The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 117 DEFENSIVE BACKS THE WOLVERINE 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 117 DEFENSIVE BACKS lege of Literature, Science and the Arts, major un- declared. DAVID LONG • CB So. • Los Angeles Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 187 Career Highlights: Played in four games in 2016. Prep: Appeared on almost every play on both sides of the ball as a senior for Loyola High School … Had 25 recep- tions for 525 yards and seven touchdowns … Also racked up 19 tackles, one interception and five passes broken up … Earned USA Today California All-State first-team honors as a senior … As a junior, he totaled 25 catches for 414 yards and three touch- downs, adding eight tackles on defense … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 15 player in California, and the No. 9 cornerback and No. 81 overall recruit nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Feb. 6, 1998. JOSH METELLUS • S So. • Pembroke Pines, Fla. Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 195 Career Highlights: Played in nine games in 2016 … Compiled 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and a sack … Led the team with six tackles and one sack against Rutgers. Prep: Posted 56 tackles, 8.5 stops for loss, 6.5 sacks and six passes broken up during his senior year at Flanagan High School … Helped lead his team to a Class 8A (largest classification) state championship as a senior … Named first-team Asso- ciated Press 8A All-State in his final year … Notched 43 stops, two tackles for loss and five passes broken up his junior year … Ranked as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Jan. 21, 1998. KEITH WASHINGTON • CB R-So. • Prattville, Ala. Ht.: 6-2 • Wt.: 170 Career Highlights: Redshirted in 2015. Prep: Attended Prattville High School … Started 14 games as a senior quarterback, completing 93 of 162 passes (57.4 percent) for 1,718 yards with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions … Rushed for 1,201 yards and 20 touchdowns on 152 carries (7.9 yards per rush) … Earned Associated Press All-State honorable men- tion honors … Rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 64 player in Alabama and the No. 103 athlete nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Dec. 20, 1996 … Enrolled in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, major undeclared. BRANDON WATSON • CB R-Jr. • Elkton, Md. Ht.: 5-11 • Wt.: 191 Career Highlights: Played in nine games in 2016 and made three special teams stops … Appeared in 12 games as a reserve cornerback and on spe- cial teams in 2015 … Totaled eight tackles for the season … Posted a career-best three tackles at Penn State … Redshirted in 2014 … En- rolled early and participated in the 2014 spring practice period. Prep: Attended Eastern Chris- tian Academy High School … Tallied 58 tackles, seven tackles for loss, eight interceptions and two forced fumbles as a senior … Garnered consensus first-team all-state and first-team private school all-state honors … Rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 60 cornerback in the 2013 class by Rivals.com. Personal: Born July 11, 1995… Enrolled in the col- lege of Literature, Science and the Arts. NEWCOMERS JAYLEN KELLY-POWELL • S Fr. • Detroit Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 175 Prep: Notched 61 tackles, 25 passes broken up and three interceptions as a senior … Also carried the ball 58 times for 647 yards and eight touch- downs, along with 199 receiving yards and three scores … Helped lead Cass Tech to the Division I state championship … USA Today All-USA Michigan first team in 2016 as well as Associated Press Divi- sion 1-2 All-State … Named to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press Dream Teams … Posted 62 tackles, three interceptions and three touchdowns along with 145 rushing yards as a junior … Was all- state honorable mention … Rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 8 player in Michigan and the No. 34 safety in the country by Rivals.com. Personal: Born March 10, 1998 … Fellow fresh- man Ambry Thomas is his cousin. BENJAMIN ST-JUSTE • CB Fr. • Rosemere, Quebec Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 188 Prep: Compiled 30 tackles, 18 passes broken up, two interceptions and one forced fumble as a senior … Recognized as an RSEQ CEGEP Division I (highest) All-Star by CanadaFootballChat.com, which listed him as the No. 7 player in Canada … Finished No. 25 in the 2016 Nike Opening Ratings Championship. Personal: Born Sep. 8, 1997 … French is his native language. AMBRY THOMAS • CB Fr. • Detroit Ht.: 6-0 • Wt.: 170 Prep: As a senior, posted 44 tackles, three inter- ceptions and 14 passes broken up … On offense, had 24 catches for 903 yards and 14 touchdowns to go along with one punt return score and one kickoff return score … Helped King High win Division II state championships as a junior and senior … Selected to the MaxPreps All-American second team and the USA Today All-USA Michigan first team as a senior … Missed half his junior year, but had more than 800 yards and 10 scores receiving, plus three return touchdowns and two interceptions … Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 2 player in Michigan, and the No. 15 cornerback and No. 146 overall prospect in the country by Rivals.com. Personal: Born Sep. 9, 1999 … Fellow freshman Jaylen Kelly-Powell is his cousin. J'MARICK WOODS • S Fr. • Florence, Ala. Ht.: 6-3 • Wt.: 205 Prep: Registered 70 tackles, two tackles for loss, three passes broken up and two interceptions, in- cluding one returned for a touchdown, as a senior … USA Today All-USA Alabama second team in 2016 … Alabama Sports Writer's Association 6A All-State first team as a junior and senior … Florence Times Daily 4A-6A All-Area first team as a junior and se- nior … Compiled 61 stops, six tackles for a loss, four interceptions, six pass broken up and two touch- downs during his junior season … Rated as a three- star recruit, the No. 24 player in Alabama and the No. 45 safety nationally by Rivals.com. Personal: Born April 15, 1999. ROSTER No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Year Elig. Hometown (High School) 30 Tyler Cochran* S 6-1 190 So. So. Royal Oak, Mich. (Orchard Lake St. Mary's) 49 Anthony Dalimonte* S 5-9 176 5th Sr. Bloomfield Hills, Mich. (Brother Rice) 24 Louis Grodman* DB 5-11 183 Jr. Jr. Commerce, Mich. (Walled Lake Northern) 14 Drake Harris DB 6-4 188 Sr. Jr. Grand Rapids, Mich. (Grand Rapids Christian) 24 Lavert Hill CB 5-11 168 So. So. Detroit (King) 16 Jaylen Kelly-Powell S 6-0 175 Fr. Fr. Detroit (Cass Tech) 23 Tyree Kinnel S 5-11 206 Jr. Jr. Huber Heights, Ohio (Wayne) 36 Taylor Krupp* DB 6-1 186 Jr. Jr. New Lothrop, Mich. (New Lothrop) 22 David Long CB 5-11 187 So. So. Los Angeles (Loyola) 14 Josh Metellus S 6-0 204 So. So. Pembroke Pines, Fla. (Flanagan) 20 Matt Mitchell* CB 5-10 186 Sr. Jr. Dexter, Mich. (Dexter) — Hunter Reynolds* DB 6-0 185 Fr. Fr. Wallingford, Conn. (Choate Rosemary Hall) 25 Benjamin St-Juste CB 6-3 188 Fr. Fr. Rosemere, Quebec (Vieux) 1 Ambry Thomas CB 6-0 170 Fr. Fr. Detroit (King) 6 Keith Washington CB 6-2 170 Jr. So. Prattville, Ala. (Prattville) 28 Brandon Watson CB 5-11 203 Sr. Jr. Elkton, Md. (Eastern Christian Academy) 41 Jacob West* S 6-0 195 Jr. Jr. Pinckney, Mich. (Pinckney) 26 J'Marick Woods S 6-3 205 Fr. Fr. Florence, Ala. (Florence) * — Walk-on