Michigan football team's 14th commitment is Ohio linebacker Mike McCray
A four-star prospect has committed to the Michigan football program. Do not adjust your TV set. This is not a rerun.
Ohio linebacker Mike McCray committed to the Wolverines on Monday, according to Rivals and Scout. He waited until Tuesday afternoon to release his decision, which was first reported by Scout.
McCray is Rivals' No. 44 overall player in the country, which makes him the second-highest rated player in Michigan's acclaimed 2013 class.
"I've been feeling like Michigan was the right school for me for two weeks now, and there's no reason for me to wait any longer," McCray told Scout. "It's the right time for me to commit, and I'm very excited to be a Wolverine."
Michigan now has picked up 11 verbal commitments in the past 17 days, and 14 overall, for its 2013 class. The next-closest team in the Big Ten is Ohio State with five. Michigan State has two.
The Wolverines didn't have any commitments at this time last year. They didn't pick up their first until offensive tackle Ben Braden pledged to the program March 24 and didn't gain their 14th until June 24.
Most impressively, Michigan actually is outpacing the 2012 class not only in quantity, but also quality. Twelve of the 14 commits are four-star recruits, which matches the number of four- and five-star recruits from 2012 -- with 332 days remaining until next signing day.
Michigan now has commitments from three of Ohio's top-13 prospects, according to Scout: Safety Dymonte Thomas (No. 2), tight end Jake Butt (No. 10) and McCray (No. 13). That's only one fewer than Ohio State (although three of the Buckeyes' commits are in the top five).
McCray's father, as it happens, was a captain for Ohio State in the 1980s. The Buckeyes did not offer the younger McCray, however, according to The Wolverine.
McCray is the first linebacker of the 2013 class. He is 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, which makes him nearly college-sized heading into his senior season at Trotwood-Madison High School.
That's the alma mater of two other Wolverines players, projected starters Roy Roundtree (receiver) and Brandon Moore (tight end). Former Michigan tailback Mike Shaw also graduated from the school.
McCray projects to be a strong-side linebacker, or could develop into a defensive end if he continues to grow. In defensive coordinator Greg Mattison's 4-3 scheme, there is not a lot of overlap between the two positions anyway. Jake Ryan played both at times last season.
McCray chose Michigan from a group of finalists that included Arizona, Oklahoma, Tennessee, South Carolina and Illinois.
Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.
Get the Ann Arbor RSS Feed
AnnArbor.com