Wednesday was an interesting day for Jim Harbaugh and the University of Michigan football program. On one hand, they signed 25 of their 27 commits and on the other hand, they learned that All-American linebacker Devin Bush Jr. was skipping the Peach Bowl to focus on the NFL.
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So, who will be the next great Michigan linebacker? Who will be the next Devin Bush Jr.?
Harbaugh thinks that one of the Wolverines recent signees, Charles Thomas could be that guy.
From Wolverines Wire:
“He’s had a stellar career,” Harbaugh said of Bush. “He’s an All-American, someone who’s gonna have his picture up on the All-American wall. I think it’s gonna be ingrained in our minds of No. 10 running and hitting and making plays sideline-to-sideline. I even said it earlier – you recruit players now, and you say, ‘He’s gonna be like Devin,’ or, ‘Could this guy be another Devin Bush?’ And you’re out there looking for that player.
“Charles Thomas – you say, ‘I wonder if we can get another Devin Bush,’ and maybe Charles Thomas is that kind of guy.
“Sentimentally, I look back to three years ago when we were recruiting Devin. I look back to two years ago, we were recruiting Donovan Peoples-Jones and Tarik Black and Ben Bredeson (ed: Bredeson was in the 2016 class). And now, you recruit guys and they come in, and a youngster will say, ‘Oh my God, there’s Devin Bush!’ And, ‘Devin Bush said hello to me, talked to me!’ The next youngsters: ‘God, I just want to be like Tarik Black!’ Another: ‘DPJ, he’s such a beast! I got to meet DPJ!’
“It’s neat. They’re role models now, and they’re at Michigan or were at Michigan setting a standard for this new group of players out there and guys that want to be just like them. It’s really awesome to just be here and be observing it and watching that. Means a lot – what are guys like Devin and Donovan and Ben Bredeson, what do they mean? They mean a lot. They’re real role models.”