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

