Michigan Football: Breaking down commitment of 4-star DB Zeke Berry

Michigan football landed its fourth commitment since the Ohio State game Saturday and here’s what the addition of Zeke Berry means for the Wolverines. 

It was expected that Michigan football would add to its 2022 recruiting class on Friday, but with the commitment of four-star Zeke Berry, the Wolverines keep their momentum moving forward.

Berry is the fourth commitment for Michigan football since the win over Ohio State, which just shows what kind of momentum the Wolverines have right now.

The Wolverines added Ethan Burke earlier this week, a three-star pass rusher with an interesting size/skill set, and now Berry is the 20th verbal pledge in the 2022 class.

At one time, Berry was committed to Arizona and former defensive coordinator Don Brown, but even before Brown left to become the head coach at UMass, Berry opened things up again following strong interest from Michigan football, Oregon, and others.

Here’s the scouting report from 247 sports Brandon Huffman who projects Berry, the No. 226 prospect overall in the 247 composite ratings, to be an NFL draft pick down the road.

"“Can play cornerback, safety, running back or receiver, but projects best to a defensive back in college. Can come downhill and end plays with big hits and open field tackling ability, but able to run stride for stride with receivers and has tremendous ball skills, hips and quick hands. As a receiver, shows great burst when taking short passes and sticking his foot in the dirt to get in to the open field.”"

What Michigan football is getting in Berry

What I love about Berry’s scouting report is the versatility. You can see his athleticism and he ran a verified 11.10 in the 40-yard dash as a junior, which shows he’s got speed.

There is talk that he could fill the Daxton Hill role — because that’s been a valuable part of Mike Macdonald’s defense and the truth is, Nickel really is a position all its own now.

Berry is a guy who shows the ability to even blitz off the edge and the ability to play multiple positions if needed is always valuable.

Here’s what Berry told 247 sports about his decision and ultimately, why he chose Michigan football over Oregon.

"“I wanted to be developed by coaches that have experience putting players in the NFL and it’s also a top 10 academic school in the country,” said Berry. “It took some time because I was 100% going to Oregon but Courtney Morgan wouldn’t stop recruiting me,” said Berry. “He felt it was important for me to know how important it is becoming a Michigan man. It was just too far to really becoming an option without me seeing it.”"

Berry’s recruitment is yet another recent win for Michigan. The Wolverines missed on Domani Jackson but beat out Ohio State for Jimmy Rolder last month and Oregon for Berry.

The strong effort on the field is helping and there’s still time to add to the 2022 recruiting class while likely building an ever better class in 2023.