Coach of elite 2027 Las Vegas prospects talks interest from Michigan, spring evaluation visit from the coaching staff
Earlier this month, multiple Michigan coaches ventured to Las Vegas, Nevada. They swung through a number of schools in the city, including Arbor View, where two of its prospects in the 2027 recruiting class recently notched offers.
“They were really cool,” Arbor View head coach Marlon Barnett told The Wolverine. “Very personable guys. Very personal, very smart as well. But it didn’t feel like they were just here to recruit our guys. It was a good conversation. That’s what stood out the most for me and the coaches here with me. In this business, everything is about relationships, building the right relationship, not burning bridges. So, that was really cool just to be able to sit and talk to them about things outside of football. I wasn’t like, ‘Hey, we’re just here to talk to your kids, and then boom, that’s it.'”
Both targets who were given Michigan offers are on the offensive side of the ball, starting with rising tight end Zac Fares, who currently has an offer sheet also consisting of Washington, Washington State, Arizona State, and others.
“Extremely smart kid, 4.0 student,” Barnett said. “Very fluent in his routes, extends his arms to catch the ball, goes up and snaps the ball once the ball is in the air for a jump ball. Very physical, very cerebral. He also understands what we do from a passing deal. We’re an Air Raid team, and so he understands conceptually where he needs to be at the time he needs to be there. Not an extremely vocal kid, but he shows up every single day and goes to work. One of the things that stands out to me that I absolutely love about Zac is that a couple of days out of the week, I think two or three days, he has to go and pick up his little sister from school, and then he’ll hurry up and get back here to practice. So, he’ll be at practice, lift weights, quickly go, pick her up, and then come right back, and she’s here with him. So, to me, that just speaks a lot about a kid’s character, especially nowadays. Kids try to find any way to get out of workouts, but he doesn’t make an excuse whatsoever.”
The other is rising wide receiver Damani Warren, who has a reported 80-inch wingspan. In addition to Michigan and the three aforementioned Power 4 programs, Warren has formal interest from Alabama, USC, Georgia, Texas A&M, Missouri, Kansas, and Utah, among others.
“Also very fluent in his route, also goes up and gets the ball, really uses his hands to catch the ball,” Barnett said. “One of the things that we’ve been working on this spring with Damani is when the ball is in the air, being a 6-foot-4 guy, your mentality has to be greedy to the ball. Typically, on average, a receiver’s seven steps is about 10 to 12 yards. His seven steps, because of his stride, is about 16 to 18 yards. So, extremely long stride, learning how to use his strength when it comes to blocking. He’s going to be a pretty good talent. He can also get on the board and draw any of our concepts and then go over the quarterback’s progression. That’s been one of the things that we’ve done with our kids this year. Just trying to get them to understand where they need to be. So, he’s taking it on pretty well. Very coachable kid.”
What impressed Barnett is the fact that Michigan stopped by to find what he called “diamond in the roughs” in Las Vegas, as well as for his players to know the kind of attitudes and philosophies that lead perennial blue-bloods to the next level.
“One of the coaches was asking about a couple of other kids, which was, in my opinion, really great because they saw some things of our other kids, too, that they liked,” Barnett said. “Our staff always tells them, ‘Hey, listen, you just never know. When coaches come and recruit, there are other guys that stand out, too.’ We film everything in practice, and we tell them, ‘Hey, listen, if you do what you’re supposed to do in practice, you hustle hard, you have a high energy, high motor, it’s going to show up on film, and coaches are going see that.’ I think sharing that with our players that they like some of our other players, maybe not enough to give a scholarship, but, ‘Hey, you stood out in front of a national championship coach,’ was huge.”
Of course, having Michigan be in attendance a few months following the College Football Playoffs was notable for both Barnett and his athletes.
“That was great to see,” Barnett said. “One of the things we preach here about is adversity and how you’re going to respond. Obviously, they had some things going on at Michigan. Then, for them to be resilient and fight through that and respond in an elite way to become national champions. I was proud to see that and Coach (Sherrone Moore) taking over the program after (Jim) Harbaugh left and went on to the NFL. I think that they’re going to make another run at it. I do. They’re a great staff. Great group of guys.”
The post Coach of elite 2027 Las Vegas prospects talks interest from Michigan, spring evaluation visit from the coaching staff appeared first on On3.
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