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As the recruiting dead period recently expanded until the end of July, 2021 Bethesda (Md.) Choate Rosemary Hall three-star offensive tackle Tristan Bounds knew he was reaching the end of the road an an uncommitted prospect.

“Going down the line, I knew that I was getting ready to do it,” Bounds told Wolverine Digest. “I woke up yesterday, and Sunday is my day of prayer, so I prayed on it a lot yesterday and woke up this morning and just felt I was ready to do it.”

With offers from schools such as Notre Dame, UCLA, Texas and Michigan, Bounds received interest from top programs across the county, but he felt that Michigan was different.

“I knew that it was coming down to it, but I was just happy to be done with it, happy with the choice that I made,” Bounds said. “I kind of knew that this choice was what I was going to do for a while, but you always want to keep an open mind, consider all your options. But I’m just super excited to be committed and are ready to go.”

While many recruits talk about how academics are a factor in their recruitment, Bounds made it clear that the scholastic aspect of a school was of critical importance.

“It was huge,” Bounds said. “I wouldn’t have went anywhere that was not a good school. Eventually the ball stops rolling, so school is really important. That’s a big part of why I made the decision to find a great school where I can also play at an elite level on the football field.”

Once Bounds arrives in Ann Arbor, the plan is for him to major in business. Michigan boasts a top notch business program, and that was another strong selling point for the new U-M commit.

“I talked to a bunch of people in the business department and tried to get to know different people at at different levels,” Bounds said.” I got to talk to a ton of people in the business department and then players rang had been through it. We talked about alumni connections and all that stuff.”

In particular, Bounds had a long conversation with former Michigan safety Jamar Adams. The two spoke about the power of a Michigan degree, and this chat resonated with the three-star prospect.

“That was a great conversation for me because he went through the business school,” Bounds said.” He’s a little bit older, so he got to tell me how the alumni network helped him. Of the people I talked to, that was probably the most influential conversation I had.”

But in order to fully be comfortable with his decision, Bounds decided to visit Michigan on his own schedule. Since on-campus visits are banned right now, Bounds drove from his home on the east coast to Ann Arbor in order to get a feel for the area and to see what campus is like.

“It was a little bit of a hike, but it was definitely super worth it and super important to me just to get to do that because you need to be on campus to really feel it and see how things are,” Bounds said. “That was super important, and it really helped in my decision to get on campus.

“I literally just sat in the car and thought about where I wanted to go to school,” Bounds said. “That was big.”

Looking ahead to his days of wearing a winged helmet, Bounds has a solid idea of where he will be lining up on the field for Michigan.

“From what I understand, I fit in as a tackle, specifically left,” Bounds said.” That’s just generally what I’ve played. I think I’ll probably stay there, but A. It’s not really up to me and B. I just want to play football. I don’t care— put me at center, guard or tackle. I think that I’ll be a tackle, but like I said, I just want to play football.”

Left tackle is where Bounds plays for Choate Rosemary Hall, and it is the position he expects to assume at Michigan. In order to improve his play when that time comes, Bounds has already set out a host of areas he’d like to improve upon before the start of his senior season.

“Really just to get stronger, try to get lower and more explosive,” Bounds said. “ I think that I’m a very athletic tackle. That’s what I was recruited because of, but I think the stronger I get, the better I’ll be at bull rushes, inside moves and in the run game.”

With Bounds’ pledge, Michigan remains at the No. 5 position national for the 2021 class with 17 total commits, which signals that U-M only has a few open spots left on each side of the ball.

How does Michigan’s 2021 class look in your eyes? Which areas should the Wolverines focus on the most moving forward? Let us know!