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After nearly a year sitting tight with just two commitments in the 2021 class, the Wolverines finally got commit No. 3 on March 25, with Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy four-star interior offensive lineman Greg Crippen pledging to the maize and blue.
Crippen was a long-time Notre Dame commitment, but kept in touch with Michigan throughout the process.
But given that Crippen, of course, didn’t originally get his start at the all-star team at IMG Academy, he already had some connections with the maize and blue, as he spent his first few years at the high school level at Milton Academy in Massachusetts.
If that sounds familiar, that’s because that’s the same school that produced 2020 Michigan signee Kalel Mullings.
So why was flipping from the Fighting Irish to the Wolverines the choice? Crippen explained to WolverinesWire what made going to school in Ann Arbor so intriguing.
“Michigan was my first offer and they never stopped recruiting me hard,” Crippen said. “(I was lured by) the Massachusetts connections with other players and Coach Brown, too.
“Also, Michigan is now more of a passing team. I feel my strengths are pass blocking and moving in space. (The feel of the game) will show more of my skill set.”
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When he gets to campus, Crippen intends to be a business major, but as far as positionally, it’ll be a wait-and-see approach.
As of current, Michigan has two commitments in 2021 that could both play center between Crippen and latest verbal commit, Detroit (MI) Cass Tech four-star Raheem Anderson.
Though he played center last year and anticipates that will continue in 2020 for IMG Academy, Crippen anticipates coming to Ann Arbor with an open mind and simply doing what’s best for the team.
“I feel (like I) will fit (wherever they put me),” Crippen said. “I will work hard every day, I will do what I am told. I will play and learn whatever they ask.
“I played freshman and sophomore year at right and left guard. Last year at center and probably this year at center. My mindset is to be as versatile as possible. I just want to play and help my teammates.”
If you follow along with recruiting on social media, then there’s been a common thread when it comes to the 2021 class.
The major targets often find their tweets quote-tweeted or responded to by either J.J. McCarthy or Giovanni El-Hadi — the two pledges who have been committed to the program since early-to-mid 2019. But as of late, Crippen has joined them, working to lure some of the nation’s top prospects to Ann Arbor.
He shared his strategy as far as how he approaches recruiting as well as who he’s targeting.
“I would like to keep the Massachusetts to Michigan (pipeline) going,” Crippen said. “(I’m recruiting) Drew Kendall (and) talking with and David Davidkov a little. Also JC Latham.”
The aforementioned Kendall is another interior offensive lineman from Massachusetts and one that Michigan has been targeting for some time. Rated a four-star at No. 71 overall by 247Sports, he remains one of the maize and blue’s top targets in 2021. Davidkov is a four-star offensive tackle from Illinois, rated No. 59 overall.
But Latham is a different story.
He’s a fellow offensive lineman from IMG Academy, recently moved by 247Sports up into five-star status at the No. 3 overall ranking, regardless of position. However, with 11 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions, all for Michigan’s arch rival Ohio State, that means that Crippen is lining up next to a strong ally that could eventually become one of his chief enemies.
Now that he’s with the maize and blue, Crippen is in Latham’s ear, but he’s walking a balancing act, trying not to push too hard.
“We talk about it,” Crippen said. “I am going to try to talk more but understand and respect his thought process during this.”
Crippen is rated No. 244 overall by the 247Sports Composite and is acknowledged as the No. 4 center in the 2021 class.