Introducing: Marcus McWilson

Short junior highlight reel above, longer sophomore highlights here.

2013 Youngstown (OH) Cardinal Mooney ATH Marcus McWilson has flown under the radar in his recruitment, garnering only an offer from Youngstown State thus far, but if his highlights and interested schools are any indication, he should burst onto the scene in a big way in the near future. McWilson—a three-star and the No. 268 overall prospect on 247Sports—visited Michigan for the Ohio State game, and also has interest from Cal, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA, and West Virginia, among others. I chatted with Marcus last night about his recruitment, and here's the full transcript:

ACE: First of all, just wondering where the basic status of your recruitment is right now. What schools are you looking at, and where do things stand right now?

MARCUS: I guess things are going pretty well. Some of the schools are still coming up and talking to me. I had an offer from [Youngstown State] earlier. The schools that are looking at me right now are YSU, Pitt, Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, West Virginia, Georgia, and Georgia Tech, and some others.

ACE: You visited Michigan for the Ohio State game. How was that visit experience for you, and what impressions did you get from Michigan based on that visit?

MARCUS: It was a good visit. It was nice to go down there and see how things work and everything. The coaches were real nice, the players seemed humble and everything—it was a real welcoming environment. After the game, everyone was welcoming then after they won for the first time in I think seven years, and they were happy about that. I talked to Coach Montgomery and also the defensive coordinator. They want to get me down there for another visit and hopefully get me down there for more in a couple years.

ACE: Is Coach Montgomery your main contact at Michigan?

MARCUS: Yes.

ACE: Did you get a chance to talk to any of the other recruits who were at the game?

MARCUS: Some of them I talked to—some of them were in my grade, and one of them I know, he's actually my cousin, [2013 OL] Shaquon McWilson, he goes to Campbell. That's about it.

ACE: For people who may be unfamiliar with your game, can you describe what you bring to the table as a football player?

MARCUS: I would say a little bit of everything, because my coach plays me all over. I play everything from running back to receiver to safety, I come down sometimes as a linebacker, play kicker and punter, and I also do kick returns and punt returns as well.

ACE: Man, you're doing everything. [Marcus: Yeah.] Reading up on it, it sounded like you had quite the performance in the state title game. How would you say this year went for you personally, and also your team, coming away as state champs at Cardinal Mooney?

MARCUS: I would say I played pretty well throughout the season. I've got progressively better from week one and the offseason, just never letting it rest and getting after it. I keep working hard even when we don't have to, watching film and looking over our assignments to do things right. The rest of our team, we were all in there in the weight room the same way, and conditioning out there on the field. We all got better and had more chemistry, too, together as a team, which also definitely helps. We're all practicing out there. If someone's feeling down we're going to boost them up. It was a good season for us, and we're definitely happy with the state title we've got right now. It's a good feeling.

ACE: Going back to your recruitment, you named a long list of positions that you play in high school. Is there a preference that you have in terms of where you want to play at the next level?

MARCUS: A lot of schools are looking at me for safety and receiver, and either one of those I'd definitely be okay playing—I'd even play punter (laughs), I don't mind it. They're all good positions to play.

ACE: Has Michigan said anything specific about a position that they're looking at you for? I'm assuming, talking to Coach Mattison, that they're looking for you on defense.

MARCUS: Yeah. They want me to play safety.

ACE: What are you looking for in a prospective school to go to? When you're looking at a college, what are you looking for there?

MARCUS: I'm definitely looking at what profession I'm trying to get into. I'm still trying to figure that out, but I want to be an engineer, so I'm looking for a good engineering school and a good graduation rate. I'm want to also be able to play, of course, not just sit on the bench—I know I have to beat people out and everything, but I'm willing to work for it. [I'm looking for] a good team, and I'm a pretty coachable kid—I'm willing to work.

ACE: What are your plans for the offseason. Are you planning on visiting any schools over the summer, doing any camps, anything like that?

MARCUS: I'll be at a few camps in the summer. I'm looking at some junior days, I'm going maybe to the Michigan one and the Ohio State ones, there's some in January and February, so I'm going to see if I can get to some of those. I'm definitely still working hard in the offseason and just getting after it—I'm just a junior and in another year I want to get back-to-back state titles.

ACE: Do you have any favorites right now among the schools that have taken a look at you, or is it still too early to pick out favorites?

MARCUS: I would say it's a little too early to pick favorites. I'm not really leaning towards anyone right now, just looking around, so no favorites.