One day after picking up Junior Colson, Michigan has added a second four-star linebacker to the fold. Ft. Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas ILB Jayden Hood announced his commitment today, choosing the Wolverines from a top group that also featured hometown favorite Miami (YTM).

Committed 100%... Go Blue 〽️ @UMichFootball @JayHarbaugh @luc_brian @FBCoachDBrown @247Wolverine @MichOpinion @espn @247Sports @CoachHarriott @TwanRussell @FeetHipsHands @TheCribSouthFLA @EraPrep @Iam_SheaHood @HoodShandon @Shepp42 pic.twitter.com/ycVhFYgd9v

— Jaydon hood (@JaydonHood_7) May 25, 2020

While Hood hasn't been able to visit campus because of the pandemic, he's been in frequent communication with Jim Harbaugh, Don Brown, and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary. Hood told Sam Webb a couple weeks ago that he wanted to be sure before he pulled the trigger on a commitment, giving the leader in the clubhouse for Michigan 'crootin quote of the year in the process:

“My family does not believe in committing and decommitting,” he explained. “So if I commit somewhere, nine out of ten it’s going to be the school I’m going to. They want to make sure whatever school I go to, whether I commit tomorrow or next year, that it’s the school that I’m going to go to and that I’m 110% sure. So, that’s where they’re at. They just want to make sure that I’m sure of whatever school I go to. So, there’s a lot of research (to be done).”

Hood is the 15th commit in M's 2021 class, which strengthens its hold on second in the Big Ten and moves up to #6 in the national composite rankings.

GURU RATINGS

There's a healthy split in Hood's rankings. ESPN thinks the most highly of him, placing him within their top 200 overall. Rivals (which, somewhat oddly, lists him as an athlete) and 247 rank him in serviceable three-star range. Unfortunately and predictably, we don't get any explanation from ESPN as to why they rank Hood as high as they do.

Hood is listed at 6'1" and either 212 or 215 pounds by all three sites. He's got the build of a MIKE and that's where he's expected to play in Ann Arbor.

[Hit THE JUMP for scouting, video, and the rest.]

SCOUTING

There's surprisingly little scouting published on Hood, though that should change if there's a high school football season this fall—he transferred to powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas this offseason after playing his first three high school seasons at West Palm Beach Cardinal Newman.

The most detailed scouting comes from Notre Dame's 247 site, which listed Hood as a prospect they'd like to see the Irish pursue:

Hood doesn’t overwhelm you with size, but he does send bodies flying with his impressive combination of speed and power.

His junior season stats certainly live up to his Under Armour All-American tag, totaling 115 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and an interception.

The mike position would likely be a good fit for Hood in the Irish defense. There’s something special about the way he hits, forward movement will cease to exist when he makes contact. There’s a polished look to the way he shoots gaps and takes angles on the quarterback.

That first sentence brings to mind a recent Michigan middle linebacker who worked out pretty well. Yes, Michigan gave him the Devin Bush pitch. When you watch the tape, it's not unreasonable. Hood closes fast and hits hard.

Last fall, he had a dominant season while leading Cardinal Newman to the playoffs:

Hood is tabbed by the 247Sports Composite as the country's No. 11 inside linebacker. He was a Palm Beach Post Small Schools (4A-1A) first-team selection on defense. Led Cardinal Newman with 115 tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two interceptions. Also scored twice on defense for a Crusaders team that made the 3A state playoffs; Land Rover Palm Beach Player of The Week after totaling 10 tackles and an interception in a win over Delray Beach American Heritage.

In March, Hood earned an invite to the Under Armour All-American Game at UA's Miami camp, though we didn't get any more details on his performance. He subsequently received rankings bumps across the board.

Hood told The Wolverine's EJ Holland that Michigan wants him as a MIKE:

“Coach Brown was on the call with us, and he told me he wants me to be the Mike linebacker,” Hood said. “He wants me to call plays and be the leader of the amazing defense that they have. That’s what I feel like I’m good at and specialize in.”

After watching Hood's junior highlights, I believe he's got the ability to be an excellent middle linebacker. He's quick to read and react, he's willing and able to take on blocks and shed, he takes good pursuit angles, he plays fast, and he brings the wood. When the tape shows enough time before the snap, you often see him making adjustments on the fly for the defense.

My main question is playing the pass; while he looks like an excellent blitzer, we don't see him in coverage much at all, and he appears a little stiff in the hips when he's in the open field. His overall athleticism should be fine for the MIKE, however, and he appears to have the requisite football IQ to make the most out his physical ability. He looks like a potential multi-year starter with an NFL future if he's good enough in coverage.

OFFERS

Hood had a final ten of Kentucky, Louisville, Miami (YTM), Michigan, Minnesota, South Carolina, USF, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. 247 also lists offers from Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Penn State, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UCF, and Washington State, among others. Some of those may not have been committable or I'd imagine they'd have made Hood's top ten.

HIGH SCHOOL

Hood is very much taking a step up in competition. Cardinal Newman has produced four Power Five signees in the Rivals era (2002-present) and only one prospect rated above three stars, former Florida State WR Travis Rudolph. Disgraced ex-Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons is also among the four.

Michigan's ties to St. Thomas Aquinas, meanwhile, date back to the 1980s, when Bo Schembechler grabbed All-American guard Stefan Humphries and kicker Pat Moons from the program. Jake Rudock, John O'Korn, and sophomore linebacker Anthony Solomon all attended STA, as well. 2021 cornerback commit Ja'Den McBurrows will be Hood's teammate this season and Michigan is in serious pursuit of top-50 2021 OLB/WDE Dallas Turner.

The school has also produced a long list of college and NFL standouts. Just since the 2002 class, those players include the Bosa brothers, Geno Atkins, Marcus Gilbert, Major Wright, LaMarcus Joyner, Gio Bernard, Jordan Scarlett, Phillip Dorsett, and Damon Arnette. STA is also a major draw for sons of former NFL players, including Al Blades, Asante Samuel, Michael Irvin, and Bryan Cox.

STATS

As mentioned above: Hood posted 115 tackles, 25 TFLs, seven sacks, four forced fumbles, two interceptions, and two defensive touchdowns in his junior season. He's been playing on the varsity team since his freshman season. MaxPreps has seemingly incomplete stats: 55 tackles, 12 TFLs, five sacks, a forced fumble, and a blocked punt in seven logged games as a sophomore and 51 tackles, seven TFLs, four sacks, and an interception in nine games as a freshman.

FAKE 40 TIME

Hood lists an unsourced 4.6 40 time and 4.5 shuttle on his Hudl page. Those get four FAKEs out of five. We probably won't get testing numbers on him before he gets to campus; again, I don't believe his athleticism is a concern.

VIDEO

Junior highlights:

Sophomore highlights and single-game reels can be found on his Hudl page.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Hood should get a year or two as Cam McGrone's apprentice at the MIKE before competing for the starting job. While Michigan has taken plenty of linebackers over the last couple classes, Hood may be the tightest fit for the position. He should be right in the mix along with Charles Thomas, Cornell Wheeler, perhaps one or two more of the 2020 signees depending on how they fill out, and fellow 2021 commit Casey Phinney.

While we obviously haven't had a chance to see the 2020 linebackers in college, I like Hood's chances of holding that job for multiple years. He plays with a similar style as Bush and McGrone; as we've seen, Don Brown likes those guys.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

Okay, now Michigan is probably done at linebacker barring a top-level prospect wanting in. Hood's commitment will hopefully help the coaches make headway with Dallas Turner, one of the top targets remaining on their board at any position.

Other top remaining targets include MI RB Donovan Edwards, CA RB Prophet Brown, CA WR Cristian Dixon, CA WR Xavier Worthy, IA TE Thomas Fidone, MI OG Rocco Spindler, MI OT Garrett Dellinger, MA OG Drew Kendall, MI OT Rayshaun Benny, AZ DE Quintin Somerville, NJ DT George Rooks, OK CB AJ Green, and PA S Donovan McMillon.

Michigan's class now ranks sixth in the country and second in the Big Ten. I'm not going to hazard a guess at class size given all the uncertainty surrounding, uh, everything. Here's the class as it currently stands: