In the aftermath of East Lake junior wide receiver George Campbell's decommitment from Michigan in mid-December, Michigan wasted little time before offering another prospect at the position. Saguaro High School's Christian Kirk was the benefactor of the next Wolverines offer. Kirk's interest in Michigan is mild at this point, but it has the chance to heat up with a potential offseason visit.
"I've been thinking about heading up to the Midwest and seeing some schools," said Kirk. I want to see all the big ones like Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. All those schools are pretty close to each other. If I'm up there, I might as well hit all of them."
Until that point, it is doubtful that Michigan will gain any traction with Kirk. With this in mind, Michigan extended a scholarship offer to junior wide receiver Juval Mollette (Randleman/NC) on Wednesday. Mollette experienced a great deal of success in 2013, catching 56 passes for 661 yards and nine touchdowns. This productivity forced teams to game plan against Mollette, but he managed to beat elaborate defensive schemes anyways. Juval shed light as to how he beat defenses this year.
"It was good," said Mollette. "It was tough because teams would double team me and bracket me. Considering that, it went pretty good. I'm athletic and I can attack the ball really well. I have pretty good speed because I got faster over the summer and will continue to throughout my career."
Mollette's presence might me most recognizable in the red zone as he already towers over opposing defensive backs. This length allows for Juval to take the top off of defenses in the downfield passing game, and he does a good job at beating press coverage. Mollette quite often uses his body to shield defenders from the football and displays soft hands to boot. These qualities have caused a number of schools to show interest in the junior wideout from North Carolina.
This skill set has allowed for Mollette to catapult to a national name that is drawing attention from across the country. At 6'4" and 187 lbs., Mollette possesses great size for a junior wideout. He has a long, athletic frame that can easily carry more weight at the next level. The schools competing the strongest for Mollette's services are Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, NC State and Clemson.
"Distance isn't really a problem for me," said Mollette. "I'm looking for academics and good football program with great fans and great coaching. I want a place that will feel like home. I'm might major in Sports Medicine to be an athletic trainer."
Outside linebacker coach Roy Manning stopped by Mollette's school to pay the standout wide receiver a visit during a Michigan bye week on October 21. Mollette recalled this initial meeting when speaking about his offer.
"Coach Manning called my head coach," said Mollette. "He's a cool guy. He came to my school during the season and we talked for a while. It went really good. All my offers mean a lot to me. I'm happy to get more under my belt."
In regards to his immediate interest in the Wolverines program, Mollette has some things to mull over before weighing in on his visit schedule. The Sports Medicine program of his future school looks to be an important aspect of his recruiting and a school can make an important stand with a comprehensive presentation. This is the type of thing that Michigan has excelled at in past recruitments when putting the full court press on for a target.
"I'm going to talk it over with my mom," said Mollette. " feel like Michigan is a really good school, but only time can tell in that part. It was crazy that the same day their offensive coordinator was fired that I was offered. I feel like the offense should get a lot better because that guy has a lot of experience."