TE Tonielli commits to Michigan

Oswego (Ill.) senior three star ranked tight end recruit Deakon Tonielli (6-foot-5, 210 pounds) decided to wrap up his recruiting process, called up the coaches at Michigan and gave head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines his verbal commitment. Tonielli, who made recent official visits to Michigan, Purdue and Illinois discusses his decision to pledge to the University of Michigan in this recruiting update.

"I just got back from my Michigan official visit about 20 minutes ago and my phone is starting to blow up," Tonielli said. "I just feel that Michigan has everything I'm looking for in a school, and after making a few different official visits to other schools I was just ready to make my decision. I called up the coaches at Michigan and gave them my verbal commitment."

Tonielli pointed towards a few key factors which led to his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines.

"Michigan has just amazing history and tradition along with offering a world class education. The education portion was a big factor for me. I know that someday I'll need to hang up the cleats and stop playing football, and I'll be able to fall back on a great education and degree from the University of Michigan. Michigan plays at the highest level in the Big Ten, they will compete for national championships every year and playing in the Big House is going to be something out of a dream. It really is everything you could ask for from a school at Michigan. The overall alumni network and support at Michigan is also amazing and again it all was just too hard for me to pass up."

Tonielli felt his recent official visits helped him get a better feel for what he was looking for in a school.

"I was able to make two other very strong official visits to Purdue and Illinois. After looking at both of those schools and then visiting Michigan, it just made me realize that Michigan is the place for me. The two other official visits really opened my eyes to what to what I'm looking in a school. We talked about everything on the car ride back home today and I just felt it was time to end it and make my decision, so I called up the Michigan coaches and gave them my verbal commitment."

Tonielli is thrilled and also relieved to have wrapped up his recruiting process.

"I'm just very glad and happy to make my college choice. I was definitely started to get more and more pressure to make a decision. I called up the coaches from both Purdue and Illinois and those were not easy calls to make. I appreciated all of the schools who recruited me and offered me, but in the end I can only go to one school. Michigan is just the best place for me and I'm just excited about the decision. My family and friends are also just pumped about Michigan."

Tonielli can now focus on his team and preparing for his upcoming senior season this summer.

"I definitely wanted to make my decision before the start of the season. I wanted to make sure I was able to lock in my spot with Michigan and it was time to get things done. I'm really excited to just focus on my team and my senior season. We plan to do some great things this year."

Deakon Tonielli is verbally committed to Michigan.