Gabe Powers Talks Michigan Offer, Praises Don Brown

In the 2022 class, Gabe Powers is one of the quickest outside linebackers in the country, and he already holds a Michigan offer. See what the top 50 recruit had to say about his visit to Michigan last season.

Gabe Powers / submitted

 In recent years, Michigan has not recruited the state of Ohio with as much vigor as in past cycles, but the Wolverines do hold a pair of 2021 commitments from Clayton (Ohio) Northmont teammates Markus Allen and Rod Moore.

However, U-M is continuing to scour the state for talent, and one player that has talent to reinforce his physical gifts is 2022 Marysville (Ohio) High outside linebacker Gabe Powers.

Standing at 6-4 and 220 pounds, Powers has the size to play on the edge and the instincts to do so efficiently. With a wealth of closing speed, Powers is a physical athlete that reads plays quickly and reacts without taking many false steps. Rivals.com has Powers listed as a four-star prospect, and 247Sports.com bills him as the No. 4 outside linebacker in the nation and No. 43 player overall.

As a result, Michigan extended an offer to Powers last summer then hosted the coveted recruit for its season-opening 40-21 victory over Middle Tennessee State in 2019. The Wolverines victory left quite an impression on the visiting prospect.

“The atmosphere there was crazy,” Powers told Wolverine Digest. “It feels like the stadium was right on top of you. I talked to Don Brown a lot, and that's where I really met him. I really like him. He seems like a great coach and a great guy. It was real nice. I love the atmosphere up there.”

At the time of his visit, Powers had already received his Michigan offer as U-M defensive coordinator Don Brown shared the good news over the phone already.

“I love Don Brown,” Powers said. “He's a very knowledgeable coach. He knows a lot about the game, and he treated me very well when I Was there. When I got the offer, I was very honored.”

Right now, Powers sports an offer sheet that is 18 schools long. Outside of Michigan, other programs in pursuit include Ohio State, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, USC and Wisconsin, so the Wolverines have a laundry list of Power Five programs to compete against.

So far, Powers has made stops at Michigan, Ohio State multiple times, Colorado, Kentucky and West Virginia. Powers has a brother on the Mountaineers' team, so they have hosted him multiple times as well.

That list would be longer had it not been for the coronavirus quarantine, so Powers has had to adjust his commitment timeline to compensate for that factor.

“I hadn't come up with all the colleges I was going to visit yet, but I was going to get to a lot and I was actually planning on making my decision this summer,” Powers said. “But with this quarantine and everything, I'm probably going to make it next summer.”

Whoever winds up receiving a pledge from Powers will be landing a player that is well versed in his responsibilities as a linebacker.

“I can cover the field pretty good, and my knowledge of the game is very good,” Powers said. “I've been taught linebacker since the day I could walk. My dad is a linebacker coach. He was a linebacker himself and played at Findlay for their national championship team and had a tryout with the pros. I've been taught linebacker my whole life, so I know the game very well. I'm hard-nosed. I like to hit and speed comes with it too. I think I'm very versatile and can play wherever really.”

Over the offseason, Powers has focused on improving his speed and agility so that he can work his way into the backfield even more often throughout the 2020 season. And after a first-round exit from the playoffs last year, Powers is using that abbreviated postseason run as motivation for the fall.

Which 2022 prospects should Michigan focus on the most? Do you think the staff should spend more time recruiting in the state of Ohio? Let us know!