Concord (Calif.) De La Salle safety Zeke Berry will be a Michigan Man.
The four-star just announced his commitment to Michigan moments ago, giving the Wolverines a huge win in the state of California.
After taking an official visit to Michigan over the weekend, his fifth and final visit, Berry gave the Wolverines his verbal.
“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 was a late rally for the Wolverines, who overtook Oregon in recent weeks.
“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 be coming an option without me seeing it.”
So Berry headed to Ann Arbor last weekend when he had a rare off-weekend with the Spartans having a playoff bye.
Before the visit concluded, he knew he had found his spot.
“Coach Ron Bellamy knew but I never said anything to him,” said Berry. “He knew I wasn’t going to commit without the official. Day one I was there, I knew it was home. So before the game, we had a meeting with coach (Jim) Harbaugh and I told him, I’m with him win or lose. I wanted to commit to Michigan but after the win it just made it more special.”
Berry reached out to another De La Salle prospect, who was a senior when he was a freshman, who left the West for college.
“On my official visit, I texted Henry To’oto’o (linebacker at Alabama) and asked him if the distance makes a difference,” said Berry. “He said it’s a sacrifice for 3-4 years for your loved ones and your self but remember why you’re doing this. My family supported anything, they just wanted to make sure I’m around good guidance.”
A one-time commit to Arizona who opened things up this fall, Berry said he’s relieved to be done with the process once and for all.
“Im so happy this is over,” said Berry. “Now I can get back to enjoying my last year of high school.”
Berry won’t enroll early, planning to head to Michigan during the summer.
In the meantime, he and the Spartans will face Folsom (Calif.) tonight in the CIF State NorCal D-I Regional for a spot in the state title game, a game that De La Salle has played in every year since 2006.
Berry has been selected to play in the All-American Bowl in San Antonio and the Polynesian Bowl in Hawaii next month.
A four-star in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite Rankings, Berry is the No. 18 safety and No. 19 player in California per the industry, but 247Sports has always been higher on him, ranking him as the No. 64 player nationally, the No. 8 safety in the country and the No. 7 prospect in the Golden State in 2022.
