Thursday, August 3, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
10
ZOEY HOLMSTROM/Daily
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh led his team’s recruiting efforts at its annual ‘BBQ at the Big House’ event, helping to earn commitments from four-star offensive guard Nolan Rumler and five-star end Stephen Herron Jr.
Harbaugh, Michigan add two commitments with BBQ event
On
Monday,
four-star
linebacker
Cameron
McGrone
announced his commitment to
the Michigan football program,
becoming the 12th member of the
Wolverines’ 2018 recruiting class.
But while many recruits in
that cycle have yet to made their
decisions, Michigan coach Jim
Harbaugh
is
already
making
significant
progress
for
the
following year.
Harbaugh
received
verbal
commitments
from
offensive
tackle
Nolan
Rumler
and
defensive end Stephen Herron
Jr., who became the second and
third members of the now ninth-
ranked 2019 group, according to
247Sports composite rankings.
Four-star
Florida
linebacker
Charles
Thomas
announced
his attentions to play for the
Wolverines in June.
Herron — a five-star recruit
from Louisville, Kent. — is the
biggest win of the past week.
Ranked
34th
nationally
and
fourth among defensive ends,
he chose Michigan over the
likes of Ohio State, Alabama and
Tennessee.
“He’s a great pickup,” said
Steve Lorenz of 247Sports. “He’s
what made the BBQ Weekend
successful because the other
two were foregone conclusions
heading
into
the
weekend.
That’s a big win from a national
perception in recruiting, too.”
Herron is an athletic defender
with a quick first step that allows
him to best offensive tackles
off the snap. Though functional
strength is something that he’ll
will
have
to
improve
upon,
Lorenz said Herron is capable of
delivering devastating hits.
At 6’3” and 225 pounds, Herron
is somewhere between college
defensive ends and weakside
linebackers in size, but that
could work to his advantage
in defensive coordinator Don
Brown’s versatile schemes. For
example, sophomore Carlo Kemp
trained at both positions last
season and Harbaugh mentioned
that freshmen Kwitty Paye and
Luiji Vilain could do the same
during Big Ten Media Days.
“This is a staff that believes in
what they teach and what they
coach,” Lorenz said. “So you’ll see
them take guys that I call ‘better
pieces of Play Doh.’ They’re not
molded yet, they’re not formed
yet.
But
when
they’re
fully
formed, their ceilings are higher
than anybody.”
Unlike Herron, Rumler — an
Akron, Ohio native — has long
leaned
the
Wolverines’
way;
both his dad and grandfather are
Michigan alumnus. But Rumler’s
choice is still an important one
for Harbaugh, who has struggled
to land recruits from Ohio.
The decision is an important
one, as it marks the Wolverines’
sixth
commitment
since
at
offensive tackle — a position with
no clear answers for the future —
since 2017.
Rumler will look to contribute
with
quick
feet,
aggressive
hands and technical skills in run
blocking and pass protecting.
Though he’s already quite strong,
Rumler does struggle against
heavier defense ends. According
to scouting reports, however,
two more years of growth in high
school should mitigate those
issues.
Rumler and Herron are just
the beginning of what could be
Harbaugh’s best recruiting class
at Michigan — a product of a
program-high 11 players selected
in the 2017 NFL Draft.
“That is the year where their
pro prospects really pay off,”
Lorenz said. “That’s about as
big of a recruiting pull now as
winning a Big Ten Championship,
in my opinion. These kids want
to win a championship or they
want the best chance to go to the
NFL. Michigan is able to refine
that (NFL) message more with
the kids they’re just starting to
recruit.”
Harbaugh hopes that message
will resonate with other 2019
class targets. Five stars running
back
Quavaris
Crouch
and
receiver Kyle Ford both visited
Ann Arbor last weekend and were
impressed by the Wolverines’
presentation, per Lorenz.
Crouch, who rushed for 1,224
yards and 17 touchdowns last
year, is the class’s top-ranked
rusher and has priority for the
Wolverines his entire high school
career.
That
No.
1
running
back
distinction might cause Michigan
fans’ eyes to roll. Najee Harris —
2017’s top recruit — nearly signed
with the Wolverines last year but
ultimately stuck with his original
choice of Alabama after a long
recruiting saga.
But last weekend, Harbaugh
“rolled out the red carpet” to
ensure Crouch’s interest.
“All you can do this early with
a kid like that is set yourself up to
be a contender in the long term,”
Lorenz said. “I think they did
that and maybe a little bit more.”
Michigan hasn’t had a running
back rush for more than 1,000
yards since Fitzgerald Toussaint
did so in 2011. If Crouch commits
to the Wolverines, he could be
the dynamic rusher Harbaugh
has missed during his Michigan
tenure.
“It’d be a massive pull,” Lorenz
said. “Running back is the one
position where they haven’t really
hit that home run yet. Of any
guy who visited, I’d say they’re
happiest with the progress they
made (with Crouch).”
MARK CALCAGNO
Daily Sports Writer