The Wolverine

March 2017 Recruiting Issue

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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52 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2017 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY CHRIS BALAS S u g a rc re e k ( O h i o ) G a r a w a y offensive tackle Joel Honigford didn't enter high school realizing he'd be a high-level Division I recruit — he did, however, know that if it did come to fruition, Ohio State would be his first choice. That hadn't changed when he first started getting recruiting letters in the mail. When he received one from former U-M head coach Brady Hoke and his staff during his freshman year, he barely gave it a second thought. "After that, the interest fell off after Coach Hoke's staff left," Honigford recalled. "Then I heard from Michigan again my junior year, the summer headed into my senior year, and it became kind of like a joke at first in our family … 'We know you're not going to Michigan.'" But then the Wolverines and head coach Jim Harbaugh offered. When childhood favorite OSU didn't, facing a numbers crunch, Honigford decided, 'Why not see what the Wolverines have to offer?' "It was always an idea. I'd heard a lot of good things about them," he said. "So I said, 'I'll take a visit.' Then when I first stepped on campus, I fell in love with it. Talking to all the coaches, Coach Harbaugh, was something I really enjoyed." He pledged in late June 2016 and hasn't looked back. The reaction in Sugarcreek's small community has been mixed, as expected — most very supportive, with some Buckeyes fans giving him a hard time — but he has no regrets, even as the son of former OSU basketball player Jim Honigford (1983-86). Honigford found something he liked about each of his remaining four finalists during his visits. Auburn was football crazy, he said, while Oregon's facilities were "second to none." Michigan State had a family-type atmosphere similar in some ways to U-M's, and several other schools fit the bill on the football field. Only one, though, had the total package. "The school in general had everything you would want in a school," he said. "There were components to other schools I really liked, but they might not have had some of the other things I was looking for. Michigan was the only school I really looked at that had everything. The academics are unbelievable here, the facilities are really nice, the new Jordan Brand gear is awesome. "When I was up there, I also took a visit to the engineering school because I'm looking at going into mechanical engineering. I really liked the professors and everything about the department." Though Michigan coaches like him at his current size (6-6, 273 pounds), Honigford plans to arrive in Ann Arbor this June around 285. It won't be bad weight, the Rivals.com three-star prospect and No. 49 offensive tackle nationally insisted, noting his activity on the basketball court — where he averages eight points and 10 rebounds per game for the Sugarcreek varsity — has been great cardio work. The Big Ten, however, is comprised of big, unforgiving linemen, and added strength will be a must. "When I do get in the weight room, which is every day we don't have a basketball game, I lift around four, five days a week," Honigford said. "I'm in the best shape I've ever been in right now. I've been hitting the weight room hard, trying to maintain my strength through basketball season and getting stronger, which is something I've really wanted to do." The Wolverines and others recruited him more for his long-term potential, Rivals.com Midwest recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt noted, and it could take the first-team Associated Press All-Ohio Division V selection a year or more before he's ready to contribute. At the same time, his film shows a player who plays to the whistle and doesn't take plays off. He's quick off the ball, is nasty enough to want to finish every block with a pancake and can pull with the best of them. "Coach Harbaugh said he liked my athleticism and my frame," Honigford said. "I'm not a big, thick guy they're going to have to cut weight off. "I'm a guy coming in they'll be able to add good weight on to. But he said he really liked my footwork." Former Michigan Bo Schembechler made a career off poaching talent out of the Buckeye State, including many that rival Woody Hayes didn't offer. Had Ohio State had more room, Honigford's story might have turned out differently. It's also possible it wouldn't have. "I know a lot of people think I picked Michigan to get back at [OSU], but I picked Michigan because it was best for me," he said. "Michigan was not a backup plan. I would have picked Michigan even if Ohio State offered … it was the only school that gave me that feeling you can't really put your finger on, but you know it's the place to be." Soon he'll be facing his former favorite on the field, a moment he can't wait to experience. ❏ Border Buster Joel Honigford Is A Buckeye No More Honigford has a pair of brothers who are college athletes — one brother played basketball at Ashland University while the other is a linebacker at Mount Union. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM

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