Logan Slaughter
Any Division I college football program that hesitated to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer to Mendon junior lineman Logan Slaughter is out of luck now.
A visit to Central Michigan University, one of numerous schools interested but the only to make an official offer, this weekend resulted in Slaughter’s verbal commitment to the Chippewas Saturday morning. After watching CMU practice Friday, the 6-foot-5, 265-pounder informed head coach Dan Enos of his decision.
“I had no idea that I was even thinking about committing. It wasn’t even on my mind at all,” Slaughter told JoeInsider.com Saturday afternoon. “As I kept watching practice and talking to the coaches and stuff, I kind of got the feeling that I belonged.”
His father, Tim Slaughter, was there and gave his blessing.
“[Enos] seemed pretty ecstatic when I told him,” said Slaughter, a pitcher for the Mendon baseball team who said playing baseball for CMU might be an option as well. “He had a big smile on his face. He was really excited that I was going to be part of that 2015 class.”
Slaughter’s 2013 video highlights
Over the last year or so, programs such as Indiana, Princeton, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Akron, Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Toledo, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Nebraska and Missouri have been in contact with the right tackle. Slaughter, who is expected to redshirt as a freshman while preparing to play at right guard for CMU, opted not to hold out for more offers.
“It’s definitely a huge burden that got taken off my shoulders,” he said. “Now I can just concentrate on my senior year of football and being with my friends for the last year of high school. That’s the one time in your life you have that chance.
“I decided to close down things because I felt like they really wanted me on campus and as a part of their team in the future. I got really comfortable with the coaching staff. I decided it was the place I wanted to spend my college career. There were other teams that were kind of sitting on me or had me second on their list. Central really thought highly of me. I knew they wanted me. I’m really looking forward to being a Chippewa in the future.”
Slaughter is just the second Mendon product to earn a full ride and the third to reach the Division I level. According to Hornets offensive coordinator Glen Samson, George Klaeren played on scholarship at Western Michigan in the early 1950s, and Eric George saw the field for Cincinnati as a walk-on in 1985.
Mendon head coach John Schwartz isn’t surprised that Slaughter broke through.
“I think it’s awesome,” Schwartz said. That will be the first one since I’ve been coaching. He certainly deserves it. He’s a unique kid. He’s smart, he’s a leader, he asks a lot of questions and he’s just like another coach out there on the field.
“He started as a freshman, so this is his fourth year of playing the same position. I think the biggest thing has been his strength and foot speed has gotten better and better every year. They are the things we concentrated on and he was well aware of what he needed to work on. A kid that size with good foot speed and a lot of strength is going to play somewhere, especially with the motivation he has and the understanding of the game.”