The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703389
COMMITMENT PROFILE On July 5, Plantation (Fla.) Ameri- can Heritage four-star offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert announced he would attend Michigan, becom- ing the 18th commitment in the 2017 class. He is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 10 offensive tackle and No. 61 overall pros- pect in the country. Herbert, a long- t i m e f a v o r i t e t o choose Florida, sur- prised the recruit- ing world when he announced that he would be migrating north and commit- ting to the Wolver- ines. His 6-4, 279-pound f r a m e i s n ' t u n - usual, but his stel- lar strength level is overwhelming for high school players. Although he could work on using them more to his advan- tage, he has long arms that are a huge advantage in helping him stop oppos- ing defense linemen. "We saw at the Five-Star Challenge that he is so strong out there, which may be something he relies on too much," Rivals.com Southeast recruit- ing analyst Rob Cassidy said. "That will change at Michigan, though. He's been so successful because his brute strength is just stronger than everyone. "And I don't think this is as strong as he'll get. I think he'll get even stronger and continue to bully guys around." Cassidy believes with some minor tweaking Herbert can take his game to the next level at Michigan. "He needs to get more sound tech- n i q u e - w i s e , " h e said. "He just needs a better initial touch. H e m o v e s g u y s around because he can, but he needs to get a better initial punch. "He's one of the top prospects in the country, so picking out his flaws is just nitpicking at this point. He just needs to fix some small things." Michigan wasn't always in the race for Herbert. For a long time, he had brushed off the offer, but offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Tim Drevno changed his entire recruitment along with quarterbacks coach Jedd Fisch and offensive analyst Devin Bush Sr. Before his visit in mid-June for the on-campus Big Man Camp, Herbert was vocal about how high he was Offensive Tackle Kai-Leon Herbert Shocks Florida By Picking Michigan Rivals.com rates Herbert as a four- star talent, the No. 10 offensive tackle in the country and the No. 61 overall prospect nationally. PHOTO COURTESY NICK LUCERO/RIVALS.COM