Twins Quillen and Jaillen Howze verbally committed to the UB football team early Wednesday.
Quillen and Jaillen are 2021 three-star recruits and they both have one more year in high school, at Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township, MI.
The pair transferred to Chippewa Valley after their sophomore seasons at Mott High School, in Waterford Township, MI.
Quillen plays both wide receiver and cornerback for the Big Reds, being listed as an athlete on his recruiting page. He displays his versatility as a receiver on offense and as a returner on special teams. 247Sports ranked him as the 26th-best 2021 football recruit in the state of Michigan.
He excels with the ball in his hands and has made huge plays through screen and swing passes behind the line of scrimmage. Last season, he had 29 catches for 377 yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense, he had 22 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and 1 interception.
Despite his dynamic play on offense, Quillen looks to be a cornerback at the collegiate level. His speed has intrigued many college programs, with a 40-yard dash in the 4.4 range. He surprised many by showing his physicality at the cornerback position this season, something that he will need to take with him to the next level. Quillen could provide UB with speed on all three sides of the ball.
Jaillen plays outside linebacker and tight end for Chippewa Valley. A dislocated shoulder derailed his junior season, limiting him to only 5 games. In those games, he put up an impressive 32 tackles, 6 for loss, and 2 forced fumbles.
He is a physical linebacker that flies to the ball and makes his defensive presence well-known. Jaillen is 247Sports’ 51st-best recruit out of Michigan for the class of 2021.
Jaillen received offers from other MAC schools including Toledo, Kent State, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Western Michigan. Quillen received offers from the same MAC schools as well as Power Five programs such as Michigan State, Kentucky, Missouri, Pittsburgh and Minnesota.
Many believed that Quillen was leaning to play in East Lansing with Michigan State, but decided to go to UB for the opportunity to play with his brother Jaillen. The twins are UB’s first hard commitments of the 2021 class.
Anthony DeCicco is the assistant sports editor and can be reached at Anthony.DeCicco@ubspectrum.com and on Twitter @DeCicco42.
Anthony DeCicco is the Editor-in-Chief of The Spectrum. His words have appeared in outlets such as SLAM Magazine andSyracuse.com. In 2020, he was awarded First Prize for Sports Column Writing at the Society of Professional Journalists' Region 1 Mark of Excellence Awards. In his free time, he can be found watching ‘90s Knicks games and reading NFL Mock Drafts at 3 a.m.
