Wolverine TV: Q&A with Michigan TE commit Deakon Tonielli

The Wolverine’s EJ Holland was in the Chicago suburbs today and caught up with Michigan tight end commit Deakon Tonielli following his summer day practice.

The 2023 four-star prospect from Oswego (Ill.) High committed to Michigan on his official visit last month. He picked U-M over offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan State, Purdue, Tennessee and others.

Tonielli is ranked as the No. 16 tight end nationally and No. 4 overall prospect in the state of Illinois, per On3.

In this interview, Tonielli discusses his recent pledge to the Wolverines, official visit, sit down meeting with head coach Jim Harbaugh, relationship with tight ends coach Grant Newsome, helping build the 2023 recruiting class and more.

Watch the full Q&A below.

Tonielli has an On3 NIL Valuation of $9,700 with 1,100 followers across all platforms and ranks No. 1,049 nationally in the On3 NIL rankings. 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.

Tonielli is part of a 2023 Michigan recruiting class that ranks No. 30 nationally with ten commitments.

Along with Tonielli, the Wolverines hold verbal pledges from Consensus four-star EDGE Collins Acheampong, Consensus four-star Dexter (Mich.) High running back Cole Cabana, Consensus four-star West Bloomfield (Mich.) High offensive lineman Amir Herring, Consensus four-star Philadelphia (Pa.) Imhotep Charter linebacker Semaj Bridgeman, three-star Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb running back Benjamin Hall, three-star St. Louis (Mo.) Cardinal Ritter Prep wide receiver Fredrick Moore, three-star Wilmette (Ill.) Loyola defensive lineman Brooks Bahr, three-star West Bloomfield (Mich.) High wide receiver Semaj Morgan and in-state kicker Adam Samaha from Ann Arbor (Mich.) Huron.

Michigan’s class ranks seventh in the Big Ten behind Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa, Northwestern and Nebraska.