Four-star Michigan cornerback putting Sun Devils in his Top 10 ‘for sure’
Only two schools have gone about Myles Rowser’s recruitment with this bizarre, far-out recruiting strategy.
Just Arizona State and Michigan, Rowser said, recruited him like he was family. They tried to build a relationship with the 2022 Top-35 prospect. They checked up with him. They asked him about his life outside of football. To the four-star cornerback from Michigan, the style has resonated.
Rowser made headlines in June when he decommitted from Michigan less than six months after pledging his services to his hometown school. He said outside voices got to his head, that it was premature to commit nearly two years before he could sign a Letter of Intent, but that he won’t rule out the Wolverines. (His older brother, Andre Seldon, is a freshman in Ann Arbor.)
But consider Rowser’s commitment with the background of Michigan and ASU’s recruiting style. Rowser felt comfortable with the Wolverines back in January, comfortable with how their coaches tried to build a real relationship with him. Sure, the pledge was short-lived, but it signals that Michigan did something right, and it’s something ASU has replicated so far.
The Sun Devils only handed an offer to the 33rd-ranked player in the Class of 2022 on Tuesday, joining a crop of 21 other programs vying for the services of the 6-foot, 185-pound corner. The Arizona State involvement began about two weeks prior when the Belleville, Mich. native talked to ASU defensive analyst Anthony Garnett reached out to
At first, Garnett simply tried to inform Rowser about the Sun Devils. He told him they have coaches such as Herm Edwards, Antonio Pierce, Marvin Lewis, and a heap of other former NFL faces in the building. Rowser perked up.
“It made me lean over to ASU a lot more than I already -- I don’t know, it just made me feel like ASU would be a good place for me knowing a lot of coaches have been in the NFL and have a lot of experience,” he said.
And then there’s Garnett, whose Midwest ties kick-started conversation with Rowser. Even a few weeks after the initial conversation, Rowser’s voice spews excitement describing the connection. They knew some of the same Michigan coaches, which allowed Garnett to have some background on the cornerback, allowing him to “act like a coach who had already coached me,” Rowser said.
The results have been effective. Rowser noted that ASU, Michigan and Penn State are the three schools recruiting him the hardest, admitting that the Sun Devils have jumped in his Top 10 “for sure.”
And Garnett -- Rowser’s lone ASU contact so far -- is to thank.
“He made it seem like I was going there right now,” Rowser said. “He wasn’t making it seem like he was a coach. He was making it seem like he was a family member. He was treating me like family. Like checking in with me every day and asking me what I was doing. He wanted me to call him. It was like -- I don’t know. It was like comfort.”
Rowser was originally slated to play his junior season at the notorious IMG Academy, even beginning classes at their Florida campus in January. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced him back home in March and Rowser has since decided to finish out his high school near home.
It works out well considering Belleville High is still slated to play its fall football season, allowing Rowser immediate game action while most recruits are forced to wait until, at least, 2021.
“I’m an aggressive player,” Rowser said. “I’m fast, and I have a dawg mentality. Like I won’t let anything get past me.”
Though Rowser’s commitment is likely at least a year away, Arizona State has made quick headways for one of the most coveted 2022 prospects, rapidly checking off boxes on his recruiting wish list.
“What I’m looking for in a school is to have a relationship with all the coaches. I want to go to a school where a lot of the staff has been there for a minute. Like I don’t want to go to a school where I meet the staff, and then they leave,” he said. “I want our team chemistry to be great, and that’s really it.”
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