The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/465847
2015 RECRUITING ISSUE West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West High is one of the Buckeye State's foremost producers of Division I foot- ball talent, with five seniors in the 2015 class alone headed to play at the next level. It's not often in that situation — with players headed to Cincinnati and Western Michigan — to see the lowest-rated of the bunch heading to the highest-profile pro- gram in Michigan. That's the case this year, though. Offensive lineman Nolan Ulizio will see three-star linemate George Asafo- Adjei suit up for Kentucky (as early as spring practice, since Asafo-Adjei is an early enrollee in Lexington), but the 6-5, 293-pound Rivals two-star himself will head the opposite direc- tion on I-75 from the Cincinnati sub- urbs to The Big House. That wasn't always the plan, though. Ulizio flew under the radar during his senior season — perhaps overshadowed by Asafo Adjei — and didn't pick up major college attention until after he thought the process was going to be behind him. "I'm real excited, honored and ex- cited to be a Wolverine," Ulizio said. "After I committed to UConn, a lot of other schools started to show in- terest and offer me. Pitt offered me, Kentucky offered me and Cincinnati offered me. "I was thinking about visiting one of those schools, but I wasn't sure. Michigan called me, though, and I decided that I had to go there." The visit proved fateful. When he set foot on Michigan's campus for his official visit Jan. 23, he had a strong idea that he was about to see his recruitment come to an end. By the time he left campus, he had told U-M coach Jim Harbaugh — and, through the magic of social media, the entire world —that he'd be don- ning a maize-and-blue uniform in the future. "I was real excited to let Coach Harbaugh know I'd be a Wolverine," Ulizio said. "What stood out about Nolan Ulizio Couldn't Pass On U-M Opportunity U l i z i o s e l e c t e d t h e Wo l v e r i n e s o v e r Cincinnati, Connecticut, Kentucky and Pittsburgh. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL