The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 55 MICHIGAN RECRUITING is Rivals.com's No. 18 wide receiver and No. 109 overall prospect nation- ally, and tweeted in early June that he is still considering Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, Penn State and Indiana. Many, many other prospects also received their offers Aug. 1, and it's clear that the message and thought- out approach was well received. U-M'S 2020 CLASS OFF TO GOOD START The Michigan staff has the ball roll- ing in the 2020 class with three com- mitments as of Aug. 14. Columbus (Ohio) Northland three-star wide re- ceiver Kalil Branham picked Michigan June 19, Belleville (Mich.) High three- star cornerback Andre Seldon joined Branham just a day later and Aurora (Ill.) West Aurora four-star defensive tackle Denver Warren pledged July 2. Branham, a 6-1, 190-pound speed- ster picked up his offer from U-M after an impressive camp performance and essentially committed on the spot. "I will be a Michigan Man! We did it Paw Paw," Branham tweeted in memory of his late grandfather. Rivals.com rates Branham as the No. 9 player in Ohio and the No. 57 wide receiver in the country. Seldon, a short but speedy nickel cornerback at 5-9 and 154 pounds, grew up a Michigan fan and also knew that he'd be a Wolverine as soon as he was offered after an im- pressive camp performance. "It's been my dream school for the longest," Seldon said. "Coach Har- baugh wanted me to be the first com- mit in the class, but I just wanted to sleep on it and talk to my coaches and my parents. I went ahead and did it two days later. "It's a big opportunity for me." Despite being smaller than most cornerbacks Michigan has recruited recently, Seldon is seen as an excel- lent fit for the nickel corner spot. He is Rivals.com's No. 12 player in the state of Michigan and the No. 26 cor- nerback in the nation. As the highest rated commit thus far, Warren is the gem of the class as Rivals.com's No. 15 defensive tackle and No. 213 overall prospect nation- ally. The 6-3, 300-pounder knew once he visited Ann Arbor that he was likely going to end up a Wolverine. "Both my mom and I really felt at home when we visited Michigan," Warren said. "Michigan is a place where I can go in and work hard and get a great education and a great col- lege experience." Warren chose the Wolverines over programs like Boston College, Duke, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin among others. SEC powers Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee also showed interest in Warren, but did not offer. That could certainly change, but the rising junior big man seems more than content with his pledge to U-M. STEPHEN HERRON FLIPS FROM MICHIGAN TO STANFORD Despite being committed to Michi- gan for almost a year and repeatedly saying that he was solidly a part of U-M's class, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity four-star defensive end Stephen Her- ron flipped from the Wolverines to Stanford July 23. The 6-4, 225-pounder had been saying that he wasn't look- ing around even in late June. "Everything is going great," Herron said June 27. "I talk to Coach [Greg] Mattison all the time. I'm really excited to be a Michigan Wolverine right now. "I can't wait and Go Blue." Less than a month later, he was saying something very different. "Those closest to me know that the last few months have been an emotional roller coaster," Herron tweeted. "Every move I have made has been in the interest of insuring my future — athletically, academi- cally and philanthropically. "With that being said and my recent acceptance into Stanford University on early decision, I am decommitting from the University of Michigan and committing to Stanford University." A kid can't be faulted for choosing Stanford, but Herron certainly seemed to mislead a lot of people leading up to his decision. Even though Herron is highly rated as Rivals.com's No. 4 weakside defensive end and No. 56 overall prospect nationally, the U-M staff still has a solid defensive line unit committed and continues to pursue several talented defensive linemen. Among the remaining targets are Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy Or- ange five-star strongside defensive end Zach Harrison and Boca Raton (Fla.) American Heritage three-star weakside defensive end Michael Morris, who is very similar to Herron in terms of size, build and ability. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan football recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. 2019 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Erick All TE 6-4 223 Fairfield, Ohio (Fairfield) Karsen Barnhart OT 6-5 280 Paw Paw, Mich. (Paw Paw) Zach Carpenter OG 6-5 305 Cincinnati (Moeller) Zach Charbonnet RB 6-1 190 Westlake Village, Calif. (Oaks Christian) Eric Gray RB 5-10 185 Memphis, Tenn. (Lausanne Collegiate School) Christopher Hinton DE 6-5 265 Norcross, Ga. (Greater Atlanta Christian) George Johnson III ATH 5-11 175 Stuart, Fla. (Martin County) Quinten Johnson S 5-11 190 Washington, D.C. (St. John's College High) Trente Jones OL 6-5 293 Loganville, Ga. (Grayson) Quintel Kent WR 6-0 170 Lakewood, Ohio (St. Edward) Cade McNamara QB 6-1 170 Reno, Nev. (Damonte Ranch) Gabe Newburg DE 6-5 230 Clayton, Ohio (Northmont) David Ojabo DE 6-5 240 Blairstown, N.J. (Blair Academy) Nolan Rumler OL 6-4 300 Akron, Ohio (Hoban) Mazi Smith DT 6-3 302 Kentwood, Mich. (East Kentwood) Jack Stewart OL 6-5 285 New Canaan, Conn. (New Canaan) Charles Thomas LB 6-0 216 Fairburn, Ga. (IMG Academy [Fla.]) DJ Turner II CB 5-11 160 Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett) Tyrece Woods LB 6-2 240 Belleville, Mich. (Belleville) Joey Velazquez S 6-0 205 Columbus, Ohio (St. Frances DeSales) 2020 Michigan Commitment List Player Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Kalil Branham WR 6-1 190 Columbus, Ohio (Northland) Andre Seldon CB 5-9 154 Belleville, Mich. (Belleville) Denver Warren DT 6-3 300 Aurora, Ill. (West Aurora)