Tag: kainoa winston

Signed: Kainoa Winston signs with Michigan football

Big time player is in! #GoBlue

Ratings

* Ovr Pos St
247Sports Composite 4 110 10 1
On3 Industry Ranking 4 100 10 1
247Sports 4 121 11 1
On3 4 67 5 1
ESPN 4 51 5 1
Rivals 4 – 33 1

Vitals

Hometown Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga
Projected Position Safety
Height 5-foot-11
Weight 185-pounds

Recruiting Story

Thought to be a Penn State lean for much of the process and fully anticipated to also visit North Carolina and Oregon, Winson surprised by committing to the Wolverines in June. He’s been solid to his pledge since joining the class.

Readiness Level

Could compete to be in the rotation in year one but is more likely going to need a year before he ends up getting into the fold due to the depth expected to be ahead of him.

Notes

  • Committed June 14, 2024
  • Also a decorated sprinter

Scouting report

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

A new-age defensive back prospect with the straight-line speed to help combat modern passing attacks. Owns some of the more impressive track times in the 2025 cycle having collected various medals at respected meets around the country. Size hasn’t been third-party verified, but is believed to be under 6-foot and full of muscle. Flies around the field and can get outside the numbers with ease. Quick to locate the football and is not afraid to jump a route. Has proven to be a rather spirited tackler in run support and seems to frequently be seeking out contact. Agile and fluid enough in the lower half to man-up with wide receivers and tight ends, but hasn’t been asked to press a ton on Friday nights. Based on what he has put on tape thus far, should be viewed as a potential defensive playmaker for a Power Five program that could play over the top, in the box, or even in the slot. Likely to add plenty of value on special teams units at the program of his choice.

Film

Original commitment story

Michigan football gets huge 2025 commit from elite DB

Photos

(none available)

Cousin of Penn State player commits to Michigan over Nittany Lions

Penn State missed out on a recruiting target to Big Ten rival Michigan.

As Penn State works through some of the final stages for the 2025 recruiting class, they are hoping their official visits pushes them over the top for many of the top targets who are coming to campus.

When players leave after these visits, fans get a bit nervous when there aren’t commitments that immediately follow.

Sometimes that’s warranted as it allows other schools in the process to give their final pitches to these players that might sway them in a different direction.

This was the case for one of Penn State’s top targets [autotag]Kainoa Winston[/autotag].

After seemingly be the leaders in the clubhouse during the majority of his recruitment, the Nittany Lions got some tough news when it was announced the four-star safety had committed to Michigan.

This is a tough pill to swallow as not only is he listed as the No. 95 player in the 2025 class according to On3’s Industry Ranking, but he is also the cousin of current Penn State player [autotag]KJ Winston[/autotag].

When it comes to recruiting, though, each process is different, and this one clearly worked out in that manner as he decided to commit to a rival of the Nittany Lions.

“I really like the people, the culture and the school. Ann Arbor is chill and laid back. I just like it there,” he told EJ Holland of On3.

Winston was in Happy Valley for an official visit during the weekend of June 7, but what he experience when visiting Michigan on May 31 was what ultimately sold him.

He developed a strong relationship with new secondary coach LaMar Morgan and felt like that was the place to be.

This is a tough development for Penn State as they turn to their other options in the secondary who are still uncommitted.

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Michigan football gets huge 2025 commit from elite DB

HUGE get for #Michigan! #GoBlue

Michigan football recruiting had been lagging. Key word: ‘had.’

The Wolverines are starting to piece things together now that it’s summer official visit season and one player who visited Ann Arbor last week declared that he had seen enough.

Long thought to be a Penn State lean, 2025 Washington (D.C.) Gonazaga four-star safety Kainoa Winston was still going through the process and was expected to visit Oregon this upcoming weekend and North Carolina the next. However, Winston decided he’s seen enough and pulled the trigger for the maize and blue.

He officially made his verbal pledge to Michigan football on Friday afternoon.

With Winston in the fold, he’s Michigan’s highest-rated commitment since getting Will Johnson in the 2022 recruiting class.

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

A new-age defensive back prospect with the straight-line speed to help combat modern passing attacks. Owns some of the more impressive track times in the 2025 cycle having collected various medals at respected meets around the country. Size hasn’t been third-party verified, but is believed to be under 6-foot and full of muscle. Flies around the field and can get outside the numbers with ease. Quick to locate the football and is not afraid to jump a route. Has proven to be a rather spirited tackler in run support and seems to frequently be seeking out contact. Agile and fluid enough in the lower half to man-up with wide receivers and tight ends, but hasn’t been asked to press a ton on Friday nights. Based on what he has put on tape thus far, should be viewed as a potential defensive playmaker for a Power Five program that could play over the top, in the box, or even in the slot. Likely to add plenty of value on special teams units at the program of his choice.

Winston is rated the No. 43 player in the country, regardless of position, by 247Sports. He also has offers from schools such as Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, and Wisconsin.

Michigan football gets multiple predictions for elite 2025 DB

Things are trending very well with an elite prospect! #GoBlue

Michigan football recruiting is just getting going in the 2025 cycle, but even with recent classes, the Wolverines haven’t managed to land many truly elite prospects straight out of high school.

The maize and blue have still done an excellent job developing those who are in the mid-four-star range and even many three-stars have ended up looking like five-stars before they leave Ann Arbor. But in order to maintain the high-level of success Michigan has had, it will need some top-rated prospects.

One player who just visited Ann Arbor for an official visit is Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga four-star safety Kainoa Winston. Expected to play nickel back if he does come to the Wolverines, Winston had long been seen as a Penn State lean, but following his visit, he’s received two predictions that he’ll end up wearing a winged helmet.

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins:

A new-age defensive back prospect with the straight-line speed to help combat modern passing attacks. Owns some of the more impressive track times in the 2025 cycle having collected various medals at respected meets around the country. Size hasn’t been third-party verified, but is believed to be under 6-foot and full of muscle. Flies around the field and can get outside the numbers with ease. Quick to locate the football and is not afraid to jump a route. Has proven to be a rather spirited tackler in run support and seems to frequently be seeking out contact. Agile and fluid enough in the lower half to man-up with wide receivers and tight ends, but hasn’t been asked to press a ton on Friday nights. Based on what he has put on tape thus far, should be viewed as a potential defensive playmaker for a Power Five program that could play over the top, in the box, or even in the slot. Likely to add plenty of value on special teams units at the program of his choice.

Winston is rated the No. 43 player in the country, regardless of position, by 247Sports. Penn State, North Carolina, and Oregon are his other finalists, but he also has offers from schools such as Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, USC, and Wisconsin.

4-star safety Kainoa Winston puts Oregon Football among top schools

The Oregon Ducks landed among the top schools for 4-star S Kainoa Winston, one of the top safeties in the nation.

The Oregon Ducks are working the safety position hard in this 2025 recruiting class, and they are in the mixt o land some of the best players in the nation.

The latest safety to put Oregon among his top schools is 4-star Kainoa Winston, from Gonzaga, Washington DC. Winston is rated by 247Sports as the No. 43 overall player in the 2025 class, and the No. 3 safety.

Winston put Oregon among his top schools alongside Penn State, Michigan, and North Carolina.

The Ducks are currently in strong positions when it comes to the recruitment of both 5-star S Jonah Williams, and 5-star S DJ Pickett, both of whom are scheduled to take official visits to Oregon in the coming month.

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Penn State in top four of coveted 2025 four-star safety

Penn State is one of the final four schools in the running for a key safety recruiting target.

Penn State has a massive weekend starting on Friday as they welcome in tons of recruits for official visits. These are going to be massively important in determining if the Nittany Lions are going to put together another top recruiting class nationally.

As they are welcoming in many of their top targets who remain uncommitted, there are very few players, if any, who the Nittany Lions want to land than [autotag]Kainoa Winston[/autotag].

The 5-foot-10, 185-pound safety is cousins with current Penn State safety [autotag]KJ Winston[/autotag].

Outside of the family ties, the Maryland native is also an elite recruit in his own regard, sitting as a four-star and being ranked as the 43rd-best player in the 2025 class and No. 3 at his position by 247Sports.

Ahead of his official visits beginning this weekend, he dropped his top four school list that included Penn State.

The other three who made the cut are Michigan, the program he’s visiting starting Friday, Oregon and North Carolina.

It should come as no surprise that these are the four schools who made his list as they are the four he’s scheduled to visit, but this at least makes it official ahead of his travel.

Penn State is hoping that the family connection and how Winston personally feels about their program will get them over the finish line.

He previously said he likes safeties coach Anthony Poindexter.

“He’s someone that I think anyone would want to get coached by. We were chopping it up during lunch and I felt like I knew him for years. He also taught me some things during the day in and outside of football,” Winston told On3.

There are formidable programs who the Nittany Lions have to battle in order to get this done, but On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has them as the favorites to land the coveted four-star at 35.3 percent, followed by North Carolina at 26.5 percent, and Michigan at 15.3 percent.

Winston will be in Happy Valley for an official visit starting June 7.

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UGA offers speedy 2025 DB Kelvin Winston

The Georgia Bulldogs and Fran Brown have offered a scholarship to fast defensive back Kelvin Kainoa Winston

The Georgia Bulldogs and defensive backs coach Fran Brown have offered a scholarship to defensive back Kelvin Kainoa Winston.

Winston is a track standout for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. USC Trojans star quarterback Caleb Williams attended Gonzaga.

Kainoa Winston is an unranked member of the class of 2025. Based on the amount of recruiting interest the Gonzaga standout is receiving, Winston will not stay unranked for long.

The 2025 defensive back has recent scholarship offers from USC, Tennessee, South Carolina and Michigan State. The 6-foot, 185-pound defensive back runs a very fast 100-meter time. Winston’s recent time of 10.7 seconds would make him one of the fastest players on Georgia’s roster.

Georgia has commitments form three five-star recruits in the class of 2025. The Bulldogs hold the nation’s best class of 2025.

Winston announced his scholarship offer from Georgia football via Twitter:

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Spartans are latest power five program to offer 2025 S Kainoa Winston

Michigan State football has extended a scholarship offer to a 2025 safety prospect from Washington, D.C.

Michigan State football has extended a scholarship offer to a 2025 safety prospect from Washington, D.C.

Kainoa Winston announced he received a scholarship offer from the Spartans on Saturday. He’s currently unranked in the 2025 class on 247Sports, and plays for Gonzaga High.

Winston may currently be unranked, but that’ll change in time based on the schools expressing interest. He holds offers from the following schools: Michigan State, Boston College, Maryland, Nebraska, Pitt, Rutgers, South Carolina, USC and Wisconsin.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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