The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1123063
JUNE/JULY 2019 THE WOLVERINE 33 MICHIGAN RECRUITING a pledge in place from Phoenix Pin- nacle four-star pro-style quarterback JD Johnson and La Grange Park (Ill.) Nazareth Park pro-style quarterback J.J. McCarthy in the 2020 and 2021 classes, respectively. McDaniels' stops were more about furthering relationships and keeping the future Wolverines happy. McCar- thy in particular has really bonded well with McDaniels. "He really got to know me as a per- son and not just a football player," McCarthy said. "I built a great rela- tionship with Coach McDaniels, and that's what assisted me to making my decision." There's been some talk that San Antonio Christian four-star tight end Nick Patterson might be look- ing around a bit, so tight ends coach Sherrone Moore's visits were pretty important and potentially telling. Cincinnati Elder three-star tight end Joe Royer received one of those visits just two weeks after picking up an offer from the Wolverines. The 6-5, 220-pounder has 21 other offers, and Michigan is his biggest on paper. It'll be interesting to see how the tight end position shakes out with Patterson, Rivals.com's No. 211 over- all prospect, wavering. Royer is rising, but Windsor (Ontario) Holy Names four-star Theo Johnson remains at the top of the board. Moore didn't go north of the border to see Johnson, but the 6-5, 235-pounder will be in Ann Arbor twice over the next couple of months, giving him ample opportunities to continue bonding with the U-M coach. Johnson is the No. 5 tight end and No. 181 overall prospect in the country per Rivals.com. Shaun Nua is one of the newer faces on Michigan's coaching staff, and he's winning everyone over in a big way. The defensive line assistant has been killing it on the recruiting trail and seems to make a big impact on every- one he meets. Draper (Utah) Corner Canyon three-star strongside defen- sive end Van Fillinger is one of them. "I really like Coach Nua. I met him last year when he was still at Arizona State," he said. "You can tell he's very ambitious [and trying] to prove him- self." Fillinger might not be a huge prior- ity for U-M after it landed Port Huron (Mich.) Northern three-star defensive end Braiden McGregor — Nua was a huge factor in that recruitment — but the No. 2 player in Utah still views Nua as a great recruiter. Unlike Nua, safeties coach Chris Partridge is not new at Michigan. The New Jersey native was hired by Jim Harbaugh as a recruiting staffer in January 2015 and has earned a reputa- tion as an excellent recruiter. While he focuses on Georgia and New Jersey, Partridge has been work- ing hard on Highland Springs (Va.) High four-star safety Malcolm Greene, and that has the 5-10, 177-pounder wanting to check out Ann Arbor. "I just want to see how the vibe on campus is at Michigan, and I just want to know how their football pro- gram as a whole cooperates as a fam- ily," Greene said. Greene is Rivals.com's No. 18 safety in the country and does seem to be a pretty high priority for Partridge and the rest of the staff. Offensive line coach Ed Warinner has done a great job of stocking up on versatile, talented big boys up front. He hopes to land another one in Mars (Pa.) High four-star offensive tackle Michael Carmody. Warinner visited the 6-6, 280- pounder in early May and is defi- nitely making him feel like a priority. Notre Dame is likely Michigan's big- gest competition for Rivals.com's No. 35 offensive tackle in the country, and with older brother Robby playing bas- ketball for the Irish, it might be tough to prevent Michael from also ending up in South Bend. As an Ohio guy, cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich often deals with other Ohioans on the recruiting trail, and he did just that with Akron (Ohio) East three-star safety Bangally Kamara. The 6-2, 193-pounder used to be listed as an outside linebacker, which means he's pretty much built to play viper in Michigan's scheme. Even though that means Zordich wouldn't coach him at Michigan, Kamara still likes the veteran coach. "He's a great coach and a down- to-earth person," Kamara said. "He's just very easy to talk to." Kamara, the No. 34 player in Ohio per Rivals.com, likes U-M, Purdue, Penn State and Nebraska, and will probably end up at one of those four schools once he makes up his mind. ❑ Windsor (Ontario) Holy Names four- star Theo Johnson, Rivals.com's No. 181 pros- pect in the rising-senior class, plans to visit Michigan twice this summer. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2020 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Nikhai Hill-Green LB 6-2 225 Baltimore (St. Frances) JD Johnson QB 6-4 187 Phoenix (Pinnacle) Micah Mazzccua OT 6-5 330 Baltimore (St. Frances) Braiden McGregor DE 6-6 250 Port Huron, Mich. (Northern) Nick Patterson TE 6-3 215 San Antonio (San Antonio Christian) Osman Savage LB 6-2 220 Baltimore (St. Frances) Andre Seldon DB 5-9 154 Belleville, Mich. (Belleville) Cornell Wheeler LB 6-0 229 West Bloomfield, Mich. (West Bloomfield) Zak Zinter OT 6-6 300 Cambridge, Mass. (Buckingham Browne & Nichols) 2021 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Giovanni El-Hadi OT 6-6 285 Sterling Heights, Mich. (Stevenson) J.J. McCarthy QB 6-2 180 La Grange Park, Ill. (Nazareth Academy) On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com.