Kinard, Williamson commit to Michigan

By Joe Scalzo

It’s only March, but the University of Michigan football team has already claimed two victories.

Liberty junior linebacker Antonio Kinard and Warren Harding junior wide receiver D.J. Williamson verbally committed to play football for the Wolverines, continuing a recent trend of Valley natives heading north to Ann Arbor.

Kinard (6-31‚Ñ2, 200) is the third Leopard to commit to Michigan in the past year, joining seniors Fitzgerald Toussaint and Isaiah Bell.

Kinard is still growing and scouts expect him to add a few inches and more than a few pounds to his slender frame.

“They really love his motor,” Liberty coach Jeff Whittaker said. “He plays hard all the time, he’s a competitor, he loves the game and he loves to practice.

Kinard is the latest Leopard to play Division I college football in what has become a recruiting hotbed over the past few years. One of the first Liberty recruits, Iowa defensive back Bradley Fletcher, is projected as a late-round pick in April’s NFL draft.

Williamson (6-2, 175) is being recruited as an athlete. He joins former Harding standouts Mario Manningham and Prescott Burgess, who both played for the Wolverines in recent years and are now in the NFL.

Former Salem kicker Bryan Wright will be a redshirt junior for the Wolverines next fall.

Williamson and Kinard are part of a talented junior class in the Valley, which includes Mooney defensive back/running back Braylon Heard (5-11, 180), who already has offers from Penn State, North Carolina State, Maryland, Akron, Indiana, West Virginia, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.

His classmate, offensive lineman Eric Franklin, has offers from Akron and Toledo.

Harding LB Davion Rogers has offers from Michigan State, West Virginia, Toledo and Ohio University.

Hubbard RB Andre Givens has offers from Indiana, Akron, Illinois, Bowling Green, Toledo and Buffalo, while teammate Kurtis Drummond has offers from Indiana, Akron, Michigan State, Bowling Green and Toledo.

Two area juniors, Ursuline DE/LB Jamel Turner and Boardman DE J.T. Moore, already have committed to Ohio State.