- Michigan
STATE CHAMPS! SCOUT TEAM: Michigan Football Recruiting Notebook >> Alexander moves at the speed of sound to U-M
The University of Michigan football program hasn’t hit recruiting wise on a sleeper from the Metro Detroit area in a while now.
Enter Belleville senior linebacker Aaron Alexander, who just committed to Michigan a little more than a week ago and represents the new face of the linebacker position in football at all levels. Length and speed. In other words, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound blazing fast outside backer could be the future at the position for the Wolverines, virtually out of nowhere.
Up until last month, he didn’t have any offers. Marshall was the first school to offer him in May. Michigan entered the picture after last weekend and Alexander’s performance a Wolverines-hosted showcase camp.
“Hard working and explosive sideline to sideline,” is how Belleville head coach Jermain Crowell describes Alexander. “He put his head down and worked his way to the point where teams like Michigan couldn’t ignore him.”
Alexander made 68 tackles on a Belleville squad that lost a heartbreaker to West Bloomfield in a Division 1 state semifinal that went two overtimes. He’ll team with fellow DI prospect Cam Dyson in the fall to give the Tigers maybe the fastest linebacker duo in the state. Alexander runs a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. Dyson (6-3, 205) has offers from Western Michigan, Toledo, Marshall, Ball St. and Miami (OH).
Crowell’s pair of sophomores Maurice Johnson (defensive line) and Mychal Yarbrough (cornerback) just picked up their first respective offers and they came from the exclusive SEC. Johnson and Yarbrough snagged bids from Florida and Ole Miss, respectively.
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Bringing The Thunder: Three hard-hitters to watch on the recruiting trail this summer
Bryce Eliuk (Linden 6-2, 220 Jr. LB) — Fearless and relentless going after the football, colossal closing power.
David Chaney (Warren Woods Tower 6-2, 200 Jr. SS) — All the tools to be a true sleeper recruit out of the Class of ’23, displays intelligence, athleticism and the ability to lay down the law with thunderous force in pass coverage.
Gavin Moore (Macomb Dakota 6-0, 200 Sr.) — Maybe the most underrated defensive player in Macomb County heading into the 2021 campaign, motor, moxie and the will of a champion.
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First time flavor for the Class of ‘22
Birmingham Detroit Country Day senior quarterback Brandon Mann collected his first DI offer from Northern Illinois earlier this month, then picked up another from Kent State.
Jackson senior cornerback Olando Trader saw a Central Michigan offer dropped at his doorstep on June 13, his first. Ten days later, he committed to the Chippewas.
