After weeks of uncertainty and somewhat unnecessary drama that was in no way of the fault of said recruit, 2023 Colleyville (Tex.) Covenant Christian Rivals250 four-star EDGE Enow Etta has committed to Michigan.
The timing of this announcement continued to push back days-and-days because of the actions of social media users attempting to create theatrics that would result in hurt feelings and scorned reputations on reputable people.
How everything came about was a reminder that high school prospects are, in fact, people and don't deserved to have their name dragged through the mud just because a select group have a vendetta to hash out.
Even if the silliness also played into recruiting against another school, it can be said that Michigan was severely affected by everything posted onto Twitter and Instagram. It just goes to show that fans have a major say in the process, mostly negative, and ultimately where recruits decide to sign.
But at least, for now, the sigh of relief that these series of unfortunate events are over following Etta's announcement, who becomes the fifth to choose the Wolverines during the month of July and third defensive line commit to pledge to Mike Elston in the 2023 class.
The athletic physical structure of Etta provides Michigan with more length along the defensive front, something that Elston was in search of since coming over from Notre Dame earlier in the offseason.
At 6-foot-4, 260-plus pounds, and an 81-inch wingspan, Etta's high motor and physicality at the point of attack will be major these next three-to-five years under Elston and Jesse Minter.
Etta originally scheduled his commitment to come last Friday but quickly deleted that tweet and instead made it official XXX. After taking his official visits last month, Etta was down to both Michigan and Michigan State, as the decision came between academics and NIL opportunities.
“The relationships (the coaches and I) have built speak for everything," Enow told Maize & Blue Review Senior Editor Brandon Justice back in June. "We talked a lot about the other stuff already: academics, facilities, how I’ll fit in, where I’ll play."
The Spartans were the first among the two to host Etta officially, who then traveled immediately back to the state the following weekend. Etta had previously taken an unofficial visit to Ann Arbor earlier in the offseason and returned for "Victors Weekend" that saw multiple other Michigan commits take part in the festivities as well.
Throughout his recruitment, Etta has been known as someone who values education more than anything, hence why he also showed interest in Stanford and Cal. He also expressed an objective to leave the state of Texas for college, despite collecting offers from North Texas, Rice, SMU, TCU, and Texas.
Etta wasn't originally born in Texas so he's not like fellow rising juniors living in the hotbed of high school football where they feel it's important to represent their home state at one of the local Division I juggernauts. Being that Etta's top two schools both hail from Michigan, it shows his strong intentions of making a name for himself far away from Texas as possible.
The addition of Etta comes on the heels of Michigan landing another EDGE rusher to the 2023 class in California four-star Collins Acheampong, who committed on Friday. Both of whom are currently ranked within the top 25 in the country among all EDGE rushers, according to Rivals.com. Etta is also listed as the No. 42 prospect in Texas and No. 239 overall nationally.
Before the Wolverines were able to pick up each of the five commits this month, which includes Etta, Acheampong, Amir Herring, Fredrick Moore, and Semaj Bridgeman, they were ranked outside the top 50 on the Rivals.com team recruiting rankings for 2023 and second-to-last in the Big Ten in front of only Indiana.
Now, the Big Ten Champions are continuing to stockpile four-star prospects for the class as only three of the 11 commits are three-stars or lower. That's more than ten other conference rivals and also tied with Michigan State. Only Ohio State and Penn State hold more heading into the middle half of July.
Recruiting the EDGE rusher position isn't over for Michigan as five-star Nyckoles Harbor out of Washington D.C. remains as high of a priority as anyone in the 2023 class. The No. 7 overall player in the country, per Rivals.com, is expected to make a decision after the summer.
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