The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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38 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2019 COMMITMENT PROFILE M ichigan officially has a pipe- line into Baltimore St. Frances Academy. College programs across the country would love to be recog- nized for that, too. St. Frances is one of the top talent-producing schools in the nation. The Wolverines now have three Panther pledges with the addition of three-star outside linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green, who joins four-star outside linebacker Osman Savage and three- star offensive tackle Micah Mazzccua as members of U-M's 2020 class. The 6-2, 225-pounder transferred form North Catholic in Pittsburgh earlier this year and had a chance to go through spring football at St. Fran- ces, which wrapped in late May. Next fall, he will have the opportunity to play against the national-level com- petition on his new school's schedule. St. Frances assistant coach Henry Russell is excited to see what Hill- Green can do. "From day one it was like, 'Wow,' because he's just different," Russell said. "He's like a throwback. He plays with great passion and is re- ally eager to learn. Physically, he's 6-2, 220, moves well and has a great natural feel for the game. "Even without knowing all of the defense so far, he makes a lot of plays. He has a knack for finding the football. I've been really impressed with him." Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruit- ing analyst Adam Friedman is also anxious to see what Hill-Green can achieve. Friedman had a chance to watch the prospect when he was still at North Catholic and has also ob- served him in a camp setting in the past. He definitely sees the skills nec- essary to succeed this fall at St. Fran- ces and in the future at Michigan. "This guy is a very smart football player," Friedman said. "He sees things and reacts very well. He's got really good size, and he's a good hitter. "He's not blowing people up like Devin Bush was, but he's a solid tack- ler. He's a force in the middle of the field because of the way he plays. He won't throw guys around — he just does everything right, processes infor- mation really well and makes plays. "He's got a really good frame and seems to understand how he needs to develop. He works hard and buys in to whatever his team is doing. He's a 100-percent, do-my-job kind of guy." Hill-Green isn't much of a talker. He released a top five May 17, which consisted of Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, Michigan, Purdue and Indiana, but didn't say much about it. Six days later, a simple video less than two minutes long let everyone know that he was a Wolverine. The speedy linebacker spoke a sim- ple message during the video. "After a long and hard recruiting process, I've made my decision," Hill-Green said. "Go Blue." Russell hasn't known Hill-Green for long, but has learned that the linebacker is humble, hungry and an all-around solid young man that should thrive in Ann Arbor. "He's a natural leader," Russell said. "It's not easy coming to a place like St. Frances, and he pretty much recruited himself to here. "We have some really good line- backers. We explained to him that we have good players and that he was really going to have to fight for playing time. That's what he wanted. He really wanted an opportunity to get better." As a junior, Hill-Green stood out on the field at North Catholic be- cause of his size and speed compared to a lot of players who likely won't play football after high school. Now at St. Frances, he has a chance to get a lot better, not only by playing against good players on other teams but also on his own roster. Hill-Green is rated as a three-star talent, the No. 17 player in Maryland and the No. 30 outside linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com, but will have a lot more eyeballs on him now. — Brandon Brown U-M Lands Another Baltimore St. Frances Product In Nikhai Hill-Green FILM EVALUATION Strengths: N ik hai H ill- Green thrives when he's able to diagnose a run, come down hill and slash through the line of scrimmage. He does a good job at moving through traffic, but when he can go directly from point A to point B he is a real problem for offenses. Areas Of Improvement: Hill- Green isn't super smooth when changing direction, but he is athletic enough to not look out of place. He actually does okay in pass cover- age because he is fast and long, but quick changes in direction can give him problems at times. Michigan Player Comparison: As a rising senior, Hill-Green actually looks quite a bit like former four-star safety prospect and former Wolverine standout Jonas Mouton (2007-10). Coming out of high school, Mouton was 6-2, 212 pounds and was con- sidered the No. 3 safety and No. 45 overall prospect nationally. M o u t o n d e v e l o p e d i n t o a 240-pound linebacker who re - corded 264 tackles (18 for loss) at U-M and was named second-team All-Big Ten by the media after he led the league in tackles in 2010. Hill-Green is high cut, long and runs very well in a straight line, which sounds a lot like Mouton and is why he moved from safety to backer. — Brandon Brown Rivals.com ranks Hill-Green as a three-star prospect, the No. 17 player in Maryland and the No. 30 outside linebacker in the nation. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Baltimore St. Frances assistant Henry Russell "From day one it was like, 'Wow,' because he's just different. … He makes a lot of plays. He has a knack for finding the football."