Michigan’s Loyalty A Big Factor For 2022’s No. 1 Offensive Tackle Tyler Booker

A little over a year ago, Michigan became the third program to offer now-Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy lineman Tyler Booker, and that early interest has gone a long way in building a bond between Booker and U-M.

“It was honestly a surreal experience,” Booker told Wolverine Digest. “I had two smaller offers before… My second offer was to the University of Virginia, then I had a really good season. I played a lot of downs as a freshman. During the offseason when I got the Michigan offer, then I was like okay, I’m really going to get noticed, and that’s when I started to blow up.”

Since that time, Booker has risen to the position of No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2022 class according to 247Sports.com, and Booker continues to be a top target for the Wolverines. Now, Booker says that U-M’s early offer was quite impactful to the four-star recruit.

“It helps a lot because I am really big on loyalty,” Booker said. “Me as an athlete, I have always had the mindset that I’m the best in the country. You have to have that mindset to actually be the best in the country. When Michigan offered me, I was like, my hard work is starting to pay off.”

Though Booker plays at IMG, he began his career in Connecticut and sees himself following in the footsteps of his contemporaries.

“I’m from Connecticut, and I looked up to Tarik Black,” Booker said. “He was there as well, and I always liked them because of that. He said he liked it.”

With Michigan landing Black from Cheshire Academy, Booker took notice that U-M pursued top flight prospects regardless of where they originate from. Since he has aspirations to compete at the highest level, this is another feather in Michigan’s cap.

“Something that appeals to me about Michigan is how they pull kids from all over the country,” Booker said. “I want to play with the best kids, the best of the best. Obviously Michigan pulls kids from all over the country, but Michigan gets premiere talent. Also, they get a lot of diamonds in the rough, so being able to play with the best kids in the country if very appealing to me.”

Before the coronavirus quarantine put the kibosh on recruiting visits, Booker was set to take a trip to Ann Arbor to check out the Wolverines’ spring game among a handful of stops.

“It really interrupted a lot of visits that I wanted to go on,” Booker said. “Before quarantine I planned on visiting Penn State. I was going to go to Michigan for the spring game. I was probably going to try and visit Michigan State and LSU probably.”

Moving forward, Booker is hoping to make up those visits in the summer if possible, but he will be working with his team starting in July, so time is limited to fit the trips in. If he cannot make it during the summer, Booker is targeting the winter for each of those stops and would like to add Florida State to that group as well.

“Most schools are looking at me as the offensive lineman, but a lot of schools I’m really interested in are looking at me as a defensive lineman,” Booker said. “Me personally, I don’t have a preference where I play at the next level. I just want to go somewhere I can play the most and have the most impact the earliest.”

Ranked as the No. 13 player in the country, Booker is going to transition back to the defensive side of the ball for the 2020 season. This move has sparked a new goal for the standout prospect— to become the first lineman to be ranked No. 1 nationally as both an offensive and defensive tackle.

In an effort for that goal to come to fruition, Booker is working hard on his cardio and is anxious to get back to work with his teammates.

Michigan is setting its sights on the top-ranked offensive tackle in the 2022 class, but Tyler Booker is aiming to reach that rank on both sides of the football. Will Michigan’s success at IMG in recent years help here? Let us know!