List of Freshmen Walk-Ons
List of Walk-On Freshmen, from mgoblue.com:
Andrew Offerdahl, #31, S, 5-11, 199, Fort Lauderdale, FL Prep ... attended Cardinal Gibbons High School (2012) coached by Mike Morrill ... three-year letterman in football ... national honor society ... Other Sports ... also participated in soccer, swimming and track and field. (Son of five-time Miami Dolphin Pro-Bowler, John Offerdahl)
Bo Dever, #3, WR, 6-2, 193, Lake Forest, Ill. Prep ... attended Lake Forest High School (2012) coached by Chuck Spagnoli ... three-year letterman in football ... earned first-team all-conference recognition at wide receiver as a senior ... Other Sports ... also participated in baseball. (TTB interview)
Chris Maye, #46, DB, 5-11, 182, Union City, MI Prep ... attended Union City High School (2012) coached by Eric Tundevold ... four-year letterman in football ... Honors and Rankings ... received all-state recognition junior and senior seasons ... Other Sports ... four-year letterman in track and field. (Board fluff) (He's fast)
Brian Cleary, #6, QB, 6-3, 204, Detroit, MI Prep ... attended Detroit Jesuit High School (2012) coached by Jeff Putnam ... national honor society ... four-year varsity letterman in football ... Honors and Rankings ... earned first-team All-Catholic League honors as a quarterback during junior and senior seasons ... added second-team all-city accolades as a senior.
Kenneth Allen, #91, K/P, 6-3, 205, Fenton, MI Prep ... attended Fenton High School (2012) coached by Jeff Setzke ... two-year varsity letterman in football ... Honors and Rankings ... first-team all-district punter senior year ... Other Sports ... also participated in basketball and soccer. (Held offer from Oregon State)
Dan Gibbs, #79, OL, 6-7, 311, Birmingham, MI Prep ... attended Seaholm High School (2012) coached by Jim DeWald ... three-year varsity letterman in football ... Honors and Rankings ... earned first-team all-state honors at offensive tackle senior year ... received first-team all-conference recognition sophomore, junior and senior seasons ... Other Sports ... also participated in track and field and wrestling. (Scout: 3 stars, #97 OT)
Ben Pliska, #63, OL, 6-3, 269, Kirkland, WA Prep ... attended Lake Washington High School (2012) coached by Stephen Supple ... three-year varsity letterman in football ... national honor society ... Honors and Rankings ... earned all-conference recognition junior and senior seasons ... Other Sports ... four-year letterman in lacrosse. (Video highlights from hudl.com)
Ryan Glasgow, #96, DL, 6-4, 294, Aurora, Ill Prep ... attended Marmion Academy (2012) coached by Dan Thorpe ... national honor society ... two-year varsity letterman in football ... Honors and Rankings ... recognized as Suburban Christian Conference Defensive Player of the Year senior year ... Other Sports ... two-year varsity letterman in basketball. (Brother of Redshirt Freshman OL Graham Glasgow. One or both of the brothers had preferred walk-on offers from Ohio (yes, that Ohio))
Mark Lawson, #59, LB, 6-2, 213, Ada, MI Prep ... attended Forest Hills Eastern High School (2012) coached by Tim Gibson ... three-year letterman in football ... earned all-state and all-conference accolades as a senior (2011) ... national honor society ... Other Sports ... also lettered in lacrosse and wrestling. (Ann Arbor.com article)
August 6th, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^
Bo is named after Bo. YTB. And is the son Dave Devers who played for Michigan in the 80s.
August 6th, 2012 at 11:36 AM ^
Bo Dever: NR WR, Scout
Chris Maye, Board Fluff
Dan Gibbs: 3 Stars, #97 OT, Scout. MAC Offers
Brian Cleary: 2* QB, #159 Scout. No word on his musical talents.
Kennet Allen: NR Punter, held offer from Oregon State
Ryan Glasgow: 2* NR DE, Scout
Not listed means I couldn't find anything on them via a quick Google check of Scout and Rivals. By quick I mean about 5 minutes worth.
August 6th, 2012 at 11:47 AM ^
About Kenny Allen,
Why would he want to come here as a walk-on when he had an offer from a Pac 12 school (Bad school, but still BCS)?
Especially since we had just taken a K/P in Matt Wile the previous class and Hagerup was only a year older...
No "this is Michigan fergodsakes" or any of that crap, does anybody have a serious idea or know why?
August 6th, 2012 at 11:52 AM ^
Perhaps his confidence level in terms of long term earning the scholarship is very high.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:59 PM ^
Close to home, better school academically. Who knows? He may not think he is going to play pro football, likes Michigan and wants a Michigan degree.
maybe it is because there is a lot of similarity between oregon state and msu, both primarily agricultural schools, campuses are similar, a bit over shadowed academically, prestige and sports-wise and only about 50-60 miles apart between the two major universities. just sayin..
August 6th, 2012 at 12:08 PM ^
Could also depend on what type of "offer" it was. Was it commitable? Did OSU (NTOSU) take another punter before him? Was it a 1 year offer, not multi?
He may have just said man I am better off attending Michigan for the academics as I like football but dont need to play it.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
wasn't there another walk-on from fenton,mi with allen? i believe it was a lineman.
There were two more from Fenton. Quinton Mandle (TE) and Tyler Tokarsky (LS).
Quinton just left Saturday to report to camp and Tyler said that he didn't get invited to camp this year, so he reports after camp is done at the end of August.
yep, those are them, thanks.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
August 6th, 2012 at 12:52 PM ^
If you have minimal odds of ever making the pros, go to the school that offers the best future for your post football career. 4 years of instate at Michigan and higher career earnings potential is better than 4 years free at some other school and less career potential. I assume he liked our program in his chosen major the best. Or his parents are sitting on a nice stash of money and didn't care.
Its the Michigan difference. Although he was greatful for the full ride offer, he wanted to attend Michigan for academics and tradition. Competition is welcomed and Kenny has lots of confidence. Also his mother attended and graduated from Michigan. Tuition is always a concern but not as much as and how his future will be shaped by Michigan.
"The Michigan Difference."
YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! Those commercials are really paying off.
looks like we have a definite inside source on this recruit by the name. so guess we can take that this is a credible source.
Well that settles it. Thank you for the full explanation, I was just curious. I hope Kenny sees the field before leaving.
I think we often ignore the actual kitchen table discussions that take place with recruits everywhere.
Glad to have Kenny on board. We look forward to his nomination for the Jareth Glanda Ridiculous Special Teams Play of the Year Award in the near future.
With a RS, he will have two years of separation from Wile and three from Hagerup. If he turns into a good enough punter or PK, he can start for two years.
August 6th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
I haven't been this excited about a freshman walk-on since Mike Kaselitz.
Seriously though, despite the fact that he probably will never see any meaningful action, i've heard good things about him - smart, good size, good all-around kid.. Great to have him aboard - hopefully he can at least lead the scout team and help prepare the defense each week..
August 6th, 2012 at 11:54 AM ^
I haven't been this excited about a freshman walk-on since Mike Kaselitz.
What, no love for Ben Fry?
August 6th, 2012 at 12:10 PM ^
Ah yes, forgot about him - probably b/c i'm getting old.
The funny thing is, I said this and then bang, there he is on the front page getting creamed by Ojemudia.
August 6th, 2012 at 12:51 PM ^
plus who knows, with a name like cleary maybe he can also walk-on with the hockey team. /smile
Somebody here is a Grosse Pointe South alumnus...
ya think! give that man a cigar!
Make that "somebodies."
I'll try to spot him on the dvr games
August 6th, 2012 at 12:09 PM ^
I'm assuming that Andrew Offerdahl is the son of John Offerdahl who played linebacker at WMU back in the mid 1980's (when I was there). He was quite a player, possibly the best Bronco football player of all time....and a five time Pro-Bowler in the NFL.
Hoke and Mattison were both coaching at WMU back in those days so there's a connection. It's great to see how these players and coaches are still connected so many years down the road.
any of his dad's ability, energy, and football "smarts", this may be the next "Kovacs" of the bunch. John Offerdahl was just that good!
August 6th, 2012 at 12:37 PM ^
from Marmion Academy (Graham Glasgow, RS Freshman OL, his brother). Also a nice source for Christmas trees, FYI.
Not trying to kid here, as these guys will make an impact. As Wellman said about the walk on seniors in the Countdown to Kickoff videos, they may not bring it on the field Saturdays, but they bring it on the sidelines and the other 353 days of the year.
Besides the big fat tuition/room and board/etc check, is being a walk on any different from being on scholarship? Do they still get to go to training table? Get all the michigan clothing? Get to use the Athletic Academic Center? Obviously they got to go on the leadership retreat, I guess, besides the money, is there a difference?
Outside of tuition, room and board, and meal plans, there's no difference. All team members are given team gear, access to facilities, team meals, etc.
If they travel, they do everything with the rest of the team
Bowl gifts and per diem are the same.
Study table is also open to everyone.
They get all the gear and swag as the others, although sometimes Big Jonny Falk busts your balls when you ask for a new pair of shoes. He'll tell you to GTFO just to see your reaction.. He wants to see how far he can push your buttons before you crack.
Having Chris Maye potentially in the defensive backfield could be intriguing from a coverage standpoint - some of his track stats from the 2012 outdoor season, as evidence (Link).
Also, as I recall, his 60m time is within earshot of Denard's (.2 seconds or thereabouts), so he's an excellent athlete that could get to a receiver, or indeed, the ball incredibly quickly. If he can find his way to the field as a safety or a corner, even in spot duty, he could possibly make an impact.
Two of them are 4 year letterman in football. It's quite and accomplishment to be brought up as a sophmore in HS, but wow, as a freshman. Kids must be beasts. Best of luck to them! So who is the next Kovaks?
There is also the tailback from CC's state champion a few years back, Anthony Capatina. The FB from that team (Niko Palazeti) is playing for Sparty. Oddly enough, Capatina is listed as a kicker although I don't think he kicked in HS.
After a couple of loaded O-Line classes, we'll miss out on at least one or two recruits eventually. We'll have an opening somewhere on the O-Line and Gibbs will step up. The kid has all the size you could want. a year or two working with the coaches and he'll earn a schollie.
I think he might end up as the surprise true freshman contributor. Has the height and the weight to slot in now. If we suffer some attrition and need to run a true freshman out for a play or two, he seems like the guy to send. To look at it purely from a utility point of view, you want to burn the redshirt of a top recruit al la Gardner or burn the walkon's? For Gibbs it gives him a chance to prove he should be upgraded to scholarship player and saves redshirts of the prime targets.
No offense if you're reading this Gibbs. Please don't find me and kill me.
August 7th, 2012 at 12:21 PM ^
His production was limited senior year partially due to injury, but he's a monster. And, since he passed up Ivy-league offers to walk-on here, he's a Michigan Man.
I bet he'd also hold his own in interviews, based on what we saw here.