Rick Osentoski- USA TODAY Sports
Ever since Brady Hoke arrived at Michigan, he has thrived on the recruiting trail. According to Rivals, Hoke’s 2012 class was No. 5 in the country, 2013 class is No. 7 in the country and as of now, the 2014 class is ranked No. 1o. Hoke clearly has the ability to convince and influence star recruits and get them to choose the maize and blue. However, Hoke may not even be Michigan’s most important recruiter for the 2014 class.
Jabrill Peppers is the No. 2 overall player in the 2014 class and the top cornerback, according to Rivals. He has also committed to Michigan and now Peppers is trying to get other top 2014 recruits to follow suit. Peppers has vowed to get the top player in the country Da’Shawn Hand, a defensive end from Virginia, and the No. 3 player in the class Leonard Fournette, a running back from New Orleans, to join him in Ann Arbor next year. On his USA TODAY blog, Peppers has described his in-depth recruiting pitches to both of his fellow top three recruits. “Do I think I can bring them with me? Well, I’m a really confident person so I feel pretty good about it,” said Peppers.
This type of recruiting, where a commit tries to sell his school to his peers, is nothing new. It actually happens a lot in basketball. The Fab Five was brought together in part by Chris Webber, the first of the five to commit to Michigan. The “Big Three” came together for the Miami Heat, thanks to Dwyane Wade‘s courting of the Lebron James and Chris Bosh.
Now if Peppers can pull off his goal, Michigan would have the top recruiting class in the country, bringing in the top three individual players. Obviously, Hoke is not just sitting out the recruitment of Hand and Fournette, but having a peer of theirs like Peppers pushing so hard for them gives Michigan a huge advantage. Hoke is a very strong recruiter for Michigan, but now he has even more help with Peppers trying to bring a super class to Michigan in 2014.
You can follow Alex Dale on Twitter at @alexdaleCFB.
