MARRERO, La. (WGNO) — “Michigan is all of a sudden a big player here. How did that happen?” WGNO Sports Director Ed Daniels asked Archbishop Shaw head coach Hank Tierney, and while can do nothing but laugh at the truth, the Shaw Eagles are turning into the Shaw Wolverines, after his wideout Jacob Washington commits to Big Blue.
The four-star joins fellow senior Jasper Parker as Michigan commits, and Coach Tierney points to a fellow Eagles alum for the sudden Shaw-Michigan pipeline.
“Ronald Bellamy obviously played here: great player here, one of the best players to ever play at Shaw, great player at Michigan, and he just recruited our kids. The receiver’s a lot like Ronald. Receiver’s built the same, kind of reminds me, with how he plays, how Ronald played and also a 4.0 student, and the running back is a 4.0 student. Running back really could’ve went anywhere in the country. Ronald just did a fantastic job with them, and they identified with him. They took their visits. They liked it, and they both came back talking about being Michigan Men so Michigan obviously does a great job recruiting,” Tierney explained.
Bellamy is entering his fourth year on the Wolverine’s coaching staff, but Michigan’s ability to recruit New Orleans players goes beyond the program’s wide receivers coach. U-M signs St. Aug’s LeRoy Hoard in the ’80s and John Curtis’s Chris Howard in the ’90s.
However fast forward to the current climate in college football recruiting, and committing to a school does not guaranty a student signs with the school, which piques. Tierney’s interest regarding Washington and Parker’s recruitment heading into their senior seasons.
“Sitting back all these years and watching this recruiting for all this time, I wanna see how this unfolds cause they already took their visits. They’re already committed, and then when they play as good as I think they can play, what’s gonna happen then? Will LSU come on, or will Alabama? I don’t think anybody’s given up cause they committed. Now, I don’t know, but that’s kind of what I assume. I think the young men are firm in their commitments, but you know, it’s a whole different landscape: this recruiting now,” the Eagles head coach continued.
Coach Tierney can watch Parker and Washington’s recruiting journeys unfold, starting on September 6th, when the Eagles begin their 2024 season at home against Edna Karr
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