The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/262939
lenges to that pledge — including a seed of doubt planted by Michigan's 7-6 season and a nation full of nega- tive recruiters poised to try and take full advantage of it. In the end, Peppers stayed com- mitted, and his signed letter of intent rolled across Michigan's fax machine at precisely 8 a.m. on Feb. 5, eliciting celebration and maybe a sigh of relief or two at Schembechler Hall. With- out question, he's a special talent. Asked about keeping him in the fold, Hoke repeated a mantra that began shortly after Michigan's loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. The bottom line needs to improve, and quickly. "Going 7-6 isn't good enough here," Hoke said. "We know that. We've got to become better. But if you look at the class, they've stayed together the whole time." The class goes well beyond Pep- pers, although he's drawn by far the brightest spotlight. The 16 players in it were drawn from nine states, and included a number of performers figuring to bolster Michigan's depth and talent. Wilton Speight, the 6-6, 243-pound quarterback out of Richmond, Va., looks like the classic Michigan drop- back passers of the 1990s and early 2000s. He threw for nearly 6,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons combined, and brings more than a strong arm to the mix. Speight became a major recruiter for this class and someone deter- mined to keep it together, much like freshman signal-caller Shane Morris did for the previous class. Speight's presence also means the Wolverines 2014 Michigan Football Signees Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Ian Bunting TE 6-7 223 Hinsdale, Ill. (Hinsdale Central) Juwann Bushell-Beatty OT 6-5 295 Paramus, N.J. (Paramus Catholic) Freddy Canteen* WR 6-1 170 Elkton, Md. (Eastern Christian Acad.) Mason Cole* OT 6-5 284 Tarpon Springs, Fla. (East Lake) Michael Ferns* LB 6-3 235 St. Clairsville, Ohio (St. Clairsville) Noah Furbush LB 6-4 229 Kenton, Ohio (Kenton) Drake Harris* WR 6-4 170 Grand Rapids, Mich. (Grand Rapids Christian) Lawrence Marshall DE 6-4 230 Southfield, Mich. (Southfield) Bryan Mone* DT 6-4 328 Salt Lake City (Highland) Brady Pallante DT 6-1 255 Naples, Fla. (Barron Collier) Jabrill Peppers DB 6-1 210 Paramus, N.J. (Paramus Catholic) Wilton Speight* QB 6-6 243 Richmond, Va. (The Collegiate School) Jared Wangler LB 6-2 215 Warren, Mich. (De La Salle) Brandon Watson* DB 5-11 185 Elkton, Md. (Eastern Christian Acad. Maurice Ways WR 6-3 192 Beverly Hills, Mich. (Detroit Country Day) Chase Winovich LB 6-3 216 Clairton, Pa. (Thomas Jefferson) * Enrolled at Michigan in January