Detroit Martin Luther King Ambry Thomas walks in for a touchdown after cathcing the ball against Lowell, during the second half of the Michigan High School Athletic Association football finals at Ford Field in Detroit on Friday, Nov. 27, 2015.
Michigan’s football recruiting strategy is zeroing in on two main areas as the summer commitment period begins.
U-M has not landed many players from Detroit in coach Jim Harbaugh’s first two years — Detroit King’s Lavert Hill and Cass Tech lineman Michael Onwenu are the only ones — but with a number of elite players in the 2017 class, that might change.
The state’s top three uncommitted players all are from Detroit: five-star Cass Tech receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (No. 1), four-star King cornerback Ambry Thomas (No. 2) and four-star Cass Tech safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell (No. 5).
U-M director of player personnel Tony Tuioti tweeted a 30-second video this morning with the hashtag “#ProtectTheHomeland.” With Detroit rapper Big Sean’s lyrics laid over shots of downtown Detroit, the video shows U-M’s current impact Detroiters, cornerback Jourdan Lewis and safety Delano Hill, in action.
S/O to the Motor City Wolverines, it's another great Friday! #ProtectTheHomeland #GoBlue #Blueprint17 @CoachWheat6 https://t.co/Y8HbshCiHE
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Tony Tuioti (@CoachTuioti92) May 27, 2016U-M already has commitments from the state’s No. 3 and No. 4 prospects for 2017: Oak Park offensive lineman Ja’Raymond Hall and Orchard Lake St. Mary’s linebacker Josh Ross.
The idea of protecting the homeland is intriguing and in direct contrast to U-M’s efforts in New Jersey, where the U-M coaching staff makes no bones about invading the Garden State for talent. That was part of the back-and-forth between Michigan and Rutgers during the winter, when Rutgers’ new coaching staff talked about “Fencing the Garden,” and Michigan responded by saying it was “Jumping Fences.”
Michigan’s newest recruiting pitch features its 11 players from New Jersey, all in uniform, even though some of them have yet to arrive on campus. The illustration lists them all by name and hometown and also throws in its two New Jersey-native assistants, Chris Partridge and Jedd Fisch.
The slogan is “Harvest the Garden.”
Great few days in Jersey. Love the support for our NJ Crew...! #NJ2A2 Home away from Home! https://t.co/qXVfum30bf
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Chris Partridge (@CoachCPartridge) May 26, 2016The Wolverines will attend two satellite camps in New Jersey: June 7 at the Hun School in Princeton and June 8 at Paramus Catholic. Harbaugh also will be speaking at the Paramus graduation June 9. U-M signee Rashan Gary, the nation’s No. 1-ranked player in the 2016 class, is in the graduating class.
Michigan is targeting a number of top New Jersey prospects in the 2017 class, including Paramus linebacker Drew Singleton, Hun defensive lineman Fred Hansard, Bridgeton athlete Markquese Bell and Paramus defensive lineman Corey Bolds.
Cass Tech WR Donovan Peoples-Jones plans to commit early
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