- All
FOOTBALL RECRUITING: CMU, WMU pick up commitments, as Basirico chooses to become a Chipp & Okorafor a Bronco
This past weekend was quite fruitful for local prep football standouts, David Basirico of Macomb Dakota and Chukwama (Chukes) Okorafor of Southfield.
Both accepted Division I college scholarships from the Mid-American Conference.
Basirico (6-foot-2, 185 pounds), a free safety, committed to Central Michigan and Okorafor, an offensive lineman that checks in at 6-foot-5, 300-pounds, committed to Western Michigan.
They are the sixth and seventh players, respectively, in the state’s Class of 2014 to commit to Division I schools.
Okorafor is the first player to commit to Western Michigan, while Basirico is the second to pledge his allegiance to Central Michigan, following in the footsteps of Flint Powers wide receiver Trent Grimes, who committed to the Chipps back in February.
Last season, Basirico and Okorafor both helped lead their high school squads into the playoffs, with Basirico’s Dakota team claiming its third district crown in the past four years.
Smart and instinctive in the secondary, with solid speed and a knack for big hits and deflections, Basirico made 30 tackles, snared four interceptions and came away with ten knock-downs as a junior in 2012.
Despite his enormous size, Okorafor is limber and agile in the trenches. He was born in Nigeria and transferred to Southfield last winter from Detroit Mumford. Hitting the books as hard as he bangs pads with opposing pass-rushers on the gridiron, Okorafor intends to be pre-med in college.
Central Michigan closed the 2012 campaign with a win in the Little Caesars Bowl at Ford Field in downtown Detroit, ending the season with a 7-5 overall record. The Chippewas are coached by Dan Enos, a former star prepster under center in his day around town in the 1980s at Dearborn Edsel Ford before he went on to quarterback in the Big 10 at Michigan State in the early 1990s.
Western Michigan had a disappointing season last fall, finishing 4-8.
