Signee Spotlight: Top 100 DB Kainoa Winston talks Michigan, scheme fit, special secondary class

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland sat down with Top 100 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga safety Kainoa Winston to talk about him signing with Michigan and more.

Watch the full Q&A at the end of this story.

Winston Recruitment

Michigan secured a commitment from Winston in early June.

Penn State was considered the leader for Winston for the majority of the process. He made several visits to Happy Valley and his cousin, KJ, plays for the Nittany Lions.

However, Michigan made him a top priority this cycle and wowed him on his unofficial visit in the spring. The Wolverines built even more momentum with Winston when he returned to Ann Arbor for his official visit shortly before he made his final decision. Winston signed with U-M on Wednesday.

Here is what Holland had to say about Winston.

“Kainoa was one of my highest graded Michigan defensive commits going into the season, and that hasn’t changed after seeing him,” Holland said. “Kainoa had a great in-game performance. He’s on the smaller side, but he plays much bigger than his size. He’s physical and spends a lot of his time in the box and around the line of scrimmage. He only saw the ball thrown in his vicinity once, and it resulted in an interception. Kainoa has a high floor and should be an early contributor at Michigan.”

At 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, Winston is ranked as the No. 10 safety and No. 100 overall prospect nationally, per the On3 Industry Ranking. He is also ranked as the No. 1 overall recruit in Washington D.C. this cycle.

Michigan has 23 commits in its 2025 recruiting class — five-star Belleville (Mich.) High quarterback Bryce Underwood, five-star Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley Northwest offensive tackle Andrew Babalola, Top 100 Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick EDGE Nate Marshall, Top 100 Chester (Va.) Thomas Dale cornerback Shamari Earls, Top 100 Monroe (N.C.) High safety Jordan Young, Top 100 Katy (Texas) Jordan wide receiver Andrew Marsh, Top 100 Center Valley (Pa.) Southern Lehigh tight end Andrew Olesh, On300 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga defensive back Kainoa Winston, On300 Alpharetta (Ga.) High EDGE Julius Holly, On300 Kilgore (Texas) High cornerback Jayden Sanders, On300 New Orleans (La.) Archbishop Shaw wide receiver Jacob Washington, On300 Newburgh (Ind.) Castle defensive lineman Benny Patterson, On300 New Orleans (La.) Archbishop Shaw running back Jasper Parker, four-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy linebacker Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, four-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy running back Donovan Johnson, four-star Birmingham (Mich.) Groves offensive lineman Avery Gach, three-star Howell (Mich.) High defensive lineman Bobby Kanka, three-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy offensive lineman Kaden Strayhorn, three-star Stockbridge (Ga.) High linebacker Chase Taylor, three-star Lake Worth (Fla.) Santaluces wide receiver Jamar Browder, three-star Louisville (Ky.) Fern Creek defensive lineman Travis Moten and three-star Alcoa (Tenn.) High tight end Eli Owens.

The class is ranked No. 6 nationally and No. 3 in the Big Ten, per the On3 Industry national team recruiting rankings. The Wolverines currently sit behind Ohio State and Oregon.