The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2017 THE WOLVERINE 65 MICHIGAN RECRUITING Louis] and Amon-Ra St. Brown and the California boys [Bryan Addison and Julius Irving]. I feel like they all really liked it," Doyle said. "I wasn't really trying to convince them, I was just telling them the truth about Michigan. I was laying the facts on them — it's a great school, a top-25 program all the time. "We'll be able to compete for a na- tional championship, and if you have hopes and aspirations of playing in the NFL, then Coach Harbaugh is the guy to get you there. There's really no other place that you can go that has all of these combinations." DeSoto (Texas) High four-star cornerback Gemon Green and three-star safety German Green The twins aren't the most talkative young men, but they were clearly having a good time down on the field during the pregame festivities. They were spending a lot of time with each other, but also chatted up other com- mits and targets throughout. Both German and Gemon are around 6-2, 175 pounds and have po- sition versatility, playing cornerback and safety in high school. Gemon is rated slightly higher as the No. 36 cornerback nationally, while German is unranked at his position. Anaheim (Calif.) Servite four-star safety Julius Irvin Irvin, the No. 26 safety in the coun- try according to Rivals.com, wanted to get a better feel for what it would be like to be a Michigan football player and student-athlete. "Michigan was a great visit," he said. "It's an honor to have an op- portunity to visit such a prestigious university. Meeting the coaches and players was really big for me, and I got a good feel of the team." Fort Myers (Fla.) Dunbar three-star athlete Shocky Jacques-Louis The Tennessee commit is still a Vol per his verbal pledge, but he defi- nitely saw a lot to like while in Ann Arbor. Rivals.com's No. 23 athlete nationally isn't opening his recruit- ment up at after the visit, but U-M gave him something to think about. "Michigan is a very big name in college football," he said. "I like the people that are running the program right now. They're all real cool. The University of Michigan is a great school. It was a great opportunity to even have them in my top five [be- fore I committed]. "I'm still committed to Tennessee, but Michigan is a great school and program. Anytime you take a visit you have to envision yourself play- ing there. The coaches, current play- ers and commits all wanted me to become a part of their family." Indianapolis Lawrence Central four-star outside linebacker Cameron McGrone One of the more solid commits in U-M's class, McGrone was all smiles on the field before kickoff. Rivals.com's No. 18 outside linebacker and No. 238 overall prospect nationally can't wait to begin his career at Michigan with some great new friends and a solid staff of coaches. "I always think about how I'm going somewhere great next year," McGrone said. "I'm starting to bond with [Buford (Ga.) High three-star running back] Christian Turner and [Atlanta Westlake four-star corner- back] Myles [Sims] quite a bit. "They're both pretty cool. The coaches always ask me how school is going, and we talk a couple times every week, too." Atlanta Hapeville Charter four-star cornerback Christopher Smith A Georgia commit, Smith was very high on Michigan before pledging to the Bulldogs so he decided an of- ficial visit was necessary. His mother and father, Shandra and Chris, came along for the trip. "We enjoyed the visit," Shandra said. "The atmosphere was amazing. The game-day experience was great, and I love the fact that the player families have a designated place to tailgate for the game. I hadn't seen that before. "The Ross School of Business — I was completely blown away by what their business program had to offer to their student-athletes." Smith, the No. 15 cornerback and No. 171 overall prospect nation- ally according to Rivals.com, is a bit smaller than U-M's other corner- back commits and targets at 6-0, 165 pounds — but he's clearly still on the radar. Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star wide receiver Amon-Ra. St. Brown St. Brown, the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 4 overall prospect nation- ally according to Rivals.com, was the biggest name on the list of official visitors. The 6-1, 187-pounder feels like a USC or Stanford lean, but the U-M official certainly impressed him. "It was fun," St. Brown reported. "Finally going to see Coach Har- baugh was cool. I haven't been there since my freshman year when I went up there with my seven-on-seven team. To finally go up there and to have the focus be more on me now and the understanding of Michigan and what they're about, it was a fun experience. "I got to meet all the coaches. I really like Coach [Pep] Hamilton and Coach Harbaugh. The game- day atmosphere was crazy with that many people there. I've never been to a football game with that many people." There will likely be a few more offi- cial visitors here and there for Michi- gan's home games against Rutgers and Minnesota, but the coaches and support staff are planning on load- ing up for the regular-season finale against Ohio State Nov. 25. ❏ Three-star athlete Shocky Jacques-Louis of Fort Myers (Fla.) Dunbar, who is committed to Tennessee, was impressed by U-M during his Oct. 7 trip to Ann Arbor. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com.