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When you grow up 20 minutes from Ohio State, you’re bound to be a Buckeyes fan, just like Kaden Saunders.
Yet, the 2022 Westerville (OH) South athlete found himself in Ann Arbor at the first possible opportunity, the day the recruiting dead period ended, learning more about what the maize and blue and Michigan has to offer.
Originally offered back in Sept. 2019, Saunders was shocked by the visit, not anticipating how great things would go for him and his father — who accompanied him on the trip — when they got to Schembechler Hall.
“It went really well,” Saunders told WolverinesWire. “I wasn’t expecting a lot of the stuff that happened today. Coach Roundtree showed me, my dad and I, around the whole day. And we were really impressed by him and all the coaches that we talked to.
“I sat in a meeting with Coach Gattis and he went over some football stuff. Watched some film. I like the way he coaches. He goes over all the minor details and elevates all his players’ games off those minor details that he critiques and emphasizes in the way he coaches.
“At lunch, I talked to Coach Harbaugh. He sat with my dad and I. We talked about my background, his background, family. Just overall, it was a great visit.”
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Listed by the recruiting services as an athlete, Michigan is wooing Saunders at wide receiver, hence he spent his time with grad assistant and former Wolverine Roy Roundtree and offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.
To him, the biggest thing that made this visit such a roaring success was the bond that he formed with the duo.
“How I bonded with Coach Roundtree and Coach Gattis — like off the bat we connected,” Saunders said. “It was easy to make conversation with them. It was just easy to connect. All the other coaches as well, they welcomed me. Made me feel wanted.”
For a recruit going into his junior year, Saunders has a clear view of what he wants at the next level.
He isn’t just looking for a family atmosphere or a place that feels like home — though both are a part of it.
For him, given his upbringing, he’s looking for an institution that’s strong academically, that can prepare him for life beyond football, and a staff that will mold him into the man he wants to become.
“Obviously academics, because that’s the main thing with my family,” Saunders said. “My mom’s a teacher. So academics – and Michigan meets that standard, obviously. The atmosphere inside the program. Do they take care of the players on and off the field? Life after football, like what does a degree mean from that university? Am I gonna be able to get a good job? That’s pretty much it. Am I gonna excel on the field, too? Am I gonna get a chance to maximize my potential at the university that I choose? That plays a role.”
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From an academics standpoint, Saunders also already knows two areas he’s strongly considering — again, already ahead of the curve on that front.
And given his interests, Michigan is well-aligned for him, given that it has both the Ross School of Business and a strong kinesiology program.
“My top two choices right now are probably business or sports medicine,” Saunders said. “I just like the idea of being a physical therapist. It’s just interesting to me. I’ve torn my hamstring before and just the whole process of rehab and working with my physical therapist, it just interested me in how much they knew about the body.”
As of now, Saunders has 11 reported offers, and though he’s hearing from the Buckeyes, he doesn’t have an offer from the home school.
With schools such as Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame surging in his recruitment, they all already have a leg up on the Buckeyes, given that they’re recruiting him at his preferred position, whereas OSU is not.
“Ohio State is recruiting me as a DB – they’re the only school that’s recruiting me not on the offensive side of the ball,” Saunders said. “But my heart is on the offensive side of the ball. That’s what I’m gonna do in college.”
Though the onus is now on the 2021 class, as those players are going into their senior years, Saunders has no intentions of drawing out his recruitment until he’s on the clock.
Instead, he says, he wants to get a chance to work with his top schools during camps this summer, and then make his choice as soon as this fall as to where he’ll attend.
“Probably this summer I’ll cut down my list, focus on ten schools, maybe five,” Saunders said. “This summer, I’m gonna try to choose schools I’m most interested in and get to those camps if possible to work with some of those coaches. See how I like being coached by them, stuff like that. And then, junior year sometime, I think I’ll commit sometime junior year.”