Why It's Great to be a Wolverine

[Hail to the Victors Valiant]

It's players like him that will make me proud to be a Wolverine alumnus for the remainder of my life on this earth.:)

One of 10 children growing up in Atlantic City, N.J., Marcus Witherspoon decided at an early age that he would get a college education.

Witherspoon will pursue that plan at the University of Michigan, where the 6-foot-2-inch, 228-pound linebacker is expected to enroll in 2008 as part of the football program's next recruiting class.

Choosing the Wolverines over Florida, Boston College and others, Witherspoon gave a verbal commitment to Michigan's coaches during a campus visit last weekend.

"He's been extremely humble through this whole process,'' Absecon (N.J.) Holy Spirit High School coach Bill Walsh said. "He was the most-recruited kid in the history of the program. He kept everything in stride.''

Playing on the outside for Holy Spirit, Witherspoon contributed 90 solo tackles and 17 sacks last fall, including a school-record six sacks in a single game. He earned further admiration from teammates and coaches for his desire to persist despite suffering from a separated shoulder. Walsh said his star's shoulder would often pop out of joint during games, after which he'd miss a series or two while he tried to realign the shoulder.

"I couldn't put him on offense,'' Walsh said of his fastest player. "Because I needed him on defense.''

Surgery in early December repaired the damage. Now healthy, Witherspoon - who wears the number 4 because he's fourth among his siblings in the family birth order - will play both running back and linebacker in his last football season before he arrives in Ann Arbor.

"He chose Michigan for all the right reasons,'' Walsh said of Witherspoon. "There was no salesmanship from Michigan. It was about a young man getting a degree and playing football.''

[Rupturedduck]

trust you will be more visible on here now that recruiting and the mags are out(ya need PS) no excuses accepted.

[Blue Hen]

Was Rutgers one of the other schools he turned down ?

[Hail to the Victors Valiant]

Blue Hen: Here is the list of schools that were interested in him according to Scout.com.

School Interest Level Offer? Attended Camp? Visit Date Signed LOI?
Michigan Verbal Yes None
Clemson No Interest Yes None
Connecticut No Interest Yes None
Florida No Interest Yes None
Pittsburgh No Interest Yes None
Rutgers No Interest Yes None
Syracuse No Interest Yes None

To Duck: I should be much more active on the board, but I have been very busy with my practice and sometimes can't find the time or mental energy to participate in personal hobbies. For now, I've just barely been able to keep up with the NY Yankees, but come fall season, I'll find a way to watch baseball and football.

[Doc]

I'm sure you're aware that he was highly recruited by Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida and Ohio State - where he ultimately decided to go. He based his decision on where he felt he had the best chance to play. Michigan had Guiterez at the time and Henne was coming in as a freshman. Florida had Leak and several others. Notre Dame actually had only one scholarship QB but the Schoenhofts didn't have a good feeling about Ty Willingham. They were very comfortable with Jim Tressel and knew Robby would get a shot to play his redshirt sophomore year - which will be this season - so he commited to Ohio State. Ron Zook took the news well but the Michigan coach (not Carr but the guy who was recruiting him) acted like a jerk. He told Robby he was very disappointed with his decision and said he was making a huge mistake. Robby had a tough time making his decision but the reaction of the Michigan coach was affirmation that he had made the right move.

Robby is a neighbor and this was shared with me by his mother.

[Hail to the Victors Valiant]

I hope Schoenhofts made the right decision for him. If those schools were recruiting him, he must be talented and proven. I'm sure a fan from every school can find a similar story about a recruit that got away. Michigan State fans and coaches always talk about recruiting against Michigan football and then feed the seed into their players before the annual game.

The recruiting industry is very competive as you know, so anger and frustration must be rampant in the industry. And now without text messaging prospects, the recruiting team focus their time more efficiently than ever before. I'm somewhat surprised the education never seems to come up with players who choose other programs to attend. Maybe Michigan recruits are told to use the "e" word for marketing and image purposes, but there's no reason why the same is not mentioned by ND recruits, for example. Even though the Michigan athletes get a lot of breaks, their recruits and players often mention education. That's what struck me most about the story I posted earlier.