Thursday
February 5, 2004
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Varsity fields
national top-
thiree class
By Daniel Bremmer
Daily Sports Editor
Every year, college football fans look towards
national Signing Day with high expectations for
their respective schools.
Yesterday, Michigan didn't disappoint its fans.
The Wolverines announced the signing of 22
recruits at a press conference yesterday morning at
Crisler Arena. The class has been ranked as highly
as third nationally.
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr will welcome a class
that includes athletes from 15 different states,
including six from Michigan.
"We always start with a base of 200 or 250
miles from here," Carr said "I think you have to be
strong in your home area. I think we've been able
to do that."
Headlining this year's class is quarterback Chad
Henne from Wyomissing, Pa. The 6-foot-3, 215
pounder is ranked as the No. 7 overall recruit nation-
ally by ESPN expert Tom Lemming.
Henne was pursued heavily by Penn State, but
Carr said that Michigan's tradition of producing suc-
cessful NFL quarterbacks - like recent Super Bowl
MVP Tom Brady - and academic reputation helped
win over the recruit.
"Offensively, those kids who play quarterback (at
Michigan) understand that they're going to get the
preparation necessary to help them succeed at the
next level - if that's something they want to do -
and have the ability to do," Carr said.
Michigan also signed receivers Adrian Arring-
ton (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Doug Dutch
(Bowie, Md). Both Dutch and Arrington played
in January's U.S. Army All-American game in
San Antonio.
Dutch, who runs a 4.3 second 40-yard dash, is
ranked No. 49 nationally by Lemming.
"(Dutch) can really run well," Carr said. "He
could play more than one position. When we looked
at him, we liked his toughness and we liked his
competitiveness."
Arrington - an all-state football player - is also

Carr can't recruit an end

to signing-day questions

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LAURA SHLECTER/Daily
Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr announced the signing of 22 recruits at a press conference yesterday. The
class featured six players from the state of Michigan.

considered one of the top basketball players in Iowa.
Carr said that the 6-foot-4, 180 pound recruit could
also play multiple positions at Michigan.
The Wolverines also signed Michael Hart, a 5-
foot-9, 185 pound running back from Syracuse, N.Y.
Despite his small stature, Carr believes that Hart can
develop into an impact player for the Wolverines
down the road.
"You can't assume that a guy who is 185 pounds
can't be a great back," Carr said. "I don't think there
is a mold at his position. People make a real mistake
when they think there is. You take a guy for what he
can do. Any time a guy has limitations, you do
things to take advantage of his strengths."
Michigan missed out on commitments from two
highly-touted Californians - defensive lineman
Eugene Germany and wide receiver Cameron
Colvin. Michigan was on both players' short lists.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, both recruits
signed with West Coast schools.
Germany announced at a press conference yester-
day afternoon at his high school in Pomona, Calif.,
that he'd be attending Southern Cal. next year.
Colvin, who was ranked as the No. 4 receiver by
Lemming, announced his decision, to attend Oregon

on ESPN's SportsCenter last night.
"It was a tough choice," Colvin said on Sports-
Center.
He indicated that he wanted to play with many of
his De La Salle high school teammates, who had
already signed with the Ducks.
Overall, Michigan signed 12 offensive players:
four linemen, three backs, three receivers, a tight
end and a quarterback. The Wolverines added five
linemen, two corners, two linebackers and a safety
on the other side of the ball.
HEAD OF TE (SIGNING) CLASS
Michigan announced the signing of 22 recruits yes-
terday, giving it the No.3 recruiting class in the
nation, according to ESPN's Tom Lemming. Here's a
look at Lemming's top 10.
1. Southern Cal 6. Oklahoma
2. LSI 7. Florida State
3. Michigan 8. Texas A&M
4. Ohio State 9. Texas
5. Miami (Fl.) 10. Tennessee

JIM WEBER
The Realest
ronically, the first words out of
Lloyd Carr's mouth were, "The
is over." Little did he
know, it had just begun. It was 11:15 in
the morning, and it felt like a lecture,
but worse. There were only about 25
people in the room, eliminating the
opportunity to take a nap, and my
recorder was at the podium with Coach
Carr, eliminating the chance for an
early getaway.
You have to give him credit for trying
to get out of there early - his opening
statement only took about a minute. The
reporters weren't in as big a hurry,
though, keeping Carr and myself there
for over an hour. And Coach Carr defi-
nitely had it worse: At least I didn't have
to answer pointless questions.
This isn't your average column of,
"You never know which recruits are
going to turn out to be good players,
blah, blah, blah" or, "Recruiting these
days has become so corrupted, blah,
blah, blah."
No. These are Carr's comments that I
failed to repress from my memory, fol-
lowed by my inner monologue in italics
(in no particular order, except for the
last quote):
" ... I want to say this: Jim Boccher
really did a great job recruiting (quar-
terback Chad) Henne and (running
back) Michael Hart, his work there was
instrumental in getting those two kids to
come to Michigan... "
Jim Boccher - the former special
teams coach? That Jim Boccher? I

guess Henne and Hart didn't see the
Iowa game..."
"... Well, (offensive tackle Alan)
Branch has great athletic ability. I saw a
play where he was in the backfield and*-
ran 55 yards for a touchdown, and in
one play, you can see a guy that pos-
sesses wonderful athletic ability ... "
Idon't care how athletic the kid is or
what position he plays, how does a 6-
foot-6, 315-pounder score a 55-yard
touchdown? What is the competition like,
in Albuquerque, New Mexico? Was he
being tackled by a team full ofMini Mes
" ... (Running back) Max Martin
grew up in Chicago. So, in getting to
talk with him, he is one of those kids
that grew up as a Michigan fan... "
Are these reporters going to ask
about every recruit on the list? I wonder
f Carr would think it'funny ifIsay:
"Tom Lemming has Martin ranked as
the 73rd overall recruit - do you think
he got screwed out of the 72nd slot?"
"... I don't know of anyone that
receives an inordinate amount of pub-
licity and buildup that - anyone that
deals with those kinds of things is going
to have to handle it. And it's a very dif-
ficult thing to do at that age. It's very
easy to believe that 'The rules apply to
everyone else but me' and 'I'm great.'
And of course, as those of us that are
mature and understand those things, we
know that complacency and arrogance
will destroy you. It will certainly make
it much more difficult for you... "
Who brought up Kelly Baraka?
" ... (Wide receiver) Adrian Arring-
ton out of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is a big-
ger guy ... "
I like it -stealing recruits away
from Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. But wait,
two of Iowas best players last year
were 5-foot-8 (Fred Russell and Bob
Sanders) and we still lost. Someone find
a Mini Me that Branch played against.
" ... I think (Chad) Henne has a
See WEBER, page :1-

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POLITICIANS ARE ATTACKING
YOUR RIGHT TO CHOOSE!
Join us as we discuss the current threats to
choice and how it relates to you - the future of
the pro-choice movement.

Who:

Kate Michelman, President,
NARAL Pro-Choice America;
Alma Wheeler Smith, former
state senator
Dr. Laszlo Sogor, OB/GYN
& Chief of Cleveland Planned
Parenthood

What: "Losing our Choice:

The Bush

Administration and Reproductive
Rights"

When: Thursday, February 5, 7:30pm
Where: 100 Hutchins Hall (Law School)