Four-Star DE Derek Wilkins Calls Michigan Offer 'Huge'
Michigan is looking west for defensive line talent and found a prospect it likes in Santa Margarita (Calif.) Catholic four-star defensive end Derek Wilkins.
The 6-5, 242-pounder received a scholarship offer from the Wolverines yesterday after a conversation with defensive line coach Shaun Nua and assistant recruiting coordinator Nate Crutchfield.
The offer came as a small surprise for Wilkins, who said he’s only recently been in contact with Michigan.
“It was a little bit of a surprise,” Wilkins said. “[Offensive line] coach [Ed] Warinner had been out to my school to check me out, but I hadn’t really been in contact until as of recent. This one is huge for me though.”
The potential of playing in the Big Ten is intriguing to Wilkins. Outside of Michigan, the only Big Ten schools to offer the rising senior so far are Northwestern and Nebraska.
“I think that Michigan is a great school,” Wilkins said. “I’ve heard great things about it, and the fact that they play in the Big 10 is also huge.”
As expected, the Southern California product has already garnered a lot of attention from programs along the West Coast. Wilkins has drawn eight offers from Pac-12 schools, including Washington, Oregon, Stanford, Arizona State and USC among others. The Trojans offered Wilkins just days before the Wolverines.
But Wilkins is no longer just a regional prospect. His recruitment has expanded coast-to-coast with offers from programs in the SEC (Mississippi State), Big 12 (Kansas) and ACC (Boston College, Virginia).
While his relationship with Michigan is still in the early stages, Wilkins sees the Wolverines playing a part in his recruitment and didn’t rule out a visit to Ann Arbor in the future.
“I think [Michigan] will play a pretty big factor in my decision,” he said. “I’m not entirely sure yet [about a visit], but I would love to make one happen.”
Wilkins is rated the No. 21 strongside defensive end, the 29th-ranked player in the state of California and the No. 312 player overall in the country by the 247Sports Composite rankings.
