The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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58 THE WOLVERINE SEPTEMBER 2017 COMMITMENT PROFILE The media covering Michigan recruiting and fans of the Wol- verines alike were caught off guard when Hamden (Conn.) Hall three-star tight end Luke Schoonmaker committed to U-M July 25. The 6-6, 229-pounder tweeted out a video of him re- moving a Hamden Hall football shirt to reveal a Maize and Blue tee underneath, signaling his pledge. Most people didn't even know that the under-recruited and rel- atively unknown prospect from New England even held a ten- der from the Wolverines. Ham- den Hall head coach Joe Linta said that it wasn't by accident. "There was no recruiting ranking for him because we never broadcast him to any- body," Linta explained. "When he first started getting offers, I didn't call Rivals or ESPN. It was kind of funny, because college coaches would call and ask who'd all offered him, and I'd tell them not to worry about it — if you like him, that's all that matters. "He's under the radar from that standpoint, simply because he wasn't broadcasted. He's certainly in the top five at his position in the country, though." The Michigan staff knew about him. Jim Harbaugh and his crew dis- covered Schoonmaker during one of their satellite camps, and now he's a member of the class. The athletic ris- ing senior explained exactly how all of that happened so quietly. "After Michigan came and saw me and watched my film, I went to the satellite camp at Sacred Heart in Con- necticut," Schoonmaker explained. "I then made the visit to Ann Arbor and finally met Coach Harbaugh, where he stressed faith, family and football — in that order. Those three are re- ally important to me, so I loved what he was about. "[My family and I] had discussed everything during the second day of the trip, and that next day I really started to feel it. Then we got home that weekend and talked about it some more, and decided it would be the best opportunity for me." Schoonmaker reportedly ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash for the Michigan coaches at the Sa- cred Heart camp, which imme- diately caught their attention. The jumbo athlete's skills were on display last year, when he played multiple positions, in- cluding quarterback. He used his physical tools to his advantage and completed 59.8 percent of his 92 passing attempts, rushed for 621 yards and averaged 11.7 yards per carry, and hauled in two touchdown catches. Linta believes that Schoon- maker's versatility will help him develop into a great tight end. "He has tremendous explo- siveness," the Hamden Hall coach said. "He has long- jumped as much as 10 feet, two inches at various camps. He had to play some quarterback last year, and I expect him to have a big arrow up this year because he'll be playing exclusively receiver and tight end. "He's a bit of a Swiss Army knife — we're going to use him at wideout, tight end and H-back. He probably won't play much quarterback again, though we may keep a package in there for him. He's just raw and still learning the tight end position, but his ceiling is extremely high." Now that Schoonmaker is com- mitted, he's ready to focus on his senior season and helping his team repeat last year's historic campaign. He helped his squad go 11-0 and fin- ish ranked No. 1 in New England in their division. "I want to get a second ring," he said. "We have a great team coming back with a lot of experience and a lot of hard workers. I love the guys, and with hard work and dedication we should have an awesome year." Even though he's content with his choice and won't think about recruit- ing too much anymore, he hasn't for- gotten why he picked the Wolverines. "I'd say the people," he explained. "Not only the coaches, but the play- ers and other people we met in Ann Arbor as well. "The people just really impressed me there, and they're definitely folks I want to be around." — Brandon Brown FILM EVALUATION Strengths: Luke Schoonmaker's possesses good speed and athleticism. He plays multiple positions in high school, including as a dual-threat quarterback, and can really run for someone his size. He's a natural pass catcher as well, but does need to learn the nuances of the tight end position. Areas Of Improvement: Because he plays multiple positions and hasn't prac- ticed or been trained as a traditional tight end, he has a lot of work to do to reach Big Ten-level proficiency at the position. Blocking and route running will be the main things to focus on once he's at Michigan, along with gaining weight and strength. Michigan Player Comparison: Even though he hasn't really seen the field yet, Sean McKeon (2016-present) seems to be a very similar player to Schoonmaker. The two are similarly built, both hail from New England, and were identified by the Michigan staff in a camp setting because of their speed and athleticism. McKeon has been receiving praise throughout the spring and fall, and could be a peek into the future for what Schoonmaker could bring to the roster. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com When Schoonmaker arrives in Ann Arbor, he'll join a trio of 2016 signees who hailed from Connecticut — Cheshire (Conn.) Academy wideout Tarik Black, Darien (Conn.) High offensive tackle Andrew Stueber and Sandy Hook (Conn.) Newton fullback Ben Mason. PHOTO COURTESY LUKE SCHOONMAKER Under-The-Radar Tight End Luke Schoonmaker Quietly Commits To U-M