South Grand Prairie (Texas) wide receiver Dewayne Peace had plenty of schools watching him before the summer, but his performance at several camps this summer – including Michigan's – led to the interest that earned him a coveted U-M offer. His commitment Tuesday ended what seemed primed to become a heated battle.
Peace impressed with his routes, quickness and hands at the Texas A&M camp in early June, moving up on the A&M wish list. That followed a showing at the Fort Worth (Texas) NIKE camp in which he was named MVP after showing well against a solid group of defensive backs in late April.
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At Michigan, coaches on both sides of the ball battled for his services when he proved he could make plays at corner as well as receiver. Peace later insisted he was open to playing on either side of the ball, committing to U-M as an athlete.
"He was the MVP at Fort Worth Nike for a reason," said Rivals.com analyst Barton Simmons. "I think he's going to be a really good player at Michigan. He was a little under the radar, but his performance there and at some of the other camps really showed his upside."
Peace was reportedly one of the top receivers at the Kansas camp in mid-June, toasting defensive backs in one-on-one drills. Simmons expressed little surprise, noting Peace shined against the defensive backs at the Fort Worth Nike camp, a group among the best on the camp circuit.
"He really set himself apart against those guys. Nobody could lock him down one on one," Simmons recalled. That included three-star standout Marcus Trice, whose offer list includes Wisconsin and Iowa, among others. "He made him look silly a couple of times," Simmons said.
"He's got really good quickness at the line of scrimmage and gets off the line really well. He can get upfield, he runs really good routes and I like his ability after the catch. He is a versatile wide receiver that will do a lot of damage in Rich Rodriguez's system out of the slot. They'll want to get the ball in his hands a lot of different ways."
That's assuming he stays on offense. Peace notched 285 yards receiving last year, though he averaged 19 yards a catch, and scored three touchdowns, but looks to be more involved in the offense as a senior. Judging by his summer, his coaches will likely give him every opportunity.