Wolverine TV: Breaking down Top 100 Michigan DB commit Kainoa Winston

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland shared his thoughts on Top 100 Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga defensive back Kainoa Winston, who committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon.

Watch the full show above.

Winston Recruitment

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 earlier this month.

Michigan was able to seal the deal on Friday afternoon when they scored a public commitment from him via social media.

Here is what Holland had to say about his recruitment.

“I put in a prediction for Michigan to land Winston this week,” Holland said. “Really, this recruitment came down to Michigan and Penn State. He was scheduled to make official visits to Oregon and North Carolina, but I didn’t think either of those visits would happen. I felt like he really knew it was down to Michigan and Penn State. Kainoa isn’t about recruiting or the social media buzz. I think he wanted to get it done sooner rather than later. I felt confident in my pick for the Wolverines. I really like Winston as a nickel. He’s a fun player that can move around in the secondary. He has elite closing speed and is extremely physical.”

Winston is the first defensive back to commit to new Michigan secondary coach LaMar Morgan, who joined the staff this offseason.

At 5-foot-10, 184 pounds, Winston is ranked as the No. 10 safety and No. 95 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 now has seven commits in its 2025 recruiting class — Winston, Top 100 Oak Park (Ill.) Fenwick defensive lineman Nate Marshall, On300 Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot quarterback Carter Smith, four-star Palatine (Ill.) High EDGE Jaylen Williams, four-star Birmingham (Mich.) Groves offensive lineman Avery Gach, four-star Howell (Mich.) High defensive lineman Bobby Kanka and three-star Alcoa (Tenn.) High tight end Eli Owens.

The class entered the day ranked No. 17 nationally and No. 5 in the Big Ten, per the On3 Industry national team recruiting rankings.The Wolverines currently sit behind Ohio State, Oregon, USC and Penn State.