The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 53 FOOTBALL RECRUITING real option. Notre Dame is also heav- ily involved. TIER 2 Eyabi Anoma Baltimore St. Frances A newly minted five-star weak- side defensive end, Anoma checks in at No. 4 at his position and No. 24 overall nationally according to Ri- vals.com. The 6-5, 235-pounder was in Ann Arbor for an official visit for the Ohio State game and is genuinely interested in Michigan. With that being said, Alabama is believed to be on top for the tal- ented pass rusher, and that's always a tough battle to win. Ja'Marr Chase Metairie (La.) Rummel The 6-2, 185-pound Chase was also in Michigan for an official visit for the Ohio State game and enjoyed himself despite being on crutches. Rivals.com's No. 11 wide receiver and No. 62 over- all prospect nationally hurt his knee to- ward the end of his senior season, but still toughed out a trip to Ann Arbor. The four-star receiver is very in- trigued by Michigan and Jim Har- baugh's NFL experience, but leaving the South for Ann Arbor isn't usually the popular choice for Louisiana na- tives. Michigan, along with Auburn, Florida, LSU and TCU are all still battling for Chase's services. Talanoa Hufanga Corvallis (Ore.) Crescent Valley Another official visitor for the Ohio State game, Hufanga is the No. 3 ath- lete and No. 63 overall prospect nation- ally according to Rivals.com. He shines as a wide receiver and as a safety, and the Michigan staff likes him on defense. At 6-1, 194 pounds, Hufanga has great speed, agility and quickness, and also loves contact. He'd shine in Don Brown's system but, like southern prospects, Westerners also rarely leave their home region if they don't have to. Hufanga is still considering Or- egon, UCLA, USC, Utah and Ne- braska along with Michigan. Chris Olave San Marcos (Calif.) Mission Hills Olave, a three-star wide receiver, had legitimate interest in Michigan, but cancelled his planned official visit the weekend of Dec. 15 because of a fam- ily issue. The 6-1, 170-pounder doesn't know if he'll reschedule another trip to Ann Arbor and, after official visits to check out Ohio State and Utah, might have enough options to choose from without seeing Ann Arbor. The staffs at UCLA and USC are also giving Olave, Rivals.com's No. 52 player in California, a lot of attention and provide him two more options much closer to home. Rick Sandidge Concord (N.C.) High With a top group consisting of Flor- ida, Georgia, Michigan, North Caro- lina and South Carolina, Sandidge has a lot to figure out as National Signing Day approaches. The 6-5, 263-pounder will take official visits to all five schools, including a Jan. 26 date in Ann Arbor, and will then make a deci- sion near or on National Signing Day. Rivals.com's No. 2 defensive tackle and No. 36 overall prospect nation- ally is likely leaning toward his mother's alma mater, South Carolina, but U-M impressed him and his fam- ily earlier this year and is definitely hanging in there. Jamien Sherwood Jensen Beach (Fla.) High Sherwood, a four-star safety, picked up an offer from U-M in June and seemed to be blown away. Rivals.com's No. 19 safety and No. 206 overall pros- pect nationally checked out Ann Arbor earlier this year but then committed to Auburn in July. The 6-2, 200-pounder returned to Ann Arbor over the weekend of Dec. 15 for an official visit and is at least still thinking about playing in Don Brown's scheme. Smart money is on him sticking with the Tigers, but if a school can flip him, it'll be Michigan. TIER 3 Luke Ford Carterville (Ill.) High Likely leaning more toward schools like Alabama, Georgia and Texas, the 6-7, 247-pound four-star Ford did still receive a December in-home visit from U-M tight ends coach Greg Frey. As Rivals.com's No. 1 tight end and No. 83 overall prospect nation- ally, Ford is worth the effort, but he won't end up in Ann Arbor. Olaijah Griffin Mission Viejo (Calif.) High A UCLA commit, the 6-0, 172-pound four-star Griffin mentioned interest in Michigan when Jim Mora's seat heated up, but once UCLA hired Chip Kelly, the four-star cornerback seemed to grow more content with his pledge. Kelly and his staff worked on secur- ing his commitment, and it appeared to have worked with Rivals.com's No. 5 cornerback and No. 38 overall prospect nationally. Jayson Oweh Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy The 6-5, 235-pound, four-star strong- side defensive end picked up his Mich- igan offer in mid-October and did offi- cially visit for the Ohio State game, but it was likely too little, too late. Penn State and the Buckeyes are at the top for Rivals.com's No. 7 strong- side defensive end and No. 124 over- all player nationally. It's believed that the Nittany Lions are setting the pace for his services. Amon-Ra St. Brown Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei St. Brown — the No. 1 wide re- ceiver and No. 3 overall prospect nationally according to Rivals.com — has always been intrigued by Jim Harbaugh, but just has too much pulling him in other directions. The five-star receiver has a brother at Notre Dame and another at Stanford, and his good friend, teammate and 2019 five-star quarterback J.T. Daniels is committed to USC. It's believed that the 6-1, 187-pounder will pick either Notre Dame or USC before too long. ❏ The Wolverines are working on flipping Jensen Beach (Fla.) High four-star safety Jamien Sherwood — Rivals.com's No. 206 overall prospect nationally — from Auburn. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM