State Champs! Sports Network

As far as in-state signees are concerned, the University of Michigan got quite a bit of flash and just as much production.

 

Flashy names, flashy players, with flashy skills.

 

But extremely productive ones at that.

 

The Wolverines reeled in four players from the state of Michigan, all four of which were some of the top players at their position in the state.

 

It all starts with star receiver Drake Harris (6-foot-3, 210 pounds), a four-star recruit from Grand Rapids Christian, who emerged as one of the nation’s big-play pass-catcher with a monstrous junior season where he became only the 12th prep split end in the country to ever accumulate over 2,000 yards receiving, capped with a 243 yard performance in a win in the Division 3 state championship game.

 

Harris was slowed by injury in his senior season, but racked up several high-profile offers, receiving scholarship opportunities from Alabama, Florida State, Notre Dame, Oregon and Ohio State among others, but decided on the Wolverines after decommitting from Michigan State, where he had originally committed to for basketball.

 

Birmingham Detroit Country Day’s Moe Ways could one day soon team up with Harris to form an intimidating receiving group in Ann Arbor, as Ways is another big target for the Wolverines, standing at 6-foot-4.

 

Ways was extremely prolific in high school, tallying nearly 1,000 yards as a junior where he led the Yellowjackets to the Division 4 state championship game, and over 1,200 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 2013.  He is tabbed a 3-star receiver and fielded other BCS offers from Iowa, Kansas and Rutgers.

 

Defensively, the Wolverines will be getting just as much production as they reeled in Southfield defensive end Lawrence Marshall and Warren De La Salle linebacker Jaren Wangler.

 

Marshall, one of the top pass rushing threats in the entire state over the past two years, accumulated over 100 tackles as a junior and followed that up with 68 tackles and nine sacks as a senior, while seeing constant double-teams. The Southfield senior is considered a 3-star defensive end and received other scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan State and Tennessee to name just a few. He was originally committed to Ohio State for a brief period of time.

 

Wangler is a familiar name for Wolverines football fans, as his dad, John, led Michigan to a Rose Bowl win in 1981 and his brother Jack is a current walk-on wide out for the Maize and Blue.

Jared played defensive back for De La Salle in high school, but figures to slide in at linebacker for the Wolverines. Labeled a 3-star prospect, he was originally committed to Penn State, but when the opportunity to play with his brother and at his father’s alma-mater arose he couldn’t pass it up.

 

While the Wolverine only brought in four players from their backyard, they are players who could very well be just as dangerous at the college level as they were in high school, where they all proved to be some of the best at their positions and caused constant headaches for opposing coaches.