Michigan offers first 2020 prospect: Jalen Berger

Submitted by Wolverine Devotee on

This happened a few weeks ago and it wasn't posted anywhere.

A 6-0, 175 high school freshman from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ.

Here's an article on him from 247- http://247sports.com/Bolt/Rutgers-Offers-Stud-2020-Don-Bosco-Prep-Athle…

Getting on the field as a freshman at Don Bosco Prep is almost unheard of, with only a few elite players such as Jabrill Peppers and Kevin Brennan being able to do it in the past decade. Former stars such as Leonte Carroo and Darius Hamilton weren't even able to achieve that task.
 
Jalen Berger, a 2020 athlete at Don Bosco Prep, not only got on the field this year as a freshman, he became the best weapon on the Ironmen offense, totaling over 800 yards from scrimmage and 7TDs after starting the year on the freshman team.
2020 means he was born in 2002..........
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LSAClassOf2000

December 19th, 2016 at 11:21 PM ^

The class year only reinforces one of the reasons why it is difficult for me to follow recruiting in that it now continuously serves as a reminder of how young I no longer am. By no means am I the oldest blogger here, but I definitely remember this kid's birth year - I assume 2002 - rather vividly. I mean, sadly, we began the year with an inspired performance from Tennessee's Casey Clausen in the Citrus Bowl, as I recall - Jimmy's older brother, of course.

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UMfan21

December 20th, 2016 at 12:24 AM ^

born in 2002...Probably he has no recollection of UofM ever being "good" until last year. I guess if you count Hoke's first year. it's just amazing to me that a generation was without UofM dominance. when I graduated HS in 98, it was a no brainer. UofM was the best (literally), and had pretty much been a force my entire life. it's hard for me to fathom being born in 2002 and having a completely different frame of reference around UofM.

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FieldingBLUE

December 20th, 2016 at 12:46 AM ^

My son is 2003 born and is such a diehard fan. I respect him more than myself at that age. I was enjoying an NC in hoops and a Rose Bowl win and the end of Bos run. He's had late Lloyd, The Horror (which he attended), richrod, hoke fools gold, Brandon etc). He did have a title game appearance on his birthday but even that ended in disappointment. We've beaten OSU 2x in his life. He's in 8th grade. Sigh.



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Coldwater

December 19th, 2016 at 11:35 PM ^

Does he even want to play college football? Or is it just assumed he does because he's talented? In 9th grade I couldn't even think about college. It just seems so early to offer a freaking 9th grader. It's preposterous really.

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Every Roh Has …

December 20th, 2016 at 1:51 AM ^

If you think this is bad, it's far worse in baseball. A 2021 (8th grader!!) committed to Mississippi State recently. Several 2020's are already committed, and it gets worse the older you go. Collegiate coaches are extending offers to younger and younger prospects at an alarming rate.

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LKLIII

December 20th, 2016 at 7:57 AM ^

Actual real question: is offering kids this early common practice now? Somebody mentioned in another recruiting thread that Alabama, OSU, etc had a few years jump on Harbaugh in creating relationships with kids in the 2017 class. Harbaugh has been around and able to recruit since the spring of those kids' sophomore years. If it's common, does that mean that--all things being equal--we will be gaining additional ground in a previous recruiting disadvantage (establishing contact with top kids very early like the other schools)?



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Magnus

December 20th, 2016 at 9:35 AM ^

Theoretically, yes. It's just keeping up with the other trends. I don't think Harbaugh lost that much ground because, while Urban Meyer was doing TV stuff, Jim Harbaugh was coaching the s*** out of an NFL team. That resonates with players, too, who saw him coaching in the Super Bowl. But as the years go along and the Super Bowl gets further behind Harbaugh, these early offers probably get a little more important. A current 14-year-old might not remember who the coaches were in the Super Bowl when he was 10 years old...

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Ali G Bomaye

December 20th, 2016 at 10:35 AM ^

I think the incentives line up such that there's no downside to offering early.

As we've seen, an offer from pretty much any top school means that the school is highly interested in the player, and if he continues to grow and progress as expected, the school will have a scholarship for him. It's not a guaranteed scholarship. So this is a good way to get on the kid's radar before the rush comes.

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LKLIII

December 20th, 2016 at 11:11 AM ^

The only downside in making an offer public though is that it signals to other top programs that the kid is good. If we find a top potential kid very early, I could see the incentive to offer the kid quietly so as not to tip off other recruiting scouts. That way a school has a shot at being the only suitor for the first year or so.



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M-Dog

December 20th, 2016 at 11:50 AM ^

Wow.  

It's one thing to be young enough to have your entire recruiting cycle be covered by the Rivals era, it's another thing to be young enough to have your entire life covered by the Rivals era.

 

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