The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/716367
SEPTEMBER 2016 THE WOLVERINE 67 PREP PROFILES The Wolverines brought in four re‑ ceivers in the 2016 class — excluding a fifth signee, Brad Hawkins, who did not enroll. In the 2017 class, they won't have to sign as many, and the quality of the receivers being targeted is the best of any recent class for U‑M. Two five‑star prospects — Detroit Cass Tech's Donovan Peoples‑Jones and Pinson (Ala.) Clay's Nico Col‑ lins — were still strongly considering the Wolverines through mid‑August. Tarik Black is a four‑star talent that the Wolverines are hopeful to make part of this year's class. Black moves extremely well for his 6‑3, 201‑pound frame and displays good hands. Rivals.com recruiting an‑ alyst Rob Cassidy was a fan of Black's performance at the Rivals Five‑Star Challenge in Atlanta this June. "Black was the second‑most con‑ sistent wide receiver at the event and managed to shine in both the morn‑ ing and the evening sessions," Cas‑ sidy said. "Black's length allowed him to grab a couple of overthrown balls and his crisp routes allowed him to create gobs of separation on intermediate routes. "There were faster wide receivers at the camp, but few were as consis‑ tent downfield." His level of competition in Con‑ necticut played an impact in why he was left out of the Rivals100, but after a great performance at the Five‑ Star Challenge he may be bound for that top‑100 list. Black visited Michigan for the BBQ at The Big House and may have made its biggest impact at the event. "Michigan is definitely near the top of my top group of schools," Black said. "I have a great relation‑ ship with the staff." Black's recruitment has shaped up to be a race between Alabama, Michi‑ gan and Notre Dame. His priority is academics, and that's where Michi‑ gan and Notre Dame stand out. As far as playing time, Black has a chance to be the top wide receiver recruited by Notre Dame, while he will likely take the backseat to a player or two for Alabama and ranks behind Peoples‑ Jones and Collins for the Wolverines. After the BBQ, which brought Black, Collins and Peoples‑Jones in the same spot for six hours, he looks to be more interested in Michigan than before. Nevertheless, it's hard to accept being the third receiver on the board when a program as good as Notre Dame is willing to make you its No. 1 target at the position. But according to Black, that's not a factor to him. "I'm not taking a backseat to anyone .. anywhere," Black said of commit‑ ting somewhere with wide receiver competition. Black will take his officials, then likely make his decision. — Brandon Justice Five‑star Darnay Holmes of Cala‑ basas (Calif.) High is Michigan's most sought after cornerback recruit in the 2017 class. Ranked No. 3 nationally at his position, Holmes would bring a serious impact to the ranking of the Wolverines' 2017 class. On the field, Holmes fits right into the Maize and Blue's focus on man coverage on defense. Members of the Wolverines' 2016 class, freshmen Da‑ vid Long and Kekoa Crawford, have been actively recruiting Holmes for quite some time. All three are from California, and Holmes, Long and Crawford have developed a great relationship. That has had a big im‑ pact on Holmes' interest in Michigan thus far. "It's definitely in consideration; we've been talking about it," Holmes said of his conversations about play‑ ing at Michigan with Crawford and Long. "We talked about how danger‑ ous our secondary will be with David Long and others." Holmes made the trip from Cala‑ basas to Ann Arbor for the BBQ at The Big House Aug. 6. The visitor list included a plethora of four‑ and five‑ star prospects. Holmes said he en‑ joyed himself and confirmed he will be returning to The Big House for an official visit this fall. The relationship between Holmes and head coach Jim Harbaugh seems to be a great one. According to Holmes, Harbaugh told him some pretty interesting details in his recruit‑ ing pitch to him. "Jim Harbaugh is Jim Harbaugh … everyone knows about him and what's going on up there," he said. "Words from Harbaugh: 'I'm creating a monster up here, and I would love you to be a part of it.'" As for the Wolverines' chances to land the California five‑star, they're battling hometown school UCLA. The Bruins have an edge because their wide receivers coach Demetrice Mar‑ tin went to college with, lived with and became lifelong best friends with Holmes' father Darick. Holmes' interest in U‑M is strong, but they still are a close second behind UCLA. He has no timetable on his de‑ cision, and it could likely come shortly before National Signing Day Feb. 3. — Brandon Justice Connecticut Pass Catcher Could Be Part Of Large Receiver Haul California Corner Enjoys U-M Visit And Plans To Return ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Calabasas Calabasas, Calif. Class: 2017 Position: Cornerback Ht.: 5-11 • Wt.: 185 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 3 cornerback and No. 15 overall player nationally Darnay Holmes ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Cheshire Academy Cheshire, Conn. Class: 2017 Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 201 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 21 wide re- ceiver and No. 151 overall prospect in the country Tarik Black Holmes "Jim Harbaugh is Jim Har- baugh … everyone knows about him and what's going on up there. Words from Harbaugh: 'I'm creating a monster up here, and I would love you to be a part of it.'" Black "Michigan is definitely near the top of my top group of schools. I have a great rela- tionship with the staff."