The Wolverine

February 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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FEBRUARY 2018 THE WOLVERINE 31   MICHIGAN FOOTBALL expected to compete at in the sec- ondary. The Wolverines will likely be an- chored at cornerback by rising-ju- niors Lavert Hill and David Long, who proved to be one of the better duos in the country last season and led a pass defense that allowed just 150.1 yards per game through the air to rank No. 1 nationally. Both starting safeties, rising-senior Tyree Kinnel and rising-junior Josh Metellus, return as well, although they struggled in pass coverage throughout much of the 2017 season. — Austin Fox RICE GRADUATE TRANSFER CALVIN ANDERSON IMPRESSED WITH MICHIGAN On Jan. 15, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, offensive coordina- tor/offensive line coach Tim Drevno and new tight ends coach Sherrone Moore traveled to Houston, where they visited with Rice left tackle and graduate transfer Calvin Anderson. Anderson and his girlfriend met with the Michigan trio for more than an hour at District 7 Grill in Houston — the couple's favorite restaurant. "It was awesome," Anderson said of the meeting. "You hear a lot about a legend like Jim Harbaugh, and it was cool meeting him in person. He was even cooler than I thought he'd be. "I don't even know if cool is the right word — an even better guy than I thought he'd be." Anderson said that he's had a bunch of conversations with Drevno, calling him a "cool dude," and was happy to meet Moore, who as a for- mer college offensive lineman under- stands the position. The Wolverines are hoping Ander- son, who started 36 straight games at Rice and was twice named an All- Conference USA honorable mention, can come in and become the starter at left tackle next season. "My number one goal moving on from Rice — obviously I have a great opportunity to get an excellent edu- cation," he said. "I'll graduate with an excellent undergraduate degree. My goal this next year is to set my- self up and prepare myself the best I can, in the best place I can, to go to the NFL. "I'm chasing the dream, and I think they understand that." The success the Michigan program has had sending players to the NFL stands out to Anderson, but even more so than that is the plan the coaching staff already has in place to help him get to the next level. "Coach Harbaugh was telling me how Michigan can best do that," An- derson said. "A lot of it speaks for itself, I know Michigan is very used to sending guys to the NFL. He was talking to me more specifically about what they had to offer as far as train- ing, connections, visibility, all of that. "They have a really good plan and they think I could really solidify the left tackle spot, which I was happy to hear." He talked to the coaches about what he can do to improve and what they saw from him on film. Both Har- baugh and Drevno told him that they believe he is an athletic tackle with a quick twitch and good natural abil- ity. They had drills in place to better help his stance and mentioned the strength program that will help him handle bigger and faster linemen in the NFL. "You could tell they had really watched my film, because it lined up exactly with what I think of my own abilities," Anderson said. "That was awesome." Anderson brought along his girl- friend to the meeting so he could get her perspective. "She's usually a very skeptical per- son," he explained. "She's a Rice grad — 2016, getting her doctorate here in Houston. She's a smart cookie, maybe even smarter than me." He said that she had a lot of ques- tions about who else Michigan was recruiting and where they see Ander- son fitting in, as far as being a starter and having playing time. "She wanted to know about their tenure and how long they expected to stay at Michigan, stuff like that to try to gauge commitment, and she was very happy with their re- sponses," Anderson said. "They said they're committed to Michigan foot- ball and some of the answers she got were surprisingly good. "She came away saying she was very satisfied and really thinks Har- baugh is a good guy." The Michigan coaches also made a stop in Austin, Texas, where they met with Anderson's father and step- mom. His dad is a doctor and step- mom is a lawyer. Anderson said his dad thought Harbaugh was a straight-shooter and was candid about the situation. Overall, his dad was impressed and had feedback similar to his girl- friend's — something that was im- portant to him. "Hearing that from two very im- portant groups of people in my life, that's big," Anderson said. Michigan is the only school that has met with Anderson's parents and girlfriend, as of Jan. 16. "They checked a lot of boxes and covered a lot of ground," he said. Graduate transfer offensive lineman Calvin Anderson started 36 straight games at Rice, but is looking for a new home to help him reach the NFL and has met with Jim Harbaugh and the U-M staff. PHOTO COURTESY ANDERSON 2018 MICHIGAN FOOTBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent Sept. 1 at Notre Dame Sept. 8 vs. Western Michigan Sept. 15 vs. SMU Sept. 22 vs. Nebraska Sept. 29 at Northwestern Oct. 6 vs. Maryland Oct. 13 vs. Wisconsin Oct. 20 at Michigan State Nov. 3 vs. Penn State Nov. 10 at Rutgers Nov. 17 vs. Indiana Nov. 24 at Ohio State

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