PARIS — On a rain-soaked rugby field last April in Rome, Julius Welschof went through a rigorous workout. It came one day after he and a group of aspiring American football players from Europe watched Michigan practice.
They saw Jim Harbaugh walk around to each position group, they saw Don Brown get after the defense, and they saw some of college football’s most talented players go 100 percent during a spring practice 4,632 miles away from home. NCAA rules prevented Welschof and other potential recruits from speaking to coaches, but it didn’t stop them from being inspired.
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“The experience that they had just watching guys like Rashan Gary — the very next day in Rome, Julius worked out because he saw what it took,” said Brandon Collier, the founder and CEO of Premier Players International. “They know they have to step their game up to play at the next level. It was a great trip, once in a lifetime. Now he’s going to Michigan, so it was completely worth it.”
Welschof became Michigan’s first-ever European player when he signed with the Wolverines in February. The 6-foot-6, 253-pound defensive end is expected to make an impact at UM and beyond, as the European invasion is only just beginning.
“If the current crop of international players coming over has success, that should lead more colleges to look that way,” said Allen Trieu, a recruiting analyst at 247Sports.com. “I have definitely noticed more attention being paid to international players. We had several sign in the Big Ten this year, and prior to that, it would be rare to have any come into the conference.”
VIDEO: Michigan players, coaches lead a football camp in Paris
The person leading the incursion is Collier, a 32-year-old from Cleveland. The former defensive lineman played under Don Brown at Massachusetts before a career in the CFL and Europe, where he realized the demand for American football was greater than those in the United States could imagine. Collier also noticed a rising talent pool.
Americans flooded newly built U.S. military bases around Europe after the conclusion of World War II, and they brought the game of football with them. Soccer — or futbol — is still, and will always be, the most popular sport across Europe. But the American version is gaining a foothold.
“I’m really excited about the connection we make over here in football,” Harbaugh said. “It’s neat when the ball comes out. When the ball is introduced, the language barrier and cultural barrier seems to come down.”
Premier Players International provides players and coaches the opportunity to connect. Collier wants as many Europeans as possible to obtain college scholarships, and he is showcasing their talents at football camps and in recruiting videos. Last summer 15 players, including Welschof, came to the United States to attend camps at Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Ohio Dominican, and Wayne State.
Something funny happened in the Midwest. The group of Europeans started out as a curiosity and ended as the main event.
“I knew that some of these kids should have been four or five-stars,” said Collier, who lives in Frankfurt, Germany. “When we went on tour, these guys started dominating. The camp at ODU, there were probably 30 or 40 schools, and half of them were surrounding our kids. They’d never seen anything like it. It’s intriguing when they’re from Europe.”
Players were responsible for travel costs, and Collier said he spent upwards of $8,000. It was all worth it when the offers started rolling in. Ten of the 15 players will suit up for Division I programs — including Michigan, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Temple, Connecticut, Yale, Holy Cross, and Albany.
In December, Under Armour named Tyrese Johnson-Fisher, an Englishman, its first international All-American. The rugby star from London had never played a football game before, but his dominance on the rugby pitch went viral. The 5-foot-10, 194-pound running back won his home country’s 60-meter National Indoor Finals with a time of 6.89 seconds and ran a 10.73 in the 100.
The only organized football game he’s played in was the Under Armour All-American Game in January, which led to offers from Michigan, Texas, Texas A&M, Virginia, and UMass, among others. Johnson-Fisher chose Coastal Carolina, the school that showed faith in him from the beginning.
“There’s going to be more and more of them,” said Collier, who will bring another group to the United States this summer.
Collier believes there are 20 to 25 Division I-caliber players in the 2019 recruiting class, and he thinks at minimum between 15 and 25 players should get D-I offers each year, with that number possibly growing to 50. Germany and Sweden are producing the most high-level talent.
Alexander Honig, a 6-foot-5, 210-pound quarterback from Germany, could be the prospect who puts Europe in the spotlight. His 11-minute highlight video shows him scrambling away from pressure and delivering on-the-money throws with relative ease. Collier thinks he could be a top-100 recruit in the class of 2020.
Honig, who was at UM’s clinic in Paris on Saturday, started drawing significant interest last summer after attending camps at Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Maryland, Virginia, Pitt, and Ball State.
Defensive end Sylvain Yondjouen, a 2019 recruit, is drawing interest from Michigan. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Belgian can be seen flying around offensive linemen and taking up residence in the backfield.
“Just taking someone will likely lead some teams to look [toward Europe],” Trieu said. “But I think even more teams will look over there if [Welschof] has a lot of success. It is a little bit of an unknown, but if this works out for Michigan, then I think more schools would be willing to go the same route.”
The biggest impediment remains resources. Even in 2018, it’s difficult to recruit a player from Europe. Coaches rarely travel such an extreme distance to visit someone they view as a recruiting risk; Michigan defensive line coach Greg Mattison didn’t visit Welschof until after signing day. The only time coaches see European players compete against equal talent is when they attend camps. And even if they perform well, it’s a small sample size.
During the 2017 season, there were 20 European-born players on the rosters of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. But five of the eight Power Five conference players attended junior college or high schools in the United States.
Judging the competition in Europe is virtually impossible, according to Trieu. PPI’s inclusion into the process helps level the playing field for Europeans. Collier’s vision is to build PPI into an international brand and evolve into the Rivals.com or 247Sports of Europe.
“As a European, you need someone who knows coaches and has connections,” Welschof said. “Many coaches don’t really know how much talent is in Europe. I, fortunately, got to know Brandon Collier. His passion is to help kids like me get a scholarship. He’s helping a lot of kids and calls a lot of coaches every day and tells them there are many talented kids in Europe.”
Contact Kyle Rowland at krowland@theblade.com, 419-724-6110 or on Twitter @KyleRowland.
First Published May 1, 2018, 3:57 p.m.
