The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1298950
46 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2020 MICHIGAN RECRUITING After the Big Ten reinstated fall foot- ball, Worthy was elated for his future teammates. "That's huge," he said. "I know some of the players there, and they are really looking forward to the sea- son. They want to be able to have film and prepare for the draft, so that's exciting for them. "I think they should do pretty good. They just named Joe Milton as the starter, and I think that should be a good fit. The dude has a cannon." The 6-1, 160-pound Worthy had a big junior season, recording 54 re- ceptions for 992 yards and 16 touch- downs, and blew up on the recruit- ing trail this offseason, going from an unranked three-star recruit to the No. 10 wide receiver and No. 57 overall prospect in the land per Rivals.com. COACH'S TAKE: TYLER MARTIN Michigan recently scored a com- mitment from 2022 Rivals250 Cam- bridge (Mass.) Buckingham Browne & Nichols (BB&N) linebacker Ty- ler Martin. Head coach Mike Wiley broke down Martin as a player and person below. On his overall thoughts on Mar- tin: "Tyler is an outstanding football player. He's a gifted, talented athlete that has worked tremendously hard. He's been with our program since he was in the eighth grade. He's becom- ing a tremendous leader. "He embodies everything that we want in a Knight football player. Beyond just the great talent and all those things, it's about who he is — that's what means the most to our football program." On Martin's biggest strengths: "He's a big, strong kid. He has been that since he was an eighth grader playing for us. He's instinctive. He loves football. He knows football. We ask him to do many things, and he's capable of doing them all. "He's a football player 's type of football player, if that makes sense." On what Martin needs to keep improving on: "The college game is bigger, faster and more physical. He needs to do what every kid that's trying to make the jump from high school to college football needs to do, which is get bigger, faster and stronger; continue to develop in the weight room; continue to develop his skills — agility, quickness and all those things. "He just needs to continue to prog- ress as he has been doing for the last four years." On how Martin will fit in at Mich- igan: "Obviously, [Michigan defen- sive coordinator] Don Brown is one of the best coaches in the country defensively. He likes to bring it and bring it from all sorts of angles. "He needs smart, versatile guys — that's what Tyler is. He's a smart, physical player that can be used in a lot of different ways. I think he'll fill it really well at Michigan. It's go- ing to be up to Coach Brown and that crew to figure out the best way to utilize him. He can do just about anything for us. It's really going to depend on what Coach Brown has drawn up in the lab." On an NFL comparison for Martin: "A [College Football Hall of Famer and three-time Super Bowl champion for the New England Patriots] Tedy Bruschi type. He's the glue guy in the middle for us. He does a great job not only with the leadership piece but also making plays. "That one pops to my mind pretty quick. I don't want to jinx him, but that would be a good comparison if you're talking about what he means to the program and what he's like as a player." ❑ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Martin's prep coach said the U-M junior line- backer pledge is "a smart, physical player that can be used in a lot of different ways." PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 2021 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Raheem Anderson OL 6-3 295 Detroit (Cass Tech) Andrel Anthony WR 6-2 175 East Lansing, Mich. (East Lansing) Kechaun Bennett DE 6-4 225 Suffield, Conn. (Suffield Academy) Tristan Bounds OT 6-8 280 Gaithersburg, Md. (Choate Rosemary Hall [Conn.]) Junior Colson LB 6-2 215 Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood) Greg Crippen OL 6-4 270 Bradenton, Fla. (IMG Academy) Cristian Dixon WR 6-2 185 Santa Ana, Calif. (Mater Dei) Tommy Doman K/P 6-3 178 Orchard Lake, Mich. (St. Mary's) Tavierre Dunlap RB 6-0 195 Del Valle, Texas (Del Valle) Giovanni El-Hadi OT 6-6 285 Sterling Heights, Mich. (Stevenson) Dominick Giudice DE 6-4 262 New Monmouth, N.J. (Mater Dei) TJ Guy DE 6-4 240 Mansfield, Mass. (Mansfield) Louis Hansen TE 6-5 225 Needham, Mass. (St. Sebastian's) Jaydon Hood ATH 6-1 212 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) Ja'Den McBurrows CB 5-10 175 Plantation, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) J.J. McCarthy QB 6-2 180 La Grange Park, Ill. (IMG Academy [Fla.]) Tyler McLaurin LB 6-3 215 Bolingbrook, Ill. (Bolingbrook) Rod Moore S 5-11 170 Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) Quintin Somerville DE 6-1 233 Scottsdale, Ariz. (Saguaro) Xavier Worthy WR 6-1 160 Fresno, Calif. (Central) 2022 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Marlin Klein TE 6-6 215 Rabun Gap, Ga. (Nacoochee) Tyler Martin LB 6-2 249 Cambridge. Mass. (Buckingham, Browne & Nichols) Alex VanSumeren DT 6-2 260 Essexville, Mich. (Garber)