The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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APRIL 2017 THE WOLVERINE 53 PREP PROFILES Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei four- star offensive tackle Tommy Brown is one of Michigan's top targets on the of- fensive line in the 2018 class and hap- pens to be the teammate of pro-style quarterback JT Daniels, Michigan's top quarterback target in the 2019 class. At 6-7 and 315 pounds, Brown is a large young man, and is a prior- ity type of player as Rivals' No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 109 overall prospect nationally. Brown had good things to say about Michigan when asked just before February flipped over on the calendar. "I'm very interested in Michigan," he said. "I talk with Coach [Tim] Drevno every now and then. We've talked multiple times, but I want to get to know him more and hopefully we will when I take a visit out there. "I think this summer my dad and I are going to take a visit." Being more than 2,200 miles away can make it tough for California pros- pects to glean much U-M awareness, but Brown does know a bit about it. He's obviously planning to visit, and hopes to learn more, but there's already a decent baseline built in his mind. "I know they have a great football history and Coach [Jim] Harbaugh is bringing them back to the power they once were," Brown said. "I've heard that The Big House is amazing, too." After an early March visit to UCLA, Brown plans to take some other trips throughout the spring. However, he is putting a bigger pri- ority on his football development than his recruitment. "I'm just trying to get better ev- ery day and focusing on the season to come," he said. "During spring break, I will be visiting Alabama and Auburn with JT." Michigan would love to land Brown in 2018 and Daniels, the No. 7 player in the rising junior class according to 247Sports, in 2019. They are obviously aware of each other's recruitment, but the conversations never really go there. "JT and I don't talk much about recruiting, but I think he likes Michi- gan," Brown said. "We just congratu- late each other then go on grinding." Mater Dei is a big-time program, and Harbaugh seems to be making some progress there. Bringing in prospects like Brown and/or Daniels would be huge for U-M's future on the field and on the trail in the West. — Brandon Brown Toledo (Ohio) St. John's four-star outside linebacker Dallas Gant really looks the part at 6-3 and 208 pounds, and that's one of the reasons he's reeled in more than 20 offers as of early March. The schools making a scholarship tender included Louisville, Michi- gan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, South Car- olina, UCLA and Wisconsin. The re- cent offer from U-M really got the rangy linebacker's attention. "I was excited to get an offer from Michigan," said Gant, a third-team Division II all-state pick as a junior. "They are a fast-rising program with great coaches, and I am very appre- ciative that they want me to be part of what they are trying to make." As a native Ohioan with an Ohio State offer, Gant is viewed as an au- tomatic Buckeye lean, but the No. 15 outside linebacker in the 2018 class said that that's not necessarily the case. "My dad is actually a Michigan fan," Gant said with a laugh. "He likes the way they play, and he's been a fan for a long time. There are others in my family that are Buckeye fans, so I got a little bit of both in my childhood." The Michigan offer is newer than the others, but the Wolverines are already in the mix. "It's fair to say that Ohio State and Notre Dame are up there for me," Gant said. "There are quite a few schools I have great interest in, though. Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Wis- consin and UCLA, along with some of these other schools are all intriguing." Despite being less than 60 miles from Michigan Stadium, Gant admits to not knowing a lot about U-M. He plans and hopes to learn more when he comes to Ann Arbor. "They obviously have a great coach and a great program," he said. "I've also watched them a good amount, and I've also heard their academics are very good." With a lot of visits still to take Gant is nowhere near ready for a decision. He doesn't plan to wait forever, but he has a lot to do before he gets to that place in his mind. "I would like to make a decision before my senior year," he said. "I will try to visit all of the schools I can and even after making my decision I will probably use all of my official visits. "I am not sure to where yet." — Brandon Brown Big-Time California Lineman Is Drawn To Michigan Michigan Mixing It Up With Midwest Powers For Ohio Linebacker Gant "My dad is actually a Michigan fan. He likes the way they play, and he's been a fan for a long time." Brown on U-M "I'm very interested in Michigan. I talk with Coach [Tim] Drevno every now and then. We've talked multiple times, but I want to get to know him more and hopefully we will when I take a visit out there." ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Mater Dei Santa Ana, Calif. Class: 2018 Position: Offensive Tackle Ht.: 6-7 • Wt.: 315 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 10 offen- sive tackle and No. 109 overall player nationally Tommy Brown ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ St. John's Toledo, Ohio Class: 2018 Position: Outside Line- backer Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 208 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 15 outside linebacker in the country Dallas Gant