The Wolverine

March 2018

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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MARCH 2018 THE WOLVERINE 45 in man-to-man coverage most often. This year's class of defensive backs are all on the tall and long side, which clearly shows how Brown wants to build his defensive backfield. "If he buys into it immediately, he can definitely play special teams," Garrett said. "He's going to be right on the bubble of being considered to play as a true freshman." Garrett said that Gemon's overall athleticism, speed, ability to burst and accelerate, and his length are his strengths. His long arms make it easy for him to stay involved on plays and can make up ground when his foot- work isn't there. Both he and German can play cor- nerback, nickel corner (which covers slot wide receivers) and safety. At Michigan, Garrett hopes Gemon will become a more confident tackler. He is a strong tackler in the open field, but the belief isn't always there. "He's a lot more physical than he gives himself credit for," Garrett said. The Green twins committed to U-M on April 20, 2017, and stuck with the Wolverines throughout the entire process despite still be courted by other schools. "It was an easy pick," Garrett said. "It was a national program, they liked Coach [Jim] Harbaugh, they liked the coaching staff and they loved the campus when they went. They love the people there." The little things on the visit to Ann Arbor stuck out to the Green broth- ers, even something as simple as people saying hello to them while walking around campus. "For a program that big nationally, for something as simple as a random person around the facility know- ing their name, it made them feel at home," Garrett said. For a time, there were questions about whether Gemon and German would play together in college, with the brothers going as far as to say that they were open to going sep- arate places. With German recovering from an ACL injury, Gemon became the higher-rated prospect and therefore re- ceived more interest from c o l l e g e p ro g r a m s . That didn't stop Michigan, however, who was more than happy to accept both players on the team. Garrett was never sold on the idea of them playing at different schools. "They're identical twins, they do everything together," Garrett said. "I don't buy that [they could've played at different schools]. I think they've always wanted to go to school to- gether." It worked out in the end, and all parties are happy it did. The U-M coaching staff stayed in touch with the brothers almost daily throughout the entire year and the relationship is strong. Michigan cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich, former safeties coach Brian Smith and Brown teamed up on the recruitment. Off the field, Garrett said there's never a dull moment with the twins, calling them very high-energy kids. Gemon is the quieter of the two, but can be opened up when in the pres- ence of his brother, who is always around. "German is the more out- going one, Gemon is typi- cally more reserved, but when you get them both together, they're both silly as hell," Garrett said. "They have very outgoing, goofy personalities." ❏ Green played on the winning team at the International Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM MARCH 2018 THE WOLVERINE 45 DID YOU KNOW? • Born Oct. 20, 1999. • Has a twin brother, German, who has also signed with Michigan. • Was born six minutes before his brother. • His cousin Anthony Green played for Jack Harbaugh at Western Kentucky. • His team won the Texas Class 6A (largest) Division II state championship in 2016. THEY SAID IT • DeSoto assistant coach Jason Garrett: "Coach [Jim] Harbaugh and his staff, Coach [Mike] Zordich, they have a presence down here in Texas with the satellite camps and stuff like that. They also have a presence in the building at DeSoto, so I knew that the twins were going to be interested. "They offered Gemon first and then once they offered German it started to feel a little like a no-brainer. Maybe not a no-brainer, but when a school like Michigan — or one of those historically great programs — offers, kids get intrigued by that." DeSoto assistant coach Jason Garrett on Green "He's a very, very competitive guy. That's what you need play- ing the corner position on an island. He loves playing on an island."

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