Greenwood (S.C.) Emerald 2019 4-star tight end Luke Deal will commit on May 25 and is seriously considering Michigan.
Along with the Wolverines, Deal is looking at Notre Dame, Clemson, Auburn, N.C. State and Ohio State.
“I will pick the place that feels like home and that I feel will develop me spiritually, academically and athletically,” he said.
Deal will announce his commitment on Twitter.
The tight end has taken official visits to Michigan (April 13), Notre Dame (April 16), Ohio State (April 20) and Auburn (April 27).
“Our expectations coming in were high but everything was better than expected,” Deal said after his official visit to Michigan. “We toured everything and got a lot of chances to meet new people. There were about eight other official visitors there with me, which was really cool because I had the opportunity to hang with the guys. That was one of the highlights of the visit.”
Deal said he believes in faith, family and football. He will only select a school that holds the same beliefs as him. Since Deal has been recruited by Michigan, he has grown close to coach Jim Harbaugh, tight ends coach Sherrone Moore and passing game coordinator Pep Hamilton.
“Coach Harbaugh, Coach Moore and Coach Hamilton all have similar traits as coaches,” Deal said. “If the staff believes in what I believe in, then it’ll be a good fit. [Michigan] definitely fits that mold.”
Cade McNamara now is making it a priority to recruit Deal, whose May 25 commitment date means the Reno (Nev.) Damonte Ranch 4-star quarterback commit is working with limited time.
“I’m not going to force anyone to do anything,” McNamara said. “I just share my recruiting experiences and why I believe Michigan is the best place in the country.”
Deal will graduate from high school in December and enroll early at the university of his choice. McNamara will do the same at Michigan.
“No doubt, my man Cade McNamara,” Deal said of the player pushing him to the Wolverines the hardest.
“I’m confident (it’s Michigan),” McNamara said. “Luke and I have become good friends over the course of this process.”
Along with Deal having a long-distance friend in McNamara, Deal’s mother was born in Detroit and his grandfather grew up in Milan, Mich. Most of the family members on his mom’s side of the family are Michigan fans.
Deal’s grandfather, Dennis Quackenboss, wrote a letter to Harbaugh after his grandson received interest from Ohio State. The letter earned Deal an offer.
“I told my grandpa (about Ohio State) because everyone from my mom’s side of the family is huge Michigan fans. My grandpa grew up 10 minutes away from the stadium and was really upset when he heard Ohio State was interested.
“He was being silly about saying he would write a letter to Harbaugh. Turns out, Harbaugh read my grandpa’s letter and they watched my film. They loved it and offered me the next night.”
Since Harbaugh’s team took two tight ends in the 2018 class — Missouri City (Texas) Ridge Point 4-star prospect Mustapha Muhammad and Hamden Hall (Conn.) 3-star recruit Luke Schoonmaker — it is expected Michigan will take only one in 2019, which could end up being Deal.
The 4-star prospect is ranked No. 245 in the 2019 class, according to 247Sports. He is the ninth-best tight end and the No. 3-ranked player in South Carolina.
