Incoming: Michael Ferns

What?! A commit that isn't a huge surprise and out of nowhere?! I didn't think those existed!

Commit #1

 

Meet LB Michael Ferns 

Scout: NR
Rivals: NR
247Sports: 4-star, #94 OVR, #5ILB
ESPN: NR
MGoHello

Well this one may have been a long time coming.  Ferns has been one of the few '14 prospects considering Michigan to have cut down his list of schools to just a few.  He had a top 3 of Michigan, Notre Shame, and Penn. St.  It seemed be a two school race after the sanctions came out crushing PSU's football program even though Ferns clearly denied that anything had changed regarding the Nittany Lions.  Hard to believe.  Even before all this, Michigan was the leader and he gave plenty of indications about committing soon and being the first member of the '14 class.  And goodness is this a big splash to start off the class.

Ferns hails from Saint Clairsville, OH where he attends St. Clairsville HS.  He already has great size for the LB position at 6'3" 235 and I'd have to guess he is heading for the strong-side LB position once he gets to Michigan.  Not much to look at rankings wise.  247Sports is really the only site that has any ratings what-so-ever for the '14 class, but pulling in a top 100 talent based on what he did as a sophomore...Yes please!!!  This guys potential is scary.  He still has two more years of HS left to fine tune his skills and it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up as one of the top prospects in the country by the time he finish's his senior season and will definitely be a top prospect in Ohio, if not thee top.

Sam Webb was able to talk to Ferns about what made the decision so easy and why he was ready to pull the trigger:

 “I think when I went back (to Ann Arbor) the second time for the barbecue, I felt good about making the decision,” Ferns admitted. “After that you just kind of look out for the academic stuff focusing on fixing my junior schedule up to graduate early my senior year.  After that I was ready to go.”

“Michigan just stuck out to me.  After that second visit up there it kind of really stuck out more.  I felt good the whole time I was there.  I felt great and I knew it was time to make the decision.”

 “Now my focus is working on my junior season,” he said.  “It’s a big part of the reason I committed now.“

I love when players commit so they can get it out of the way and focus on working hard and helping their team achieve their ultimate goal.  These kids are teamers and those are the kids who win.  Keep 'em coming Hoke and staff.

Chalk this up to another player stolen out of Ohio's backyard (Seriously though, Saint Clairsville is about 100 miles away from Columbus, OUCH!). I thought I might have been jumping the gun a little bit when saying in my Inaugural post (which featured info on Ferns) that Ohio was our new stomping ground for recruiting in '13, but now that this staff has done it again (in impressive fashion), I couldn't have said it better.  Be excited about this kid, he has the potential to be a great one. O yea....annnnnd he will be enrolling early, that can't hurt right?! 

Other Offers
He had 22 offers all together from anyone and everyone.  Most notable: Illinois, MSU, ND, OSU, Oklahoma, PSU, Stanford, WVU, and Wisconsin.

Hype Video

This kid is a ball hawk.  He wastes no time getting through the line and finding the ball carrier.  Something that surprises me is his speed.  His highlights at RB are very impressive and he shows a great first burst getting through the hole, something that the best at the LB position possess.

Something Scary to Think About
Ferns could be the Shane Morris of '13 for the defensive side of the ball.  Having a kid this highly ranked commit this early can only aid the staff in recruiting as you can see this year with Morris.  Ferns is sort of the quarterback of the defense (playing the LB position) and I'm sure he will stop at nothing to do anything he can to help recruit the top talent in the country to join him.