Four-star EDGE Collins Acheampong commits to Michigan
The recent slew of rising juniors joining Michigan's 2023 recruiting class during the month of July has grown once more.
Four-star EDGE rusher Collins Acheampong out of Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita announced his commitment to the Wolverines on Friday. His decision was supposed to arrive last week but was pushed back eight days.
Michigan, LSU, Miami, and UCLA rounded out Acheampong's final top four after taking his string of official visits this past month. The Wolverines were the second to host Acheampong, who walked away impressed with the detailed three-day tour in Ann Arbor.
“Everything," Acheampong told Rivals National Recruiting Director Adam Gorney. "The atmosphere was amazing. I got more time to see more parts of the campus and spend more time with the coaches. Spent time at the facility as well and basically got a feel of what being a student there will be like.
Despite publishing a list that included four programs, this recruitment has thoroughly been a two-way race between the Wolverines and Hurricanes. Through much of June, the former held a comfortable lead leading up to Acheampong's official visit to South Beach.
There was plenty of buzz, however, coming out of the Miami camp during the aftermath which appeared that Michigan was losing its momentum quickly. Days later saw both schools seemingly deadlocked, becoming a matter of transformational vs. transactional.
Heading into Friday, confidence never wavered from Michigan, as Maize & Blue Review remained firm on the Big Ten Champions picking up the 6-foot-7 and 250 pound pass rusher, who becomes the seventh four-star prospect to be added to the 2023 class.
"I like (Michigan's) workout schedule which works around the classes and gives me the chance to maybe pursue an engineering course which is beginning to sound appealing," Acheampong also told Gorney. "The coaches are also very easy to talk to and with the recent history of OLB/DE draft picks, they’ve got a working formula. I spent time with other recruits and their families as well as the players on the roster and it was super easy to jell with them. They’re all super cool.”
Acheampong will arrive in Ann Arbor next year with limited playing experience on the football field but with an array of upside. Coming over from Ghana to the United States back in 2019, Acheampong's only true full season came during his freshman year at Fairmont Prep in Anaheim, California.
Fairmont Prep didn't suit up in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with Acheampong deciding not to play last season after his school switched to an eight-man team. Acheampong transferred to Santa Margarita a few weeks ago and will look to build off his incredible offseason campaign from multiple standout performances at various nationwide camps.
Acheampong originally came to the United States in order to pursue his dream of becoming a basketball player. He quickly transitioned over to football where his recruitment now shuts down after totaled nearly 20 offers from the Big Ten, Pac-12, Big 12, and SEC.
Ranked as the No. 21 overall prospect in the state of California within the 2023 class, according to Rivals.com, as well as the No. 21 EDGE rusher in the country, Acheampong joins Brooks Bahr as the two defensive line commits for Michigan in 2023.
Regarding other 2023 EDGE rushers, the Wolverines are also in the mix for Rivals250 four-star Enow Etta, who's expected to make a decision very soon, along with Rivals100 five-star Nyckoles Harbor.
Acheampong becomes the fourth recruit to pledge to Michigan since the beginning of July following Amir Herring, Semaj Bridgeman, and Fredrick Moore. The remaining five in the class are Benjamin Hall, Semaj Morgan, Cole Cabana, Deakon Tonielli, and Adam Samaha.
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