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2021 Scottsdale (AZ) Saguaro four-star defensive end Quintin Somerville has as impressive an offer sheet as anybody.
He has a veritable ‘who’s who’ of high-end opportunities at his disposal: Georgia, LSU, Ohio State, Auburn and both in-state Arizona schools. But in the end, he picked Michigan above all.
Somerville had visited Ann Arbor twice, but with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting in March, he couldn’t make it back to campus — nor could he go anywhere else — to solidify his future decision. However, between having been to Michigan, as well as his long-term relationship with defensive line coach Shaun Nua, Somerville felt that the Wolverines were his best option, hence his June 2020 commitment to join the maize and blue.
On Thursday, he shared why Michigan was the obvious choice for him with WolverinesWire.
“Since that visit, my recruiting from Michigan has just been incredible,” Somerville told WolverinesWire. “Obviously I got to meet all the coaches. Coach Brown and Coach Harbaugh were the coaches that I hadn’t really got to meet that I’ve been talking with every day. They were just incredible to me.
“And, of course, Coach Nua. Our relationship since he was at Arizona State. I’ve known him on a deeper scale because of my brother being a coach, as well. That relationship that we built when he was at Arizona State is really strong. I used to go into his office every day and talk to him. It’s just really special knowing that he’s been recruiting me this whole time and has that deeper care for me going into this thing.
“I guess what made me pull the trigger in the end, obviously the mix between academics and football – you can’t get much better than Michigan. With that coaching staff that they have currently, it’s just incredible.”
Somerville will be on campus sooner-than-later, as an intended early-enrollee, arriving in Ann Arbor after he partakes in the All-American Bowl on Jan. 9.
So, what is he looking forward to once he finally starts his college career?
“I plan on enrolling on Jan. 15, and in the thick of the winter!” Somerville said. “I’m not gonna be excited about that one, but besides that, just getting to know everyone. I didn’t get to meet everyone I wanted to meet when I was out there, player-wise. But, building a relationship with the team and getting to know the city more, it’s gonna be really special. What I’ve seen so far in the two trips I’ve taken to Ann Arbor, it’s just been really special. When my momma starts crying when she sees the stadium, that’s how you know it’s real!”
Until he gets to Ann Arbor, Somerville feels like he’s personally something of a work in progress, with multiple capabilities, but not necessarily a solid identity as a defensive end.
Still, at the moment, Michigan sees him as fitting into the role of one of the Wolverines’ biggest playmakers on the defensive line, and he’s spending a lot of time on his own working to emulate perhaps the NFL’s biggest standout at defensive end.
“Coach Nua – I send him clips every day of what we do at practice and in the games, of course,” Somerville said. “He keeps telling me I look different in every clip and he doesn’t know how I’m gonna project. But right now, he likes me at the Kwity Paye defensive end position. That’s where I think I’m gonna play going in, but obviously that’s subject to change once they see what I can do.
“Model-wise, I watch Khalil Mack a lot. Just seeing his violence off the ball, how he sets his hands and leverages his advantages – that’s incredible. So I’m modeling after that right now and trying to get some of those clips on my highlight tape.”