Fournette attendind barbecue on July 28th
Report: No. 1 tailback Leonard Fournette to visit Michigan
By
Kyle Meinke Michigan Football Reporter
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Posted on Fri, Jul 12, 2013 : 3:04 p.m.
ANN ARBOR -- Michigan hosted the No. 1 tailback in the country last summer during their annual recruiting barbecue event. Six months later, Derrick Green became a Wolverine.
Could history repeat itself?
Leonard Fournette will make it back-to-back No. 1 tailbacks to attend the Wolverines' annual Barbecue at the Big House,
according to Scout. The annual event, which draws several commits and targets from around the country, is July 28.
Fournette is ranked No. 1 at his position by each of the three major recruiting outlets, and he's America's No. 1 player overall according to ESPN. The New Orleans native is believed to favor staying close to home, but the Wolverines have popped onto his radar thanks to the recruiting efforts of Jabrill Peppers.
Brady Hoke continues to loom large over the recruiting trail, this time reportedly enticing No. 1 tailback Leonard Fournette to visit Ann Arbor. The Wolverines already signed the nation's No. 1 tailback for 2013.Daniel Brenner | AnnArbor.com
The nation's No. 1 cornerback, who committed to Michigan earlier this offseason,
has vowed to deliver other big-time prospects to the Wolverines. He's specifically mentioned Fournette, as well as No. 1 defensive end Da'Shawn Hand and No. 2 cornerback Adoree' Jackson.
Fournette still likely is a longshot to end up in Ann Arbor, but getting him on campus is the first major step toward luring him North.
That is, after all, what happened to Green. The Virginia native was being recruited by nearly every major program in the country, but fell in love with the Wolverines and their culture while visiting during the barbecue last summer.
He committed shortly before signing day, becoming Michigan's best tailback recruit of the modern recruiting era, and is expected to compete for the starting job when fall camp opens Aug. 5.
While the presence of one No. 1 tailback could scare off another, due to playing time concerns, Peppers has tried to spin that into a positive in his pitch to Fournette.
"Derrick is one of the best young running backs in the country and with him taking reps along with Leonard they could be the best 1-2 punch in the country," Peppers wrote this week in a blog post for USA Today.
"The best part is that it would preserve him more because he's not gonna have to take on the whole load by himself. He'll get a blow and we won't lose productivity on the field. Getting those breaks will allow him to have a longer career than most running backs."
