Burlington (Ill.) Central junior offensive tackle recruit Zach Hultgren (6-foot-5, 285 pounds) decided to wrap up his recruiting process and gave the Miami of Ohio Redhawks his verbal commitment. Hultgren checks in and discusses his decision to pledge to the Miami of Redhawks here.

"Overall I just found that Miami of Ohio has everything I was looking for in a school," Hultgren said. "I looked hard at all of my options and .offers and Miami is just the best overall fit so I decided to commit."

Hultgren pointed towards a few key factors which led to his commitment.

"Miami has a great coaching staff and they are all just great people and also very outgoing. The Miami coaches have made me feel welcomed every time I've visited and they also make me feel wanted and a part of the program already. Oxford is just a great place to be and it's a great town along with a great school and campus area. Miami of Ohio also has a really good team and football program. I was able to talk to and get to know some of the players already at Miami of Ohio and they all seem like great guys and a place where I feel I will be able to fit in well. Miami of Ohio also offers great academics and I know I'll come out with a great education. In the end it was just the overall fit for me at Miami of Ohio that made me feel like I was ready to make my decision."

So what other schools did Hultgren consider before making his college decision?

"My Top 3 schools came down to Miami, Harvard and also Air Force. The other two schools have some great things to offer, but in the end Miami of Ohio just overall is the better fit for me. The combination of high level of football, high academics and overall fit on and off the field was too hard for me to pass up. Also with the recruiting portal these days, offers are harder to come by and I did not want to let an opportunity at Miami of Ohio get away from me."

So what was the hardest part of the recruiting process for Hultgren?

"The hardest part of the process for me was just making the phone calls to tell the coaches at other schools I was not going to commit to them. Those were hard calls to make but something I felt like I needed to do since I built up relationships with those other coaches. Otherwise I had a great overall experience with the recruiting process."

Zach Hultgren has committed to Miami of Ohio.