Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga four-star safety Kainoa Winston is a top-of-the-board target for a host of national programs.
But as the summer recruiting season heats up, one school has emerged as the favorite to land his services, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM): Michigan.
Winston visited the Wolverines earlier this month and followed that up with a trip to Penn State.
And coming out of that trip to Happy Valley, it’s Sherrone Moore and Co. who’ve received expert predictions from TheWolverine.com’s EJ Holland and On3 VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.
Those picks put UM’s chances of landing Winston at nearly 90 percent, according to the RPM.
“After talking to Winston, and other sources with knowledge of the recruitment, I’ve logged an expert pick on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine in favor of the Maize and Blue,” Wiltfong wrote on Wednesday. “It’s a prediction that joins The Wolverine Insider EJ Holland. Winston took his official visit to Ann Arbor the first weekend of the month and said Michigan set the tone at that point in his process.”
Both Oregon and North Carolina are expected to host Winston later this month for official visits before the recruiting dead period kicks off in July.
Scheme, relationships are big selling points for Winston
A number of things stand out about the Wolverines for Winston, the No. 95 prospect nationally in the On3 Industry Ranking. But as he previously detailed with The Wolverine, the defensive scheme is a big factor.
“I like the defense they run,” Winston said. “I see myself as a safety and nickel. I can be a gadget guy — like a plug and play type of dude. Wherever they see me fitting in, I can do that. I’m really coachable.”
On top of that, the coaching staff — including on his most recent visit — has made him feel like a major priority.
“The visit was good,” he told Wiltfong. “I got to hang around the players and coaches more, just getting to bond and build relationships with them. My biggest takeaway from the visit was how genuine the people at Michigan are and the workhorse culture that has been established there.”
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