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University of Michigan Football

Unofficial Recruiting Page

Verbal Commitments

Committments: 20

Chad Carpenter John Anes Eric Wilson Dave Brandt

Ian Gold Jason Kapsner Paul Tannous Steve Hutchinson

Jeff Backus Tommy Hendricks Cory Sargent Russell Shaw

LeAundre Brown Aaron Wright Grady Brooks Marcus Knight

Dhani Jones Jeff DelVerne Jerry Dioron-Johnson Jason Foster

Chad Carpenter	John Anes	Eric Wilson	Dave Brandt
Ian Gold	Jason Kapsner	Paul Tannous	Steve Hutchinson
Jeff Backus	Tommy Hendricks	Cory Sargent	Russell Shaw
LeAundre Brown	Aaron Wright	Grady Brooks	Marcus Knight
Dhani Jones	Jeff DelVerne	Jerry Dioron-Johnson	Jason Foster

Commitments by Position
QB: 1 RB: 1 FB: 2 TE: 1 WR: 4 OL: 3

DL: 2 LB: 2 DB: 2 P: 1 K: 1

**Commitments by Position**
QB: 1	RB: 1	FB: 2	TE: 1	WR: 4	OL: 3
DL: 2	LB: 2	DB: 2	P: 1	K: 1

Chad Carpenter, Tight End, Bloomington South, IN. 6'5", 240, 4.7. Committed to Michigan early. 1st team all-state in Indiana this year; considered one of the top 5 TE's in the midwest. Will most likely be the only tight end signed by Michigan this year as plenty of depth exists at the position with sophomores Jerame Tuman and Mark Campbell and freshman Aaron Shea. Ranked as the number 9 tight end on the Super-Prep All-American team.

John Anes, Fullback, East Kentwood, MI. 6'3", 247, 4.6. Also committed to Michigan in the spring; reaffirmed his committment after Moeller's resignation. Top 100 player nationally; rated as the #1 FB by BCI, although most services had Ron Dayne #1 (see targets). Ranked as the #1 prospect in Michigan by the Detroit News. Ran for 881 yards and 17 touchdowns in 8 games, but was hampered by a sprained ankle suffered early in the season. Played at the same high school as his father, and broke many of his father's longstanding records. Also has played LB and was on his high school track and basketball teams. Has run a 4.6. 40 yd dash and a 22.9 200 meters.

Eric Wilson, OG/DT, Monroe, MI. 6'4", 255, 5.0. Most likely will play on the offensive line at Michigan. Rated the 3rd best offensive line prospect in MI by Prep Football Report; considered the #3 overall prospect (post-season) by the Detroit News. Has a great work ethic and could play on either side of the ball. On defense, made 75 tackles with 10 sacks this year. Also considered Michigan State, Northwestern, and several other Big Ten Schools.

Dave Brandt, DT/OT, Jenison, MI. 6'3", 265, 4.85. Attended same high school as Notre Dame NG Paul Grasmanis, and is compared favorably to Grasmanis at this stage in his career. Excellent speed for his size. Rated a first team All-American by BCI, the number 8 NG by the National Recruiting Advisor, and the number 26 defensive lineman on the SuperPrep All-American Team. Will likely play DT in college. Says his toughest opponent was John Anes (see above).

Ian Gold, RB, Belleville, MI. 6'2", 205, 4.5. Good combination of size and speed. Considered other Big Ten schools and Colorado. Ranked as the number 39 prospect in the Midwest not on the SuperPrep All-American team. A member of the Detroit News Blue Chip Squad, ranked as the number 8 overall prospect in Michigan. Belleville lost to Eric Wilson's Monroe team in the state playoffs. A versatile athlete who can play several positions; may be looked at at OLB if the RB position remains a team strength.

Jason Kapsner, QB, Eden Prarie, MN. 6'6", 220, 4.7. Pure drop back passer in the style of Todd Collins and Elvis Grbac, but with much better speed than either. A product of the Michigan football camp, where he was named the top QB; also rated highly at BYU's camp. Considered Wisc., Iowa, MN, Nebraska, Texas, Miami, and Colorado before committing to Michigan. Rated as the number 3 QB on the SuperPrep All-American Team, the number 4 drop-back passer on the Prep Football Report All-American team, and tied for number 2 among drop-back passers as rated by the National Recruiting Advisor. Has a great arm and is also an excellent baseball prospect, but will only play football in college.

Paul Tannous, OL, Houston Cypress Creek, TX. 6'5", 288, 5.2. Outstanding offensive line prospect from the same school that produced both Chris Hutchinson and Josh Williams. Tore a knee ligament in the 3rd game of the season, but finished the game anyway. Tannous' rehab has gone well, and he is right on schedule. According to the latest report, he should be ready to play in the fall, as he has had minimal atrophy of the thigh muscles despite the ligament reconstruction. A member of the Blue Chip Illustrated Dream Team, and rated one of the top 100 players in the nation. Ranked as the #13 OL prospect on the SuperPrep All-American Team, and the #3 OG prospect on the PFR All-American Team. Also considered USC, Notre Dame, LSU, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Tennessee.

Steve Hutchinson, OL/DT, Coral Springs, FL. 6'6", 265, 4.9. An excellent student, prefers to play defense, where he made 104 tackles, 8 sacks, and caused 2 fumbles this fall. Despite his preference for defense, Hutchinson is ranked as the No. 13 OT on the PFR All-American team and the No. 3 OT on the SuperPrep All-American team. Named to the USA All-American second team on defense. Also visited Notre Dame, Florida, and Florida State. Will probably play DT at Michigan.

Jeff Backus, OL, Norcross, GA. 6'6", 272, 4.95. A Michigan native, attended summer camps at Michigan and N.C. State. Rated as the #9 OL on the SuperPrep AA team, the #4 OT on the PFR AA team, and is a member of the Blue Chip Illustrated Dream Team. Tied with Jefferson Kelley (OSU) and Leon Hires (ND) at number 2 in the National Recruiting Advisor rankings. Also played some OLB (!) for his high school team. He blocked for a team that had a balanced attack, and excels at both pass and run blocking. Backus is an excellent baseball player, and received some attention for his fastball, but will not play baseball at the collegiate level. Backus also considered Penn State and Georgia.

Tommy Hendricks, DB, Aldine, TX. 6'2", 205, 4.5. Tommy is one of the top DB prospects in the nation. His father also attended U of M, and lettered in football in 1954-55. He is ranked as the No. 1 safety prospect nationally by Prep Football Report, the No. 2 DB by Super-Prep, and was graded at 5.9 out of 6.1 by the National Recruiting Advisor (the No. 4 free safety nationally). He is a member of the BCI dream-team, and is fully qualified academically with a 3.4 GPA and a qualifying test score. He had 43 solo tackles and 5 interceptions this year. Is a big hitter - his coach says it's like having a linebacker (but one who can cover man to man) in the secondary. Prior to choosing Michigan, Hendricks also considered Notre Dame, Texas, Texas A&M, and USC.

Cory Sargent, P/DB, South Lyon, MI. 6'3", 196. Sargent is one of the top kickers in the Midwest, being one of four named to the Blue Chip Illustrated blue chip list. Averaged 42.5 yards a kick in '94; scholarship offers began to pour in after coaches saw him kick in the state championships at the Pontiac Silverdome (averaged 45 yards a kick). Has great and consistent hang time; only 7 kicks were returned against him this year. Supposedly an "accurate" punter who rarely kicks between the hash-marks, which is why his kicks are rarely returned. An all around athlete who lettered in football, baseball, and basketball, will be a punter (not a DB) for the Wolverines, despite leading his team in interceptions at his safety position. He was named the #17 prospect in Michigan by the Detroit News. Also considered Michigan State, but cancelled a visit to East Lansing after being offered a scholarship by Michigan.

Russell Shaw, WR, El Camino JC, California. 6'0", 180, 4.5. Shaw is a top JC wide receiver prospect who originially attended Locke High School in Los Angeles. Out of high school, he was ranked as the #32 prospect in the far west; caught 52 passes for 581 yards and 10 TD's as a senior. He "runs good routes, jumps well, is sure-handed, and is quick off his cuts." He was undeterred by the cold weather in Michigan, and committed at the time of his official visit. He caught 65 passes for 1100 yards and 18 TD's this year. He is academically qualified, and will enroll at Michigan for the fall semester. He is ranked as the number 1 junior college wide receiver by the National Recruiting Advisor, and was named to the JUCO All-American 1st team as a kick returner.

LeAundre Brown, DB, Fort Worth Wyatt, Texas. 6'0", 170, 4.4. Brown is an outstanding cornerback prospect, who was ranked as the No. 7 CB nationally pre-season by Tom Lemming, and is one of the top 100 prospects nationally according to BCI. Made 85 tackles and broke up 21 passes as a senior. Played mostly at the free safety position, but projects as a corner in college. Also spent time as a kick/punt returner, returning a punt 74 yards for a TD and a kickoff 85 yards for a TD. Reaffirmed his commitment to Michigan after visiting Texas A&M, though he says there is still a small chance he could change his mind.

Aaron Wright, WR, Flower Mound, Marcus, Texas. 6'0", 175, 4.3. Wright is a wide receiver with outstanding speed. This season, he caught 45 passes for over 1300 yards (nearly 30 yards a catch). He chose Michigan over Notre Dame and Tennessee. He is the brother of current NFL and former Auburn wide receiver/track star Alexander Wright. Wright is ranked as the number 24 prospect in Texas on the Texas top 100 list, and was graded at 10.0 (out of 10.6) by Max Emfinger, placing him in the top 15 WR prospects nationally.

Grady Brooks, LB, Dallas, Texas. 6'2", 220, 4.6. Brooks is one of the top middle LB prospects in the nation, being named to several All-American teams; he was ranked in the preseason national 100 by the National Recruiting Advisor. In post-season polls, he was ranked as the top LB in the state of Texas, and the number 5 overall prospect in Texas. Brooks adds to the already deep pool of talent the Wolverines have lured out of Texas, being the fifth Texas player to commit to Michigan.

Marcus Knight, WR, Sylacauga, Alabama. 6'2", 175, 4.4. Knight was highly sought after by the Michigan coaches, who ranked him high on their wish list of WR targets. Although not a target of many major programs, Knight has legitimate deep speed and excellent hands. A good student, also considered Northwestern and Stanford, and received late attention from Alabama. Committed to Michigan during an in-home visit by Lloyd Carr.

Dhani Jones, LB, Potomac, Maryland. 6'1", 220, 4.5. Jones is an OLB prospect who is listed as anywhere between 200 and 220 pounds. Ranked as the 5th best LB in the ACC region by BCI. As a senior, he made 95 tackles (50 solo) and 35 tackles for a loss, and over his career he had 350 tackles and 6 INT's. He was recruited by Michigan, North Carolina and Washington. He is an excellent student; both of his parents attended Michigan.

Jeff DelVerne, PK, Toledo, Ohio. DelVerne is an excellent placekicker who has elected to walk-on at Michigan next year. Over his career, DelVerne made 103/105 extra point (both misses were blocked) and 10/14 field goals (long of 48 yards). As a senior, he recorded 22 touchbacks. He could step in and contend for kickoff duties immediately. I have heard that he is good enough that he has a legitimate chance to be offered a scholarship while at Michigan. He chose Michigan over Miami of Florida and several MAC schools. He is the brother of former MSU placekicker Jim DelVerne.

Jerry Dioron-Johnson, WR, Crowley, LA. 6'3", 210, 4.5. Dioron-Johnson is a big wide receiver who reportedly has excellent hands and leaping ability. He is not considered a speed receiver, but was ranked in the top 20 WR's nationally by many scouting services. Is considered one of the top 12 overall players in Louisiana. Was recruited by several schools, but narrowed his choices to LSU and Michigan before a scholarship squeeze at LSU made it unlikely that he would play near home. Dioron-Johnson caught 47 passes for 988 yards and 9 TD's as a senior.

Jason Foster, FB, Medina, Ohio. 6'1" 235, 4.7. Foster was a surprise commitment who initially was planning to play for Purdue. He reportedly has always wanted to play for Michigan. Foster is one of the strongest players in Ohio, with a top bench press of 425 pounds. Over his career, he had 4895 yards rushing and 54 touchdowns. In addition to Purdue and Michigan, he received initial attention from Ohio State and Illinois.

Revised: 2/8/96

Feel free (and encouraged) to e-mail me with any updated information
svijan@umich.edu

go blue!

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