be a little tougher to flip since he's a Sunshine State native. At 6-5 and 240 pounds, he's built a lot like Oweh and plays in a similar way. He is Rivals.com's No. 24 strongside defensive end in the land. Before the coaching change at Flor- ida, Upshaw went on record to state how solid he was to UF. He's plan- ning to enroll early so switching up his commitment status at this time could be tricky. It'll be interesting to see if he visits any other schools after claiming to be so solid to Florida in late October. EMIL EKIYOR FINALLY FLIPS After being committed to Michigan since October 2016, Indianapolis Ca- thedral four-star offensive guard Emil Ekiyor flipped to Alabama Oct. 29. "This has been a difficult decision," Ekiyor tweeted. "I have decided to decommit from Michigan. I would like to thank Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and his staff for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to play football at the University of Michigan. "I look forward to continuing my education and playing football at the University of Alabama. Roll Tide." The 6-4, 339-pounder had been flirting with the Tide for a long time and after taking several visits this fall he decided to flip his commit- ment to Nick Saban and Alabama. He explained why the change was the right move for him. "I have just have to do what's best for me," Ekiyor said. "After I took my official visit to Alabama, things sort of stopped with Michigan. It's just the relationships I've built with the staff at Alabama." Ekiyor, a large, athletic player, is considered the No. 6 guard and No. 125 overall prospect nationally by Rivals.com. He's always done well in camp settings, but was not dominant in games and that was perceived as an issue by many who saw him play. FIVE TO WATCH IN 2019 The Michigan staff is off to a great start in the 2019 class with Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy three-star out- side linebacker Charles Thomas, Lou- isville (Ky.) Trinity four-star weakside defensive end Stephen Herron, Ak- ron (Ohio) Hoban four-star offensive guard Nolan Rumler and Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Christian five- star strongside defensive end Chris- topher Hinton already in the fold. U-M is also in great shape with five more big-time junior prospects. Kentwood (Mich.) East Kentwood four-star offensive tackle Logan Brown Wisconsin was the first program to offer Brown, making a strong impres- sion on Rivals.com's No. 3 offensive tackle and No. 28 overall prospect nationally. The 6-6, 270-pounder has been to Michigan many times as well and puts the Wolverines in a great spot. Smart money is on him ending up in either Ann Arbor or Madison. Orange (Calif.) Lutheran four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford The 6-3, 195-pound Ford was in Ann Arbor for the BBQ this summer and picked up his offer at that time. Since then, he's been high on U-M and routinely mentions the Wolver- ines as one of his favorites. As Ri- vals.com's No. 15 wide receiver and No. 75 overall prospect nationally, he's one of U-M's favorites as well. Kennesaw (Ga.) Kennesaw Moun- tain four-star tight end Ryland Goede Jim Harbaugh loves to use his tight ends and the 6-7, 240-pound Goede knows it. As the No. 5 tight end and No. 199 overall prospect nationally according to Rivals, Goede would certainly be utilized in Ann Arbor. He visited for the Michigan State game Oct. 7 and couldn't believe the experience. "I think it was, by far, my favorite visit I've ever had," he said. "Michi- gan is really high on my list. I've got a couple of schools that I'm high, on and I'm really just keeping my op- tions open right now. "… I'm definitely going to be up at Michigan again. I'm going to try to get up there this spring or summer and then probably next fall for an of- ficial visit as well." Detroit Martin Luther King four- star safety Marvin Grant Close friends with Michigan fresh- man cornerback Ambry Thomas and sophomore cornerback Lavert Hill, Grant has to be viewed as a U-M lean. The 6-2, 190-pounder looks more and more like a Big Ten safety every time he pops up in Ann Arbor, which was for the Minnesota game most recently. "The game was hype," Grant said. "I really like how they attacked and got at them early to set the tone. The run game was great, and Khaleke Hudson was very aggressive and had a good game at Viper. "That's the position I was looking at and that I'm being recruited for so that's cool. Overall it was a great experience once again." Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco four-star cornerback Chris Steele Rivals.com's No. 2 cornerback and No. 26 overall prospect nation- ally dropped a top five consisting of Alabama, California, Michigan, Okla- homa and USC in late October, prov- ing that he's as high on the Wolver- ines as he appears on social media. "I picked those five schools re- ally just because I've either visited them or I plan on visiting them really soon," Steele said, "and they've been showing me the most interest and recruiting me the hardest." The 6-0, 175-pounder is a friend of Ford and the two have talked about playing together at Michigan. ❏

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