The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/774666
50 THE WOLVERINE FEBRUARY 2017 BY BRANDON BROWN A s of Jan. 15, Michigan had 27 commitments in the 2017 class — good for No. 5 in the nation behind Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia and Oklahoma — and 11 of them are al- ready in Ann Arbor as early enrollees. High school seniors arriving on campus while they should be set- tling in for their final semester of high school is becoming more and more common, and Michigan could really benefit from this year's crop. TARIK BLACK, WR — 6-3, 201 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Cheshire (Conn.) Academy On Dec. 13, Black became Michi- gan's first true wide receiver com- mit in the 2017 class. Landing Ri- vals.com's No. 11 wide receiver and No. 76 overall prospect in the coun- try was a big get for U-M. Black and Cheshire Academy fin- ished the season 8-2 and defeated Brunswick School 45-20 in the 2016 Wayne Sanborn Bowl to cap off the year. There are no true playoffs for the academies in the Northeast. Black finished the year with 40 catches for 703 yards and 11 touch- downs. He also had 150 yards and another score on the ground. His accomplishments on the field earned him a spot on USA Today's 2016 All-USA Connecticut Football Team as well as on the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council All-New England Class A squad. JA'RAYMOND HALL. OL — 6-5, 286 ✪ ✪ ✪ Oak Park (Mich.) High School Hall committed to Michigan in De- cember 2015, and while some schools kicked the tires a bit he stuck with U-M. He and his Knights of Oak Park finished the season 7-4 and lost in the second round of the Division II state playoffs to eventual state cham- pion Detroit Martin Luther King by a score of 34-7. Hall, the No. 17 player in Michi- gan, was a second-team all-state se- lection by USA Today and is one of MIPrepZone.com's top 50 players in Oakland County at No. 2. He's also a member of The Detroit News first- team all-state squad and Detroit Free Press All-Division 2 team. DONOVAN JETER, DT — 6-5, 255 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Beaver Falls (Pa.) High School After being committed to Notre Dame for about a month, Jeter de- cided to open his recruitment up just before taking his official visit to Michigan for the Illinois game where he committed to U-M. Jeter and Beaver Falls finished the season 12-1, defeating Middletown 30-13 to win the 3A state champion- ship in early December. He finished the season with 76 tackles, includ- ing 15 for loss and 10 sacks. He also added a fumble recovery and three passes broken up. Jeter, the nation's No. 13 defensive tackle, is No. 9 on PennLive.com's list of the top 17 2017 recruits from the state. He also was named a Class 3A all-state performer by the Pennsylva- nia Football Writers and was a first- team pick USA Today's 2016 All-USA Pennsylvania Football Team. JAYLEN KELLY-POWELL, DB — 6-0, 180 ✪ ✪ ✪ Detroit Cass Tech Viewed as a Michigan lean for much of his recruitment, Kelly-Pow- ell finally pulled the trigger Nov. 14 and joined the class. As one of the leaders on defense for Michigan high school powerhouse Cass Tech, Kelly-Powell helped di- rect his team to a perfect 14-0 season en route to the Division I state cham- pionship. The Technicians defeated Detroit Catholic Central 49-20 in the title game. Over the course of his senior sea- son, Kelly-Powell registered 61 tack- les, 25 passes broken up and three interceptions on defense, and also carried the ball 58 times for 647 yards (11.2 yards per carry) and eight touch- downs on offense. He also added 119 receiving yards and three TD catches. Kelly-Powell, the No. 8 player in Michigan, was selected to The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Teams, and was also tabbed as an Under Armour All-American. COREY MALONE-HATCHER, DE — 6-3, 246 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Saint Joseph (Mich.) High School Malone-Hatcher was also viewed as a Michigan lean for much of his recruitment, and he decided to join up with U-M June 1. Saint Joseph finished 6-4 in 2016 and was eliminated from the Division III playoffs in the first round with a 30-7 loss to Lakeshore. Malone- Hatcher stuffed the stat sheet all year long, finishing with 106 stops, 14 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He also forced a fumble, blocked a kick and broke up three passes from his defensive end/linebacker spot. On offense, he carried the ball four times for 12 yards and scored twice. Malone-Hatcher, the No. 7 player in Michigan, was picked for The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press All-State Dream Teams and was a Southwest- ern Michigan Athletic Conference All-West Division honoree. BEN MASON. LB — 6-3, 230 ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Sandy Hook (Conn.) Newtown Michigan was always Mason's big- gest offer, and he committed May 2 shortly after being offered. Mason and his 10-1 Nighthawks fell to Shelton in the opening round of the Class LL playoffs by a score of 55-21. Over the course of the year on defense, he recorded 63 tackles and three stops for loss. He also forced two fumbles and broke up a pass. He FOOTBALL RECRUITING Michigan Welcomes 11 Early Enrollees Tarik Black of Cheshire (Conn.) Academy is rated as the nation's No. 11 wide receiver and No. 76 overall player by Rivals.com. PHOTO BY BRANDON BROWN