The Michigan coaches have been on the road, checking in on recruits from all corners of the country. Multiple offers have gone out over the past couple of weeks and two of the latest are to tight ends Hale Hentges and Chris Clark.
Name: Hale Hentges
Position: Tight End
Ht/Wt: 6'5" / 230 lbs.
Location: Helias High School – Jefferson City, MO
Offers: Arkansas, Florida State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Wisconsin
Ranking: ★★★★ .9175 (247 Composite)
Hentges is one of the more coveted tight end recruits in the 2015 class according to his offer list (most of the Big Ten, Oklahoma, FSU, some SEC schools), and is a 4-star recruit according to the 247 Composite. Hale’s offensive coordinator is his father Chris, and I was able to catch up with him once I learned of the offer. Hale has a basketball game tonight so I plan on getting his opinion a little later on.
Hale tweeted about the Michigan offer and his father explains how it happened.
Evidently Coach Hoke and Coach Nussmeier said that they were looking at tight end tape this weekend and they put in some tape from a lot of tight ends around the country and they really liked Hale’s. They discussed it and came to a consensus that they’d like to offer him. Coach Hecklinski was the one who actually notified us of the offer so that was very exciting.
Chris also talked about how being the father and the offensive coordinator gives him a unique opportunity to be very involved in his son’s recruitment.
Once the coaches find out that I’m on staff it does make it convenient for the recruitment to go forward. Phil Pitts is the head coach and he’s very involved in the recruiting process as well.
With a change at offensive coordinator and two very solid tight ends on the roster already it will be interesting to see how involved the tight ends will be in Coach Nuss’s system and Chris had some insight to that as well.
The tight end is a position that the coaches really want to focus on in the 2015 recruiting class, they need to get two. They said they were looking for the best in the country and based on what they’ve seen they believe that Hale fits into that category.
The elder Hentges talked to me about how excited he and his son both were to have this Michigan offer moving forward. He spoke of Michigan’s proud tradition and rich academic and athletic history and said with a humbled laugh that the Michigan offer has definitely piqued their interest. Michigan is one of the schools Hale definitely plans to visit in the spring so that he can begin to narrow his list down to schools that fit the character and culture he will comfortable at.
Chris also spoke about the schematic fit that could best utilize Hale’s skillset which includes a toughness and ability to play with his hand in the dirt as well as the versatility and athleticism to play in the slot or out wide. Having guys like Devin Funchess and Jake Butt on the field should certainly catch the eyes of both father and son in that regard.
Chris seemed to be quite informed as it pertained to scheme which you’d expect but he was also pretty knowledgeable when it came to Michigan in general.
I’m aware that Coach Hoke has just finished his 3rd year. We follow football all across the country and we aren’t just SEC or Big 12 fans, we’re just football fans. We know of Michigan because of the big rivalry game every year with Ohio State. Ohio State is another school that’s already offered and we got their perspective on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry and it will be really interesting to get Michigan’s take on it. We know that Michigan has an awful lot to offer academically and athletically and we are just intrigued, I think that’s the best way to put it.
With a very impressive offer list already Michigan has it’s work cut out for them but Hale’s father seemed very sincere when he mentioned the interest and intrigue involving the Wolverines. They plan to visit Ann Arbor and if they do I’d say Michigan has as good a shot as any to be a major factor in Hale’s recruitment.
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Name: Chris Clark
Position: Tight End
Ht/Wt: 6'6" / 243 lbs.
Location: Avon Old Farms School – Avon, CT
Offers: Arizona State, Arkansas, Boston College, Georgia, Indiana, Miami, Michigan, NC State, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Syracuse, Temple, Tennessee, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest
Ranking: ★★★ .8800 (247 Composite)
A little over a month ago I posted a Names To Watch article on Chris Clark and today he was offered by Michigan. Clark, while not quite as highly rated as Hentges, boasts an offer list just as impressive with schools from all over the country (Ohio State and Georgia among them) extending scholarships to the big tight end. Clark spoke highly of the Wolverines before and now that he has an offer it appears that Michigan will definitely factor in to his recruitment.
Clark didn’t hide the fact that he was pumped about his Michigan offer, tweeting the news with a pretty indicative hashtag.
Got offered by the university of Michigan #dreamcometrue
— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) January 29, 2014
I had to ask him about that along with how the offer came about and just his reaction about the whole thing.
I’m really excited about it, it definitely was a dream come true. Coach Ferrigno checked in at my school today and told my coach that I had been offered by Michigan. He made it a point to say that at Michigan they offer the best players in the country and they didn’t want to let me slip away without showing how much they want me there. He said that Michigan plans to use the tight end in mismatches as much as possible whether it be in-line or in the slot which is cool.
Clark made mention of Michigan’s current tight ends and the talent level that’s already on the roster.
Michigan is intriguing to me because they have great tight ends right now. I love to compete though. I love to show that I’m better than the guy in front of me. There are a bunch of reasons why I like Michigan, just in terms of the competition, of what every day in practice would be like, it’s awesome. At a place like Michigan you can never take a day off because there will be guys in front of you and behind you that are so talented.
Connecticut doesn’t exactly have the reputation of being a great football state or a place where a lot of talent comes from, so I asked Chris about what it’s like being from Connecticut and how it might factor into his allegiances and recruitment.
Growing up I loved Boston College because my dad went there, he didn’t play for them but he attended BC and actually a lot of my family actually did. That has no influence in my recruitment either, but a lot of people ask me if I’m going to go there because my dad and other family members. I would never make a decision based off of something like that but they were the team I really liked growing up. Obviously everyone knows about Michigan, growing up I always watched them on TV. It’s one of the few programs in college football where you say the name and just think football. Michigan IS college football in some ways, just the fans and how they feel about the team, the stadium, the success that they’ve had. It’s really just the whole package.
Clark’s recruitment has really been picking up lately as he’s added almost a dozen offers since I posted the Name To Watch article on Christmas Eve. There are already a few schools rising to the top, again referencing the #dreamcometrue comment from his tweet about the Michigan offer.
There’s a couple of schools that I would say that for where it’s like, “Wow, that offer is a dream come true.” Georgia is definitely one of them too and so is Ohio State. Some people might have taken that out of context and assumed that Michigan is #1 now, they are definitely one of my favorites, but that statement doesn’t mean that I’m definitely a Michigan guy now. I love Michigan but there are a few other schools that could also make me say that. I would say that Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia, Tennessee, and Miami are the ones that I really like right now.
Clark won’t be able to attend the Junior Day event coming up at Michigan but he did say he already plans on attending a spring practice during his March break. He said visiting Michigan is “a priority and I will definitely attend a spring practice”. In the immediate future he leaves for Athens tomorrow to check out Georgia and will visit Ohio State on March 21st.
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After talking with Hale’s father and Chris himself I fully expect Michigan to be in it toward the end with both tight end prospects. Michigan will apparently take two tight ends in the 2015 class with one of them assumed to be Tyrone Wheatley Jr., one of these young men could very realistically be the other. I like both of them on film and honestly am pretty indifferent when it comes to a preference. It seems both will definitely visit Michigan and once that happens a commitment is always a possibility.