4-star OT Michael Uini announces top six schools

Copperas Cove (Texas) four-star offensive tackle Michael Uini has narrowed his list of top schools down to six. Uini’s list includes Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan and Texas.

Uini is the No. 152 overall prospect and No. 10 offensive tackle in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 27 player in Texas.

According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), Texas currently holds a narrow lead over the other five schools in his top six to land a pledge from the 6-foot-7, 275-pounder.

Uini has already scheduled official visits to the Tigers (June 2), Gators (June 9), Wolverines (June 16), Crimson Tide (June 20) and the Bulldogs (June 23). He told On3’s Chad Simmons that he’s trying to set an official with Texas as well but hasn’t locked that in.

He has visited Austin five or six times already and he’s visited Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Michigan once. The trip to Florida will be his first.

“Right now, I don’t have a number order like one through three,” Uini told Simmons. “I’m going in there with an open mind. Me, my mom and my family are looking at whichever visit we feel will benefit me in the near future. We’ll know that feeling once it comes.”

Uini currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $84K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Uini discusses six schools of interest

In his interview with Simmons earlier in the month, Uini broke down his interest in each of his top schools.

Alabama: “Bama, it’s just different the way they work out and the way coach (Nick) Saban moves around a lot of the players and how tough he is. They’re an all-time college football team and I can see it.”

Clemson: “My interest in Clemson initially started with my connection to coach (Garrett) Riley at TCU. When he got to Clemson, I was one of the first people who came up from coach Riley. He told coach (Thomas) Austin about me. When me and my dad went out there back in March, the coaches really impressed us, just the way they handled themselves. The things they do for the community, it all just stood out to me.”

Florida: “Before Florida, coach (Rob) Sale and coach (Billy) Napier were at (Louisiana) and they were definitely interested me. They came out to see a game. They’ve been recruiting me hard since before I had offers. Coach (Darnell) Stapleton and another coach came in recently and sat me down and talked to me about a couple things that they’re excited about showing me and my family, like the OV weekend. They’ve been texting me every now and letting me know that they really need me.”

Georgia: “I like the way coach (Stacy) Searels develops players and the way he’s able to put them in the league. They have one of the best rosters in the nation, not just on the o-line, but as a team, as a whole. Being able to make it to the national championship two times in a row is impressive.”

Michigan: (Coach Moore) is a big part of the reason for my interest in Michigan. When me and my dad went out there, Michigan impressed us in so many ways as far as their education and how they handle their student-athletes. Their strength and conditioning coach sat us down and gave a whole presentation about how they do things and work hard. That just really stuck out to me.”

Texas: “Their business school is amazing and business is what I want to major in. That, of course, sticks out to me. Their football program, just what coach (Steve Sarkisian) and coach (Kyle) Flood and what the rest of the coaches and staff are doing… they’re trying to bring back Texas. It’s an eye-opener. Austin the city and everything around the University of Texas is all amazing.”