Sypniewski champing at the bit to head to Michigan

Ottawa (Ill.) Marquette long-snapper Scott Sypniewski may be one of the least-heralded members of Michigan's 2013 recruiting class, garnering only two stars from Rivals. However, his position is a key one on the field - albeit one that's rarely noticed until there's a mistake. From a certain perspective, that makes him one of the most important recruits in Michigan's 2013 class.

He's also one of the most excited to head up to Ann Arbor.

"I'm just starting to count down the days now," he said of the time before his arrival at Michigan. "I think I'm going to report around June 20th. Just get ready to suit up and run out on that field, and give it my all, basically. Michigan's the best decision I've ever made."

Along with most of the Wolverines' 2013 commitments, Sypniewski took his official visit to Ann Arbor in mid-December. Although he's been a frequent face on campus - taking unofficial game visits for nearly every home contest this fall - Sypniewski got to experience some aspects of Michigan that he'd never seen before.

"My dad took his official visits so long ago he barely remembers what he did," Sypniewski said with a chuckle. "It was everything I expected, but I didn't know what we were going to do at all.

"Friday, we went and watched bowl practice then went to the student union and had dinner with our hosts and parents. Saturday morning it was breakfast, then watched practice again. Then we sat through a really informational academic presentation with Phil Hughes and then we had some free time for about two and a half hours. We went to dinner, and then went to the hockey game with our hosts, and then had free time again."

Although Sypniewski's father, also named Scott, couldn't tell his son what to expect out of an official visit, he could tell the younger Sypniewski what to expect playing for Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison. The two were on the coaching staff when he played at Western Michigan in the 80s. In fact, his connection to Hoke and Mattison helped his son draw their attention, and ultimately a scholarship offer from the Wolverines.

The recent trip to campus wasn't just informational for the 6-2, 230-pound specialist, of course. He also got plenty of time to continue bonding with his future teammates. Michigan's "Team 134" recruiting class has received plenty of attention for being one of the most tight-knit recruiting classes in the nation, and the official visit only continued to strengthen those bonds.

"[Prior to the visit], I didn't really have a chance to meet Ross Douglas very much or Ben Gedeon, who I met for the first time, and Jaron Dukes I met for the first time. It was so much bonding time with everyone. It was really great.

"We all feed off of each other. We all have different personalities and we all come from different places, but when we're all together, we're all family. This is definitely - Michigan is definitely my second home. You have to have a family to call it a home. This weekend, we just sealed it all together. We're going to have a great four to five years with each other."