Tyler McLaurin To Play Senior Season As Illinois Punts Football To Spring

Michigan linebacker commit has opted to stick with his football team for the spring 2021 season.

Last week, Michigan wide receiver commit Xavier Worthy decided to skip his senior football season after California announced that it would take place during the Spring as a result of COVID-19. Instead of sticking out his final year of high school ball with his teammates, Worthy will be enrolling early at Michigan, so he will join the Wolverines in January.

Yesterday, Michigan commit and Bolingbrook (Ill.) High linebacker Tyler McLaurin was faced with the same decision after the Illinois High School Association decided to move a shortened football season to 2021.

Rather than taking the same route as Worthy, McLaurin quickly gathered with his family and set out to decide which option would be best for his future: to continue his final year in high school at Bolingbrook or to take on the challenges of academics and athletics at Michigan to open the 2021 year.

McLaurin chose to stay the course with the Raiders.

“My parents and I decided that I should play my senior year and be with my friends,” McLaurin told Wolverine Digest. “I plan on spending the time with my family and getting stronger.”

Now, the two decisions that Worthy and McLaurin made are different. For the former, Worthy will be adjusting to a new offensive scheme and will likely look to add weight to his 164-pound frame once arriving at Michigan. For players on offense, picking up a new system is typically a more difficult task to grasp than jumping into a scheme on defense. Worthy will have to build continuity with a whole new room of quarterbacks at Michigan, and that is a process which can take some time, so an early start to build timing with his new teammates could be a smart decision if the SI All-American candidate hopes to make an impact as a true freshman.

For McLaurin, his transition to college should be a bit more smooth. At Bolingbrook, McLaurin is going to play inside linebacker this year, but U-M linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary has told the Michigan commit that he could be used either inside or outside at the next level. Many recruiting services, such as Rivals.com, have McLaurin listed as an outside linebacker due to his speed and ability to cover, but he could easily slide inside if Michigan has a stronger need at that position. So, given the skill set and versatile nature that McLaurin presents, he should pick up on the Wolverines' system a bit quicker.

In Don Brown's defense, the three linebacker roles are the Sam, Mike and the Viper, and the first two are where McLaurin is most likely to play in college. His responsibilities will largely be confined to tracking the running back and plugging holes in the interior gaps along the line of scrimmage, and that is a role which will be quite similar to what is asked of McLaurin at the high school level.

Michigan quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy used to attend Nazareth Academy in Illinois, but he transferred to IMG Academy a couple months back due to concerns about whether or not the state would hold its football season on schedule.

Do you think McLaurin is making a wise decision by sticking out his senior season? Does he have more to gain by enrolling at Michigan early? Let us know!