Published Feb 1, 2017
Michigan Football Early Enrollee Bio: DT Donovan Jeter
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Brandon Brown  •  Maize&BlueReview
Recruiting Editor
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@BSB_Wolverine
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Measurables

• Entering his senior season Jeter could bench press 335 pounds.

Statistics

• Had 76 tackles, including 15 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks, one fumble recovery and three pass breakups as a senior.

• Recorded 87 tackles along with eight sacks on defense and caught eight passes for 161 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore.

Honors

• Helped lead Beaver Falls to the school’s first-ever Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association 3A Championship as a senior.

• Listed as the 2016 Class 3A Defensive Player of the Year by PAFootballNews.com.

• Named the Mr. PA Football Lineman of the Year for small schools (classes 1-3A) in 2016.

• Jeter was a member of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette Fab 22 football team as a junior and senior.

• He also made the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 as a senior.

• Penn Live listed him No. 9 on their listing of the top 17 2017 recruits from the state.

• Was a Pennsylvania sports writers’ All-State pick as a junior (Class AA) and senior (Class AAA).

• Named to the 2016 All-USA Pennsylvania first team after earning second-team honors from USA Today in 2015.

All-Star Games And Camps

• Attended the Rivals Camp Series in Cleveland in 2015.

Recruitment

• Jeter originally committed to Notre Dame Sep. 19, 2016 but decommitted from the Irish one month later and just before his official visit to Michigan for the Illinois game (Oct. 22, 2016).

• Committed to Michigan Oct. 23, 2016.

• Jeter held offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Tennessee, UCLA, Wisconsin and many others.

• Defensive line coach Greg Mattison headed up Jeter’s recruitment.

Notable

• Born Dec. 7, 1998.

• Jeter also played tight end in high school.

• His older brother, Sheldon, is a forward for the Pittsburgh basketball team.

• His father, Carliss, played college basketball for the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

• Before choosing to focus solely on football, Jeter shined on the basketball court averaging 17.5 points per game as a sophomore. During his junior season he averaged slightly less at 16.8 points per game but led his basketball team to a WPIAL state championship and earned Class AAA third team all-state honors from the Pennsylvania Sports Writers.

• Jeter is an early enrollee at Michigan.

2017 Projection

Jeter has a lot of versatility and that could give him a chance to earn some playing time in 2017. He’s not the biggest defensive lineman Michigan is bringing in, but he’s as versatile and athletic as any other member of the class. Because Michigan’s defensive line is going to be young and not overly deep, some youngsters might have to play and Jeter could be one of them.

They Said It

Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic Recruiting Analyst Adam Friedman: "6-5, 255 to 265 pounds is the right area for him right now, and he's really done a good job reshaping his body from his junior year. He cut a lot of bad weight and he's got a much lighter frame now, and I think it's helped him with his endurance and overall potential. As far as his game goes, I like what he can do across the entire defensive line. He's got a lot of versatility. He can play in a pass-rushing situation on the edge, and he can play inside as a defensive tackle and can stuff the run if you need him to. Right now we have him listed as a defensive tackle, but he has a lot of versatility to him and I really like that. That will pay off for him in college."

Jeter’s Trainer, Terry Grossetti Jr. of Grossetti Performance: “The thing about Donovan — you know, he weighed like 290 pounds or something before, and now he’s down to 260 — he lost all of that weight, but he got twice as strong. He looks smaller, but he actually looks like an NFL player now. His body is completely changed. He’s benching 335 in high school. I have all of his workouts from when he started and he was doing 185 for like 10 reps. [Back then he was] just a sloppy high school kid with a lot of potential. “

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