Former Cincinnati pledge Jason Hewlett commits to Michigan

Three-star athlete and 2023 Youngstown (Ohio) Chaney standout Jason Hewlett Jr. needed to know exactly where he was going to play football and graduate with a degree in four years. That’s why he took an unofficial visit to Michigan less than two weeks ago and later decommitted from Cincinnati.

Hewlett, ranked in the top 25 among all 2023 recruits in Ohio, according to the On3 Consensus, also didn’t expect how down-to-earth a school as big as Michigan could be until he finally arrived for his debut. Adding onto his relationship with Steve Clinkscale, Hewlett found his home and didn’t have to prolong the process further.

“Coach Clink keeps it real,” Hewlett said. “Not a lot of college coaches or college recruiters do that. They don’t always tell you what you need to hear but coach Clink always keeps it real. He isn’t telling you what you want to hear, he’s telling you what’s going to happen, and how you’ll end up playing (while at Michigan). That’s something that I really respect because I want to hear the real.”

Michigan was already successful in landing three fellow Ohio prospects the last three days. Capitalizing off its win over Ohio State, the reigning Big Ten Champions are invading the rival state with an iron fist, accepting the commitment of Hewlett on Monday.

“It was a great team win,” Hewlett said. ”(Michigan’s) defense showed why they’re one of the best in the country. They’re playing as one and you can tell they just have a different energy.”

He announced the decision on Twitter.

Hewlett chose the Wolverines over offers from Kentucky, West Virginia, Boston College, NC State, and Virginia Tech. Cincinnati held a pledge from Hewlett for 14 months before he reopened his recruitment on Thanksgiving Day.

At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Hewlett is projected as a defensive athlete for Michigan, who will wait on how the Northeast Ohio native fills out under the guidance of Ben Herbert in the offseason. Hewlett has the versatility to play either linebacker or box safety.

Hewlett is teammates with fellow 2023 three-star defensive talent D’Juan Waller Jr., who also unofficially visited Michigan for the Illinois game. Waller decommitted from Toledo and entered the latter-half of November with a top three consisting of Michigan, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

Hewlett and Waller were originally planning to announce together after their official visit to Ann Arbor next month. On3 Predictions have been made for the latter to join Hewlett at the next level.

“We all grew up together in Youngstown,” Hewlett said. “Not too many people in our city get to experience stuff like this. With the three of us, we’re just trying to change the culture around here and showing all of the younger kids that they can do it too. But it was good to go just to feel it out for myself.”

Hewlett has an On3 NIL Valuation of $15K with 3,600 combined followers on Instagram and Twitter. The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. 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.

Rounding out the 19-man 2023 recruiting class for Michigan are On300 offensive tackle Evan Link, On300 EDGE Enow Etta, On300 running back Cole Cabana, On300 EDGE Collins Acheampong, On300 linebacker Semaj Bridgeman, On300 offensive lineman Nathan Efobi, consensus four-star offensive lineman Amir Herring, four-star tight end Deakon Tonielli, three-star wide receivers Semaj Morgan and Fredrick Moore, three-star defensive lineman Brooks Bahr, three-star linebacker Breeon Ishmail, three-star running back Benjamin Hall, three-star cornerback Cameron Calhoun, three-star EDGE Aymeric Koumba, three-star athlete Kendrick Bell, three-star tight end Zack Marshall and three-star kicker Adam Samaha.