4-star OL Kai-Leon Herbert picks Michigan with 'Walking Dead' video – Detroit Free Press
Michigan’s 2017 football recruiting class is gaining momentum.
Already ranked as the No. 4 class in the 247Sports Composite, the Wolverines added to the group Wednesday when Fort Lauderdale, Fla. offensive tackle Kai-Leon Herbert chose the Wolverines, becoming the 18th commit.
As the nation’s No. 166 overall player in the class, he’s the fourth-highest ranked player in U-M’s 2017 class and the third in that group to commit in the past month.
The four-star prospect made his announcement with a video in which he was the hero in a “Walking Dead” simulation. “Zombies” from other schools chased him, and he knocked them off. At the end, Herbert ripped open his shirt to show a Michigan shirt and said, “Go Blue.”
His other finalists were Miami (Fla.) and Florida, showing U-M can go into a talented southern state and pull out a highly-ranked player coveted by the local schools.
Herbert is a 6-foot-5, 284-pound lineman from the American Heritage school in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He’s ranked as the No. 22 offensive tackle in the country by 247Sports and is the fourth offensive lineman in U-M’s 2017 class — and the third who committed this summer.
The nation’s No. 166-ranked player on the 247Sports composite, he is expected to be at The Opening this week in Beaverton, Ore., an event that features the nation’s top recruits.
And Herbert’s commitment can only help U-M’s pursuit of his Heritage teammate, Tedarrell Slaton, No. 2-ranked guard for 2017. Slaton is the No. 35 overall player in the class, according to 247Sports.
SCHOLARS: The Big Ten announced its Distinguished Scholars for the past school year and U-M had 66, more than any year since the program began in 2009.
The requirements: athletes who had at least a 3.7 or higher grade-point average. U-M had 21 men and 45 women across 22 sports. Eight Wolverines had a perfect 4.0 GPA: Adena Coste (Rowing), Vear (Rowing), Corinne Harris (Women’s Soccer), Niki Wilkinson (Women’s Soccer), Ransford (Men’s Swimming & Diving), Davis Crocker (Men’s tennis), Finn (Women’s Track & Field) and Anna Pasternak (Women’s Track & Field).
