In the past few days,
Michigan recruiting has
continued its rampage
on the recruiting trail
and added another four
elite talents to its 2019
and
2020
recruiting
classes.
It all began on July 1st
with the commitment
from four-star running
back Eric Gray — the
nation’s top-ranked all-
purpose back. Picking
Michigan over Alabama,
Penn State, Texas A&M
and others, Gray looks to
become a lethal weapon
in Wolverine coach Jim
Harbaugh’s
traditional
offense.
The
Memphis,
Tenn.
native
was
smitten
with
Michigan
after
his official visit. When
he was in Ann Arbor,
Gray got to stay with
quarterback
Shea
Patterson and met with
current running backs
senior
Karan
Higdon
and junior Chris Evans.
But what really put Gray
over the top was the
encouraging words from
Harbaugh himself.
“You’re talking to coach
Harbaugh
and
he’s
telling you how good
you are,” Gray told The
Michigan Insider. “He’s
been on a championship
team. He’s been to the
Super Bowl. And for
him, having been to the
Super
Bowl,
coached
at the 49ers, to tell me
how good I was — that I
can come in and make a
big impact — it blew my
mind to say that.”
After
Gray’s
surefire
commitment, the next
two dominoes to fall
were three-star strong-
side defensive end David
Ajabo
and
four-star
defensive tackle Denver
Warren.
Ajabo
adds
to a fast-growing and
heavy-hitting 2019 class
while
the
Wolverine
faithful will have to
bide their time before
seeing Warren at the
Big House after his 2020
graduation date.
Born
in
Nigeria
and
raised
in
Scotland,
Ajabo has only played
football for one year—
but already is showing
elite
athleticism
that will make him a
versatile piece of any
defense.
Highlighting
that athleticism, Ajabo
posted
a
video
to
Twitter back in May
documenting a personal-
best 10.93-second 100-
yard dash attempt.
Announcing
his
commitment on Twitter,
Ajabo
expressed
how
grateful he was that
he ended up playing a
sport he knew little-to-
nothing
about.
Ajabo
came to America in hopes
of
playing
basketball,
but
his
physicality,
size and speed allowed
him to quickly excel at
football and now get his
own locker room in Ann
Arbor.
Becoming
the
third
commit
in
the
2020
class, Warren is a beast
at defensive end and will
most certainly add to
the ethos of a dominant
Michigan defensive line.
At
6’3”,
300-pounds,
Warren
felt
very
confident
about
his
future after a mid-June
visit and immediately
placed the Wolverines
in a final group with
Cincinnati,
Illinois,
Minnesota
and
Penn
State.
While
already
tagged
with
a
four-
star rating, Warren has
nowhere to go but up.
The big man will look to
build his toolset in his
upcoming junior season.
Warren’s
commitment
marked
Michigan’s
second four-star recruit
in two days and a bold
statement
from
the
recruiting staff.
Rounding out the week
was
three-star
safety
Quinten Johnson.
Johnson’s commitment
came
as
no
surprise
to the Wolverines, as
Johnson’s
place
with
Michigan was all but
locked
up
after
his
mid-June
visit.
After
his
commitment,
the
Washington D.C.-native
was enthusiastic about
his
future
with
the
Wolverines.
“The thing that attracted
me to Michigan is the
university’s
prestige
both on and off the
field,”
Johnson
told
The Michigan Insider.
“It’s
truly
the
best
university to get both
big-time academics and
athletics. The plan put
in place both on and off
the field sets me up for
the rest of the life and
I was able to make a lot
of connections with a
lot of people while I was
there.”
As pundits analyze his
game, Johnson was quick
to draw comparisons to a
former Michigan legend
—
Cleveland
Browns
safety Jabrill Peppers.
“The
player
that
I
was compared to the
entire trip was Jabrill
Peppers,” Johnson said.
“They want me to play
the same as him in the
Viper position, mainly
on defense and punt
return, with minimum
of
offense
and
also
earning playing time as
a freshman.”
With
Johnson’s
commitment,
the
Wolverines’
2019
recruiting class ranked
jumped to third in the
nation and first in the
Big Ten — sitting only
behind
Alabama
and
Texas A&M.
Needless
to
say,
if
Michigan
continues
its
intensity
on
the
recruiting
trail,
its
talent-base will continue
to grow and with it even
larger expectations.
12
Thursday, July 5, 2018
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Recruiting Update: Michigan
adds four prospects to classes
FOOTBALL
JACOB KOPNICK
Managing Sports Editor
Shea Patterson signs with Rangers
Michigan
football
quarterback Shea Patterson
signed a contract with the
Texas Rangers as reported
by the Dallas Morning
News on Tuesday.
Not to worry, Wolverines
fans, as the contract is set
for 2019 after this upcoming
football season. Patterson
participated fully in spring
practices and will compete
with redshirt sophomore
Brandon Peters, redshirt
freshman Dylan McCaffrey
and freshman Joe Milton.
NCAA rules allow players
to become professional in
one sport while retaining
their collegiate eligibility
in another. Many have
taken advantage of this
permission,
including
to
ensure a position on a major
league roster regardless of
the sport.
Patterson
hasn’t
played
competitive
baseball
in nearly three years —
since his junior season of
high school for Calvary
Baptist
Academy.
After
he
transferred
to
IMG
Academy for his senior
season, he did not play, as he
became an early enrollee at
Ole Miss.
Still, the Rangers sought to
add the former-high school
third baseman to their farm
system when they drafted
him in the 39th round in the
MLB Draft last month.
It isn’t entirely uncommon
for a quarterback to be
drafted
to
the
Major
Leagues.
For
instance,
Michigan legend Tom Brady
was drafted by the now-
defunct Montreal Expos in
the 1995 MLB draft despite
not playing baseball in
college.
This year, the Oakland
Athletics drafted Oklahoma
quarterback Kyler Murray
with the ninth overall pick
in the draft. Murray intends
to play one final season
of college football for the
Sooners before reporting for
Spring Training in March
2019.
Unlike
Patterson
though,
Murray
played
two seasons of baseball in
college for Texas A&M. In
2017 as a left fielder, Murray
struggled, hitting just .122
in 27 games. However, this
season,
Murray
played
center field and hit .296 with
10 home runs and 47 RBI.
Before
transferring
to
Michigan, Patterson arrived
in Oxford, Miss. as a much-
heralded recruit for the
Rebels. 247sports ranked
him as the top quarterback
in his class — the very
same class as Wolverine
teammate Peters — and the
fourth-best player overall.
For Ole Miss, Patterson
played 10 games in two
season, passing for 3139
yards and 23 touchdowns.
Last year, before suffering
a right knee injury against
Louisiana
State
in
his
seventh game of the season,
Patterson threw for 2,259
yards and 17 touchdowns
with a passer rating of
151.5. Michigan’s combined
quarterback trio of John
O’Korn,
Wilton
Speight
and Peters combined for a
mere 2,226 touchdowns, a
paltry nine touchdowns and
a meager 110.3 passer rating
in 13 games.
Patterson
will
look
to
improve on the Wolverine
quarterbacks’
lackluster
season
Sept.
1
when
Michigan takes on Notre
Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Come
February
though,
Patterson could consider
forgoing
his
final
year
of
eligibility
for
the
Wolverines and pursue a
baseball career.
PHOTO COURTESY OF @UMICHFOOTBALL TWITTER
Junior quarterback Shea Patterson signed a contract with the Texas Rangers on Tuesday
AVRAHAM SHOLKOFF
Daily Sports Writor
“Patterson
hasn’t played
competitive
baseball in
three years.”