The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 171 MIDWEST TOP 25 ers. He is rated as a four-star prospect, the No. 4 player in Ohio and the No. 111 overall recruit in the nation. A one-time Michigan State commit, Scates seemed wide open at the beginning of June with offers on the table from over a dozen schools, but he doesn't seem to have any of the blue bloods outside of Alabama and LSU. Ohio State, the in-state power, has not offered. 10. Marquan McCall, OG Oak Park (Mich.) High School McCall is an extremely stout lineman at 6-3 and 323 pounds. He is al- most certainly a guard at the next level, and he is rated No. 4 at that position in the 2018 class. When he hits a college weight room and burns off some bad weight, he could really turn into a beast on the line. He also is listed as a four-star prospect, the No. 2 player in Michigan and the No. 115 overall player in the nation. He surprised some by committing to Kentucky, but both Michigan and Michigan State appeared to have cooled on him de- spite his potential and lofty rankings. Penn State, TCU and Wisconsin were also among schools that offered. 11. Trenton Gillison, TE Pickerington (Ohio) Central Gillison is a solid, all-around tight end at 6-5 and 220 pounds. He has the speed to get by lineback- ers and enough size to be a problem for defensive backs. He's also quite good after the catch for a big kid. He is rated as a four-star talent, the No. 6 player in Ohio, and the No. 4 tight end and No. 122 overall prospect in the country. Gillison is viewed as a strong early get by Michigan State, but with prob- lems swirling in East Lansing he could opt to head elsewhere. 12. Luke Ford, TE Carterville (Ill.) High School Measuring in at a massive 6-7 and 247 pounds, Ford is a huge tight end for a junior in high school. The No. 5 tight end in the country obviously has the size to be a solid blocker and exhibits outstanding ath- leticism for a young man his size. He's also known for having very soft but strong hands, and he rarely lets smaller players keep him from getting to his spot and making the catch. Ford committed to Arkansas in mid-March and does not appear to be wavering from that. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU and Oklahoma, among many others, also offered the big tight end, but Bret Bielema and Ar- kansas won out. 13. Emil Ekiyor, OG Indianapolis Cathedral At 6-4 and 339 pounds, Ekiyor is a mauler, but he's also ex- tremely athletic and light on his feet. Despite being very thickly built, Ekiyor has long arms and legs and re- ally moves well in space. He excels at run blocking, but can protect on passing plays as well. He's even worked in some center play during his time at Cathedral. Ekiyor is rated as a four-star recruit, the No. 1 player in Indiana and the No. 145 overall prospect in the country. He has been committed to Michigan for more than a year. Alabama is pushing hard, but a late-May trip to Cathedral by offensive line coach Tim Drevno seems to have solidified Ekiyor's stance with U-M. 14. Julius Brents, CB Indianapolis Warren Central Brents has a very long build at 6-2 and 179 pounds, giving him the appearance of a wide receiver on the defensive side of the ball. Even though he has that great size, he moves very flu- idly when defending against passes. He is pretty thin and will have to bulk up just a bit to be more ef- fective against the run. Brents — a four-star recruit, the No. 2 player in Indiana and the No. 157 overall prospect nationally — is open in his recruit- ment, but has singled out Cincinnati, In- diana, Iowa, Louisville and Vanderbilt as schools he's looking at. Michigan has not offered and doesn't appear to be part of his interests. 15. Micah Jones, WR Gurnee (Ill.) Warren Township The 6-5, 205-pound Jones is as impressive physically as they come at wide receiver in high school. That frame allows him to bully smaller defenders and also enables him to go up and over just about anyone for jump balls. He is also quite athletic and fluid for being a bigger receiver, and is a problem for defenses after catching the ball. Listed as the No. 2 player in Illinois and No. 170 overall prospect nationally, Jones has been committed to Notre Dame since mid-February and does not appear to be wavering in the least. 16. Devin O'Rourke, DE Frankfort (Ill.) Lincoln Way East The 6-6, 230-pound O'Rourke has some natural pass-rushing abili- ties and also plays the run well. He doesn't weigh that much yet, but has the frame that could easily support an- other 40-plus pounds. He is listed as a four-star recruit, the No. 3 player in Illinois and the No. 191 overall prospect nationally. O'Rourke is committed to Northwest- ern and hasn't shown any signs of looking around. He is the Wildcats' highest-rated Chicago area commitment since running back Justin Jackson, quarterback Clayton Thorson and safety Parrker Westphal all signed with the Wildcats in 2014. 17. Mario Goodrich, ATH Lee's Summit (Mo.) West Nebraska sees Goodrich as a cornerback and he has excellent size for the position at 6-2 and 180 pounds. He also has pre- mium length and also pos- sesses big-time ball skills as a multi-position star in high school. He is rated as a four- star prospect, the No. 4 player in Missouri and No. 220 overall talent in the nation. Goodrich committed to the Cornhuskers in late May, spurning schools like Michigan, Ole Miss, Missouri and Oklahoma, among others. 18. Antwan Reed, OT Muskegon (Mich.) High School At 6-5 and 334 pounds, Reed needs to lose some bad weight and reshape his body a bit, but he has top-level length and a good body type for the position. After a short-lived move to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Reed is back in Muskegon for his senior year. Reed is rated as a four-star talent, the No. 3 player in Michigan and the No. 222 overall prospect in the nation. He has been committed to Penn State since late April and doesn't appear to be wavering from a future in Happy Valley. 19. Markese Stepp, RB Indianapolis Cathedral Stepp looks more and more college ready