Donovan Peoples-Jones to Michigan: Wolverines Land 5-Star WR Prospect

Michigan added serious firepower to its 2017 recruiting class Thursday with the addition of wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Jones announced his decision on Twitter:

Per Scout.com, the 6’2 ½”, 190-pounder is a 5-star prospect and the No. 32 overall player, No. 4 wide receiver and No. 1 wide receiver from the state of Michigan in the 2017 class. The Michigan native played his high school ball at Cass Technical High School in Detroit and drew plenty of interest from Midwestern powerhouses, including Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State.

USC, Florida and Notre Dame, among others, also showed varying degrees of interest in him throughout the recruiting cycle.

Peoples-Jones noted early in the recruiting process that one school stood out, per Doug Lesmerises of Cleveland.com: “I'll always remember Ohio State as offering me first. I'll always have them high because they were the first one that gave me a chance.”

Instead, Peoples-Jones opted to stay at home and join Ohio State's biggest rival. The Wolverines get a huge boost for their upcoming recruiting class, with head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff keeping the best player from the state of Michigan in house. 

While national signing day isn't until February, Peoples-Jones did make it known he wanted to get an early jump on his college career.

“I’ll be enrolling in a school in January so it’ll have to hit me before then,” he said, according to Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press. “I won’t quite make it to national signing day, but I’ll have to figure it out so I can be an early enrollee.”

Michigan had a top-10 recruiting class before Peoples-Jones' commitment, with 21 players already pledging to play for Harbaugh next season, per Scout.com.

Adding an elite playmaker to a group that already boasts an outstanding defense and adds quarterback Dylan McCaffrey next season will only make Michigan that much more dangerous in the Big Ten. 

It is no wonder so many of the best programs in the country were interested in the playmaking wide receiver since he was an underclassman in Detroit. Peoples-Jones boasts height and the leaping ability necessary to high-point passes and fade routes, which makes him a potentially lethal weapon in the red zone.

He also has the speed to blow past cornerbacks who press-cover him at the line of scrimmage and the shiftiness in the open field to make would-be tacklers miss. 

What’s more, he became the first underclassman to capture the Nike Football Ratings National Champion crown at The Opening (which is a showcase for some of the elite college football prospects in the country). The Opening shared the news on Twitter:

Per Tim Sullivan of the Detroit Free Press, Rivals Midwest analyst Josh Helmholdt praised Peoples-Jones' skill set and said he “pulled in great, acrobatic catches along the sideline, separated consistently on his routes and made fingertip grabs on poorly thrown balls. Rep after rep, Peoples-Jones seemed to take his game higher and higher."

Peoples-Jones has been on the radar of blue-chip programs across the nation for years as someone who can join a college team and immediately contribute. That is exactly what Michigan fans want to hear.