One of the biggest positions of need heading into the 2020 cycle was the safety position and the staff has put together the best haul in the country as it just added its third four-star safety to the class as West Bloomfield (MI) S Makari Paige has committed to Michigan.
Commitment
Scouting Report
Long and rangy, Paige is a versatile safety that can play multiple positions in Michigan’s defense. He’s really smooth for a player of his size and can make plays from sideline to sideline. He can play centerfield, in the box, or cover in the slot. But it’ll be interesting to see if he stays at safety throughout his career.
Paige is pretty lanky at the moment as he’s already standing at 6’3″. Like with most high school seniors going into college, it’ll just take a little time for him to be able to put on the proper weight. Once he starts, it could be a coaching decision to see how much he’ll put on. He has the frame and athleticism to play either the Rover or Viper positions. Either way, I think he could be a Swiss Army Knife-like weapon for Don Brown and an impactful one at that.
Recruitment
Paige has been a known name for college football fans for awhile now as he received his first Power Five offer back in September of 2017 (from Michigan State). Michigan didn’t take long to join the party after that, extending an offer to Paige at the start of 2018.
Even though Michigan was the childhood favorite and an early favorite in this recruitment, enough so for me to put him in my First 2020 Best Guess Recruiting Class in April 2019, it was Ohio State and Penn State that had the lead late in the spring.
Michigan looked like it may miss out on one of the top players in the state. But a strong push from the staff over the summer let Paige know where he was wanted most. He set an announcement for three days after his unofficial visit to Ann Arbor for the BBQ at the Big House and, as expected, announced his commitment to the Wolverines
- Height: 6’3”
- Weight: 185lbs
- Hometown (School): West Bloomfield, MI (West Bloomfield)
- Notable Offers: Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan State
- Rankings: Rivals (4*, #18 S) – 247Sports (4*, #203 overall) – ESPN (
- Composite Ranking: Four-Star, #243 Overall, #22 Safety, #6 in Michigan
Highlights
As for the Rest of the Class
Paige is the 23rd overall commitment for the class, the third safety get, and the fourth in-state commitment. With his commitment on the board, it’ll be interesting to see how the staff goes after DB Malcolm Greene. If the staff is going to add another defensive back, cornerback is the safe bet with CB Darion Green-Warren looking like the favorite. CB Henry Gray and CB Dontae Manning are other options.
Photo Credit: Makari Paige/Twitter
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