What Paul Mubenga learned on his official visit to Michigan

2023 Buford (Ga.) three-star offensive lineman Paul Mubenga has 41 reported offers. But there’s something about him he’s sure most recruitniks, and programs for that matter, don’t know about him.

“One fact is I’ve only been playing football for two years, actually,” Mubenga told WolverinesWire. “Last year was only my first year starting and with all the success I’ve been having. Just coming from one year of playing football, so that’s probably the thing most schools don’t know about.”

Despite being new to the game, Mubenga has offers from the likes of LSU, Texas A&M, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Miami, Nebraska, Penn State, Texas, Tennessee, and plenty of others. But Michigan has piqued his interest, as he made his way back to Ann Arbor for his official visit this past weekend.

Mubenga was one of a handful of visitors for the Wolverines’ spring game in April, but this time, he wanted to learn more about what the program can offer him, rather than just taking in the scene at The Big House.

“The difference is I was really able to get into academics and how I could fit into Michigan’s offense. That was the main difference in this official visit,” Mubenga said. “And just being able to hang around the players who experience everything every single day. They know what it’s like to be a Michigan football player. So that was the main difference between those two visits.”

With academics being a focal point, Mubenga was excited to learn what Michigan has in the way of what he’s looking to study, as well as what the program can offer beyond just a major.

“Academics, they have everything, from alumni to the classes I’m supposed to take,” Mubenga said. “All the support systems around that, around the players. Once I’m able to get there and be able to have it. And I’m looking to physical therapy in college, and they have that. They also have great resources to get me where I need to get.”

Mubenga definitely felt the love from the coaches, as they noted just how much they want him to join the program and be a part of a winning culture. The 6-foot-4, 280-pounder who could play interior or exterior on the offensive line feels like they’re doing things the right way in Ann Arbor, given what he’s witnessed.

“A program could be a program, but if you don’t have the right people, if you don’t have the culture, you’re definitely not going to be a winning program. I think Michigan has it,” he said. “They have the right people, they’re a winning program and a great culture over there. That’s a thing they have over all the other schools.”

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While Mubenga spent the bulk of his time with second-year center Raheem Anderson II, his host on the official visit, perhaps the most pertinent to him was getting to fraternize with the whole of the O-line, particularly Trente Jones, considering that he’s also a Georgia transplant.

Though there was a lot to take in, his conversations with Jones were perhaps the most illuminating, as he was able to learn what it was like to acclimate from the south to the north, whether or not Jones felt it was worth it, and how he adapted to his adopted new home.

“My host was Raheem Anderson, and he was able to take me around with the starting five from last year. And the new right tackle, Trente Jones, he’s from Georgia here,” Mubenga said. “And I was able to talk to him, and he told me what it was like, what’s going on at Michigan and how much it takes. At the end of the day, it was really worth it for him, and he’s really looking forward to the season.

“You see that happening a lot, going from Georgia to Michigan. But the fact that he really told me it’s a great place to be in, I would never be disappointed to make the decision to go there. And how much fun he’s been having up there and Coach Moore coming up there to coach the offensive line has definitely brought more juice into the room. Everything over there, he told me is definitely having fun, it’s also serious at times. But overall, the experience he’s been having has been amazing.”

Mubenga is scheduled to visit Texas A&M on June 17 and LSU on June 24. He intends to make a final decision sometime in July.

According to the On3 Consensus, Mubenga is rated the No. 531 player in the country, regardless of position. Michigan has the lead in both the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine as well as via the 247Sports Crystal Ball. He’ll be deciding between the two aforementioned schools, as well as North Carolina, South Carolina, and, obviously, Michigan.

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Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire