The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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50 THE WOLVERINE ❱ SEPTEMBER 2023 ❱ COMMIT PROFILE BY ZACH LIBBY N CAA rules allow college coaches to attend their child's high school games and events. Michigan co-defensive coordinator and area recruiter Steve Clinkscale has sons who are teammates of Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass three-star cornerback Jeremiah Lowe, and his relationship with the prospect grew closer because of the unique circumstances. "I've been talking to him a little more lately," Lowe told The Wol- verine. "He's just been checking up on me and seeing how camps and seven-on-sevens have been going. He's a good dude. He keeps it 100. It's like he's talking to one of his own kids. That's respect- able." Lowe, rated as the No. 119 overall cor- nerback in the country and No. 11 pros- pect in Kentucky, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, committed to Michi- gan on Aug. 10 after returning to campus for the annual BBQ at The Big House at the end of July. His offer from the Wolverines arrived in June of last year. Heading into the spring, Lowe began communicating with Clinkscale at least once a week. Their contact became even more consistent leading up to the BBQ, which made the decision easy for Lowe. "Obviously, Clink trusts us because he's been around our program with his sons," Frederick Douglass head coach Nathan McPeek told The Wolverine. "He trusts our guys and coaching staff to keep his sons here. We have a long his- tory and relationship with him. "He always helps us out. We visited there last spring, and anytime we need anything, he's always there for us as coaches. He's done a great job of coming down here and recruiting our best talent." Lowe chose Michigan over notable offers from Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri and Boston College. He and his family have traveled to Ann Arbor for a spring camp practice in March, the Michigan State game this past season and last year's BBQ as well. Lowe didn't take any official visits during the month of June but instead competed in a series of camps hosted by different programs on his radar, like Kentucky. Even though the opportunity to play for the hometown Wildcats was an op- tion, he decided that spending his col- lege career in an atmosphere like The Big House was too much to pass up. "They are breeding winners over there," Lowe said. "They've had a lot of recent success. They do things right, and they pay a lot of attention to detail. I re- ally like Michigan." Lowe is coming off a 15-0 state cham- pionship season with Frederick Doug- lass in 2022. He's one of two players in the program to have been offered by Clinkscale. The other is 2025 wide receiver Avon Chenault, who also visited for the BBQ event in July. "Coach [Jim] Harbaugh has done a great job of bringing Michigan back to how they were in the past with really good play- ers," McPeek said. "With the added 12-team playoff, they should get in every single year because of the talent that's brought in, and even more than that with the NIL oppor- tunities, the business opportu- nities and the connections that are made, which can really help your life when football is over. Everything about Michigan is a win-win." Michigan's landing of Lowe marked the second true cornerback tar- get to commit this cycle and second in the month of August. Nappanee (Ind.) Northwood three-star Jo'Ziah Edmond pledged on the same day that he decom- mitted from Purdue. "It's very DB friendly," Lowe said. "They play a lot of DBs. I see myself fit- ting in as a corner and nickel. When I'm out there, I like to dominate one-on- one. Even if we are in zone, I think about dominating my matchup. I like to use my athleticism and technique." Lowe finished his junior campaign with 14 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, 2 interceptions and did not allow any touchdowns in coverage. ❑ Bluegrass State Cornerback Jeremiah Lowe Goes Blue Lowe is rated as the No. 119 overall cornerback in the country and No. 11 prospect in Kentucky, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He committed to Michigan on Aug. 10 after attending the annual BBQ at The Big House in late July. PHOTO COURTESY JEREMIAH LOWE PLAYER EVALUATION STRENGTHS: "Jeremiah Lowe is refined and comfortable in coverage. He's smooth moving and has the versatility to play multiple spots, whether it's outside corner or in the slot at nickel. He seems to be comfortable reading a quarterback's eyes. You can see him jump passes and make plays on the ball with good instincts. "He has good coaching as well. Frederick Douglass is one of the better high school football programs in Kentucky, and they seem to have Power Five prospects every cycle. His footwork and technique are refined, so he won't be a guy who'll need quite as big of an adjustment to the requirements needed to play cornerback [at Michigan]." AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: "There's not a lot of context relative to his size or athleticism. He's a baseball player, so he's not running track in the spring. He's more of a one-way prospect who special- izes at corner. Despite not playing receiver, I think he has good ball skills and cover instincts overall." MICHIGAN PLAYER COMPARISON: "I'll go with Mike Sainristil. It's not a flawless comparison because the main difference between him and Jeremiah is that Sainristil played so much on offense. Whereas Jeremiah is more of a pure corner at the same stage." — On3 director of scouting and rankings Charles Power