Standout 2022 Running Back Damari Alston ‘Highly Interested’ In Michigan After Landing Offer
With Michigan’s 2021 class growing on Thursday, the U-M staff is applying a heavy dose of attention to its 2022 recruiting efforts, and Atlanta (Ga.) Woodward Academy running back Damari Alston was ecstatic to receive an offer from the Wolverines on Wednesday.
“I always watched Michigan,” Alston told Wolverine Digest. “Every Saturday, I’m always watching Michigan.”
As a longtime observer of Michigan football, Alston picked up his U-M offer after a conversation with running backs coach Jay Harbaugh.
“While my parents were in the room, he told me he offered me a full scholarship to Michigan,” Alston said. “When he told me, it really put a smile on my face because it’s my biggest offer. I am highly interested in Michigan right now.”
In fact, Harbaugh left a very positive impression on the Alston family in the aftermath of that conversation.
“We were just talking about things related to but outside of football,” Alston said. “Things like our families and the crisis that’s going on. My mom is a football mom, but she wants to get to know the person. So, when he was talking to us about stuff that’s not football related, she said she liked him. He was telling us a whole bunch of stuff about his family and his life, so that is something that my folks like.”
In recent years, several players from Woodward Academy have landed Michigan offers, so Alston has had the chance to receive some second-hand information about the U-M program. In particular, Alston is close with Khari Gee, a four-star safety in the 2021 class who holds a Michigan offer, and the two have had several conversations about the Wolverines program.
“He told me a lot about it, like the campus, the athletic facilities, the academic buildings and stuff,” Alston said. “It sounded pretty awesome. He told me that when he went to a game, and the atmosphere was crazy, so I just want to visit and get to know more about it.”
Overall, Alston is a 5-10, 185-pound running back that now holds 13 offers after picking up 1,200 all-purpose yards and 16 touchdowns last fall. Alston is hearing from Kansas State, Colorado and Arkansas lately, and the prolific recruit is looking to visit the latter two schools as soon as it becomes an option.
“Around January, before the dead period, I picked up about four offers,” Alston said of his recruitment. “Around March, I picked up a few offers from FIU, FAU and Kansas State over my spring break. Of course, I just picked up Michigan, which is really big for me. I can feel my recruitment blowing up right now.”
With quite a few options on the table already, Alston jogged through several aspects that will weigh heavily down the line in his recruitment when he decides to commit to a program.
“First off, the very first thing I want to know about a school is how the academic program is going,” Alston said. “Next, I want to know about the athletic program and how football is going and the way the coaches coach. The third thing is the people around. Like, is it positive vibes or not? Is the team going to have a good relationship and a good bond?”
Based on that criterion, it sounds like on-campus visits will go a long ways in determining which school Alston eventually chooses. In the meantime, Alston is working out in his home gym to stay active recently, focusing on his footwork and cutting ability as he prepares for the 2020 season.
Michigan has made inroads at Woodward Academy before, and the U-M staff is targeting another talented prospect from the school. Can they lure Alston out of the South and into Ann Arbor? Where does he rank among Michigan’s 2022 running back offers? Let us know!
