Michigan Offers In-State 2022 Wide Receiver Tayshawn Trent
During the quarantine, 2022 Detroit (Mich.) East Detroit three-star wide receiver Tayshawn Trent has absolutely blown up on the recruiting trail. Trent entered the quarantine as an unoffered player without much collegiate interest, but the 6-4, 205-pound wide out now holds offers from 12 schools.
“It’s been mind-blowing,” Trent told Wolverine Digest. “I never expected this. I thought I was just going to be a regular high school football player, and now in everybody’s eyes I’m a Division I prospect.”
That’s what happens when a sophomore receiver logs 20 receptions for 500 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season with a new school.
Most recently, Penn State extended an offer to Trent, but the in-state prospect landed an offer from Michigan a week ago too. As a result, Trent is only the second in-state wide receiver to pick up an offer from the Wolverines.
But at first, Trent did not believe that the word of his Michigan offer was true. It took a phone call with U-M offensive coordinator Josh Gattis for the news to fully sink in.
“We talked about academics, really,” Trent said. “We talked about me a little bit but he said to call him every Sunday, so I’m going to call him this upcoming Sunday to learn more about the coach.”
Now with a recurring phone call set up with the U-M staff, Trent is interested in learning more about the Michigan program. At East Detroit, one of Trent’s high school teachers told him how the professors at U-M are thorough and committed to helping their students succeed, and that is one area that really stands out to the 2022 recruit at this point.
Moving forward, Trent is interested in taking visits to Michigan, Central Michigan, Kentucky and West Virginia and also spoke about why those schools stand out.
“I loved Michigan as I was growing up,” Trent said. “Kentucky, a couple players in the 2017 class had talked to me about it and they took visits there, and they said it’s nice up there. They like the coaching staff and how [the team] looks. So, I was like, I’m definitely going to go there. Central [Michigan], I talked to the coach and he was so excited to get me up there. I wanted to go immediately as soon as he said that. West Virginia, I like West Virginia, and I want to visit there because one of my favorite receivers went there, and that is Tavon Austin. So, I’m definitely going to go on a visit.”
Already standing at 6-4, Trent is a quality leaper who can sky over top of defensive backs in the red zone and helps increase the throwing lanes for his high school quarterback. Trent also plays basketball during the offseason, so he works on his footwork and conditioning all throughout the winter as well.
Right now, Trent is working on rounding out his game from a technical standpoint and cleaning up the little areas, such as his release off the line of scrimmage and how that impacts his route running.
“I always had the hands, the jumping ability, the vision, but what they’ve got me working on is my footwork, getting off the line easier and not doing so much off the line,” Trent said. “Usually, I do a little bit off the line, and I don’t get into my route fast enough and the ball will already be in the air and I have to chase after it instead of catching and running. I’m working on getting off of jams. Usually, when I get jammed, I’m big, so I will just throw the opposing corner off of me. I’ve just been working on being finesse and just getting away from the corner.”
With three Big Ten offers already, look for Trent to continue increasing his recruiting profile over the offseason.
Tayshawn Trent is one of the early 2022 prospects in the state of Michigan that the Wolverines have identified and offered. Trent states that he grew up a fan of Michigan, but will that be enough to convince him to pick U-M? What do you think?
