U-M football grabbing offensive recruits

Michigan’s future offense is beginning to take shape in the 2008 recruiting class.

Two oral commitments Sunday – the first by Tuscola, Ill., quarterback John Wienke and the second reportedly by Fort Bend (Texas) Dulles wide receiver Darryl Stonum – will help shape the Wolverines.

Michigan historically only takes one quarterback per class, and Wienke will enter a year after super-recruit Ryan Mallett, who is expected to be groomed this fall, spending a year as Chad Henne’s backup. But, by all accounts, it will be Ryan Mallett’s job after that.

Yet that doesn’t bother Wienke, a three-star recruit, who was sold on Michigan for so many other reasons and bypassed the chance for more guaranteed playing time at another Big Ten school such as Illinois, Indiana or Iowa.

“I’m not too worried about it,” he said of Ryan Mallett. “I’m sure he’s a real good guy and fun to be on the same team with. I’ll have to work really hard. I’m not quite the top person everybody’s looking at. So I’ll go in, work hard and have to work my way up.”

The backup quarterback spot remains of critical value, especially for a team like Michigan, which annually contends for the Big Ten title. Wolverines fans might take the spot for granted after Chad Henne’s three healthy seasons.

Michigan’s reputation for success did part of the sales job – “they’re going to go for the national championship every year, instead of saying we’re going for a bowl game – and its reputation for development helped as well.

“That’s the thing coach (Scot) Loeffler told me,” Wienke said. “Going into Michigan, they’re going to prepare you for the NFL. They’re known for their quarterbacks and they’re going to develop people. They even have some backups in the NFL right now.”

The academic side of Michigan also spurred Wienke, who insists he’s competitive in the classroom as well and wants to see how he measures up at U-M, coming from what he called a small town.

(Tuscola, just south of Champaign, is a town of 4,400 people.)

Stonum, whose commitment was reported by TheWolverine.com and GoBlueWolverine.com, is rated by Rivals.com as the nation’s No. 9 wide receiver in the 2008 class and should make an immediate impact.

Two of his former high school teammates, linebacker Brandon Herron and defensive back Troy Woolfolk, will be U-M freshmen this fall.
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