Reports: DE Maurice Hurst Jr. gives Michigan its 19th commit for 2013 recruiting class

The Michigan football team has a 19th member of its 2013 recruiting class, according to multiple reports.

Maurice Hurst Jr., a 6-foot-2, 285-pound defensive tackle from Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Mass., has made a verbal commitment to join the Wolverines, according to reports from Wolverine247 and Wolverine Nation.

Scout.com rates Hurst as a 4-star recruit and the 23rd-best defensive tackle in the nation. Rivals.com gives him a 3-star rating and names him the 30th-best player at his position.

Hurst joins a Michigan recruiting class already ranked No. 1 by both Rivals and Scout at a position of need. He is just the second defensive lineman among the bunch, joining defensive end Taco Charlton.

The strength of the class has been on the opposite line, with top-100 recruits Chris Fox, Patrick Kugler and Kyle Bosch among five offensive linemen to make non-binding verbal commitments.

Hurst is just the second player from outside the Big Ten footprint to pledge to Michigan. Fox is from Colorado.

According to a story by ESPN Boston, Hurst caught the attention of college recruiters with some unexpected athleticism out of the backfield. Used as a fullback in short-yardage situations, the nearly-300 pounder had a 75-yard touchdown run last season.