The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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PREP PROFILES Michigan was in a hurry to offer Jersey City (N.J.) St. Peter's Prep run- ning back Jonathan Hilliman. The 6-0, 201-pounder picked up an offer from the Wolverines over the summer — before he had even started his junior season of high school football. The early offer, however, didn't come from left field. Hilliman rushed for 632 yards and eight touchdowns as a sophomore on just 65 carries (9.7 yards per rush), and he has since backed up the offer by rushing for more than 1,000 yards in just seven games as a junior — most of them blowouts in which he has hardly seen the field in the second half for St. Pe- ter's Prep. A power running style combined with top-end speed enable Hilliman to put up gaudy stats. He is ranked as the No. 25 running back in the junior class by 247Sports. "I'm mostly a downhill runner be- tween the tackles, but at the second New Jersey Running Back Is Waiting On Visits level I have breakaway speed and ac- celeration to run away from the de- fense," he explained. "Something about my game that Jonathan Hilliman St. Peter's Prep Jersey City, N.J. Position: Running Back Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 201 Class: 2014 tice the talented youngster. Oregon, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin are among his other offers. He has 16 in total, and would like to explore the options he has on the table in order to determine which college could be the best fit for him. "I'm just putting the recruiting thing on hold at this point," Hilliman said. Michigan isn't the only school to no- I want to get down is my blocking. That's something I want to work on this offseason for the year coming up." "During my season, I'm pretty focused. After the season, recruiting will fill up for me with visits and workouts and camps. I want to see a lot of places." Hilliman's season isn't likely to end any time soon. St. Peter's Prep is 6-1 and bound for the three-seed in the New Jersey Private School playoffs. They certainly don't lack the talent to make a deep run: in addition to Hilliman, several players on the squad hold Division I offers, including seniors committed to Vanderbilt, Boston Col- lege and Massachusetts. The goal for the Marauders is a state title, and after the playoffs Hilliman would definitely like to see Ann Arbor. "The thing that makes an offer from Michigan exciting is Michigan's tra- dition," he explained. "Their football tradition is just so great. For them to show early interest in me made me pretty excited. I definitely want to check them out." — Tim Sullivan Cleveland Glenville has traditionally been to Ohio State. Both are among the biggest producers of Division I foot- ball talent in their respective states, and both send most of their best players to the in-state powerhouse. William Campbell and Thomas Gor- don are among the most notable Tech- nicians-turned-Wolverines on this year's squad, but it's possible that some U-M fans are more familiar with Ted Ginn Jr. As Detroit Cass Tech is to Michigan, Explosive Athlete Is Glenville's Next Great Lattimore could be the first great battle at Glenville between Brady Hoke and Urban Meyer. Both schools have offered Lattimore a scholarship, along with other schools such as Penn State and USC. It's easy to see why. The 6-0, 185-pounder can be an impact player on either side of the ball. "Were he just evaluated as a wide re- " Rivals.com Rivals.com analyst Josh Helmholdt "As a cornerback, though, Lattimore has a chance to be really special. He is fluid and rangy with great speed and ball skills." and Troy Smith — both former Tar- blooders who terrorized Michigan as Buckeyes. Brady Hoke and his coaching staff would be wise to pry into the Glenville pipeline, and they've started doing just that during their time in Ann Arbor. Defensive end Frank Clark burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2011, and the Wolverines signed Willie Henry in the 2012 class. Neither of those players, however, held offers from Ohio State. That means Glenville junior Marshon Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helm- holdt said. "As a cornerback, though, Lat- timore has a chance to be really special. He is fluid and rangy with great speed and ball skills. Lattimore, who is ranked as the top junior in Ohio and the No. 2 cornerback in the 2014 class by 247Sports, uses his physical tools and aggressive attitude to make an impact for Glenville. "I just try to be dominant wherever " Marshon Lattimore Glenville High School Cleveland Position: Athlete Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 185 Class: 2014 ceiver prospect, Lattimore would still fall in the BCS-caliber territory, whatever I need to do to pull the win. Really, I just play football. already taken him to games at Ohio State, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech. He's also hoping to see Michigan before the season ends, and the offer from the Wolverines makes that even more likely. "I want to go to a few games. I don't Lattimore's visit plans this fall have " have anything planned, but I think I want to see some more, know when yet. I definitely want to get up there, though." Although it's traditionally been tough " he said. "I don't I'm playing," Lattimore said. "I just try to make big plays for my team and do for Michigan to pull players out of the Ohio State stronghold up in Cleveland, the presence of some former Tarblood- ers on Michigan's roster — thanks in part to an excellent relationship be- tween Glenville head coach Ted Ginn Sr. and Michigan head coach Brady Hoke — will give the Wolverines a shot at landing Lattimore. — Tim Sullivan NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 95