The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/956415
52 THE WOLVERINE APRIL 2018 BY BRANDON BROWN G etting prospects on campus is one of the most important parts of the recruiting process, and staffs have been using junior day events to do just that for a long time. However, Michigan hasn't really utilized the junior day approach under Jim Harbaugh until recently when the recruiting and coaching staffs held a huge event March 17. The staff hosted several prospects from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 classes, and even had a couple of 2018 sign- ees in the house to help out. Indianapolis Lawrence Central four-star outside linebacker and Michigan signee Cameron McGrone was in Ann Arbor for the junior day event and put his people skills to good use. The 6-2, 222-pounder car- ries himself very well, and was able to act as a perfect ambassador when talking to recruits and their families. "I hung around the recruits all day," McGrone said. "I was talking to their parents and letting them know my ex- perience in the recruiting process and telling them why I chose Michigan." McGrone set his sights on a few guys specifically. The Indianapolis native spent most of his time with Norcross (Ga.) Greater Atlanta Chris- tian five-star strongside defensive end and Michigan commit Christopher Hinton; Cincinnati St. Xavier sopho- more offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.; Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy Orange five-star junior Zach Harri- son, the country's No. 2 strongside de- fensive end and No. 15 overall player; and Tulsa (Okla.) Booker T. Washing- ton four-star safety Daxton Hill. With Johnson and Harrison both be- ing from Ohio, and Hill hailing from Oklahoma, all three are going to be tough pulls, but McGrone got a good vibe from them throughout the event. "I feel as if we have a legitimate chance with those guys," McGrone said. "It was a little hard to feel out Dax and Zach, but I could really tell Paris was enjoying everything. "Zach and Dax's eyes did light up when watching what they could be do- ing on Coach [Don] Brown's defense." Hill, Rivals.com's No. 2 safety and No. 44 overall prospect nationally, was impressed with Brown's ap- proach on stopping opponents. "The defense at Michigan for the last couple of years stood out to me," Hill said. "Both Coach Brown and [safeties] Coach [Chris} Partridge talked to me about all of that. "Coach Partridge pulled some of my highlights and showed me how I play defense similar to them and compared my techniques to their man techniques. Coach Brown told me it's an NFL type of defense, so players can easily adjust to it if they make it to the league." Johnson, one of the most coveted offensive linemen in the 2020 class felt like U-M would be a good fit for him. The 6-7, 260-pounder experienced ev- erything during the junior day event. "It was a great experience," Johnson said. "We had a photo shoot, met the strength staff and spent a lot of time with the coaches, which was awesome. "My favorite part was spending time with the strength and coaching staff. I had an opportunity to build a relationship with the staff, and that was great. I created a bond with just about everybody." McGrone is also confident that Mich- igan will be able to hang on to the cov- eted Hinton. As a five-star prospect and the No. 1 strongside defensive end in the country, the Georgia native could be a tough hold for the Wolverines, but McGrone likes U-M's chances. "I feel like Chris is a for sure lock," McGrone said. Harrison, Johnson and Hill made up a very coveted part of the visit- ing group, but a handful of potential targets were also on hand. Boulder (Colo.) Parkview sopho- more pro-style quarterback Aidan At- kinson made his way to Ann Arbor for the day. The 6-3, 200-pounder already holds offers from Akron, Boise State, Nevada and Ole Miss, and is obviously on Michigan's radar now as well. Hailing from the same high school as Michigan freshman offensive lineman James Hudson, Toledo (Ohio) Central Catholic three-star wide receiver Jase MICHIGAN RECRUITING Wolverines Hold Elite Junior Day 2019 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Stephen Herron DE 6-4 225 Louisville, Ky. (Trinity) Christopher Hinton DE 6-5 265 Norcross, Ga. (Greater Atlanta Christian) Trente Jones OL 6-5 293 Loganville, Ga. (Grayson) Cade McNamara QB 6-1 170 Reno, Nev. (Damonte Ranch) Nolan Rumler OL 6-4 300 Akron, Ohio (Hoban) Charles Thomas LB 6-0 216 Fairburn, Ga. (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy Orange five-star Zach Harrison, the country's No. 2 strongside defensive end and No. 15 overall player according to Rivals.com, visited Michigan for its junior day March 17. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN