Serving up specials like a 24-hour diner this week!
Chicago (Ill.) Marist four-star inside linebacker Jimmy Rolder committed to Michigan late Tuesday night.
This was seemingly inevitable following his visit to Ann Arbor Oct. 23.
TMBR was in early on Michigan’s chances with Rolder as I placed my FutureCast Nov. 2.
What led to that prediction was a strong pull for Michigan from the family, which had a clear impact on Rolder.
Though his family favored the Maize & Blue, they weren’t alone as strong efforts from Michigan’s coaching staff who built unique relationships that stood out to him led to Rolder feeling the same love for the Wolverines as his family did.
Jim Harbaugh was sending him videos singing The Victors after Michigan’s win against Northwestern. Linebackers coach George Helow was calling his stepdad on Saturday mornings during game day. Strength & conditioning coach Ben Herbert went on a zoom call, got on the floor and showed Rolder a way to get rid of a lower back aggravation he was experiencing.
Michigan smashed the gas pedal on Rolder, whose recruitment required it given how quickly things developed for him and how even quicker they had to be decided.
Rolder fits into Michigan’s locker room like a glove. He is as much of a Harbaugh type player that there is in this class.
He played linebacker, running back, punter, and was a special teams blocker all in the same game last week in Marist’s 51-7 win over Glenview South in the Illinois State Playoffs.
“I’m having a blast out there,” he said after that game. “Anything I need to help my team win, I’m willing to do it.”
His cultural fit into the program is obvious and stood out to both sides through the process.
From zero football offers as an Illinois baseball commit to 12 football offers in a span of a little over a month, the Marist product was at the end of October realizing he had to decide by Dec. 15 what he was doing.
Through all of the chaos — endless phone calls from coaches and media alike — Rolder knew eventually he’d have to make his mind up.
He wanted to see Wisconsin, and he did that over the weekend. That linebacker room is crowded and that trip assured him his mind was made up.
Additionally, Ohio State was squarely in the mix and wanted to land Rolder. But I was told over the weekend, he wasn’t returning to Columbus after an unofficial visit the first weekend of November.
Iowa had a strong visit the weekend before he went to Ann Arbor and seemed to be a potential landing spot for him. However, Michigan followed up the act and delivered a grand slam visit.
Despite how long it took for him to decide officially, it seemed inevitable from the first week of November. His stepdad took pause in favor of allowing Jimmy to make his mind up, but he said verbatim that Michigan was the school.
The best nugget I got I had to keep behind closed doors. I stood on the track, watching Rolder demolish Glenview South with his stepdad.
I said to him, “you know, our board is real worried about Ohio State.”
“Trust me, he ain’t going to Ohio State. Jimmy could change his mind, but it’s not going to be them.”
When the Buckeye smoke arose, I left my extinguisher in the closet because there was no fire.
Ultimately, Michigan’s staff prioritizing him with a long list of staffers courting him coupled with the strong support for the Wolverines from the family led to his inevitable commitment to U-M.
Rolder’s commitment bumps Michigan one spot up to 18th in the Rivals.com team rankings.
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