Top Recruit Anthony LaLota Commits to Michigan

When Michigan lost Detroit star William Campbell to a de-commitment, they knew they had to up the ante and go out and find another commitment to play the defensive line.

Then New Jersey star Anthony LaLota went on CSTV and pulled the Wolverines’ hat out of his bag, picking them over multiple other schools including Rutgers and Notre Dame, and Michigan had solved their defensive tackle problem as far as recruiting goes.

Campbell might very well still go to Michigan after he’s done looking at teams like Miami and USC, but it was important to lock up another defensive tackle with stars Terrance Taylor and Will Johnson graduating this year and the Wolverines did just that.

LaLota is ranked as the number six strongside defensive end on Rivals.com (the popular recruiting site) but he is viewed as a prospect that can add weight and become a defensive tackle in the future.

LaLota is also listed as the number three overall offensive tackle in the country by scout.com (another popular recruiting site) so playing the offensive side of the ball is also a strong possibility for the product from the Hun school in Princeton, New Jersey, the same school that produced Florida State star Myron Rolle.

The commitment of LaLota is a big one for the Wolverines as they look to build up a stable of recruits to help transition to Rich Rodriguez’s new systems on both offense and defense. The emphasis thus far has been on quickness and endurance in the Michigan systems and LaLota looks like the type of player who could bring both of those attributes to the table. He is ranked by many as the number one player in the state of New Jersey which is small but also well-known for its surprisingly high depth of quality football players to transition to the college ranks.

Next up for the Wolverines after LaLota, they will attempt to bring Detroit Cass Tech safety Thomas Gordon into the fold. Gordon is one of the top recruits in Michigan and should end up deciding between the Michigan Wolverines and the Michigan State Spartans for playing his college football next season.

Michigan already has set up somewhat of a pipeline to the Michigan football power Cass Tech in Detroit as they got top cornerback prospect Boubacar Cissoko last year, a player who has already gotten some playing time with Michigan, and currently have Cass Tech running back prospect Teric Jones in the fold as well, who was the fastest player in the Army All-American Bowl combine in Texas last year as a junior and is now a senior. Campbell also attends Detroit Cass Tech as well.