Michigan received a commitment from Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills running back Lundon Hampton on Thursday.
Hampton is a 6-foot-2, 200-pound rising senior who chose the Wolverines over Iowa, Penn State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Purdue, Kansas and more. He was recruited by some of those programs as a defensive prospect, but Michigan was one of the first major programs to recruit him as a running back.
The development history at Michigan and of running backs coach Tony Alford, and the academics there were among the reasons Hampton cited for his choice.
“I feel like they cross all the boxes,” Hampton said. “They have what I’m looking for with opportunity and development. I wanted to be developed as a running back and I feel like they can do it the best with Coach Alford. I just feel like he’s the best fit for me. His blueprint — he knows how to get people to the next level, and then he knows what it takes. “
Hampton began his career at Jackson Lumen Christi before transferring to Kenowa Hills for his sophomore and junior seasons. He has played running back, defensive back and returned kicks and punts and helped the Knights to two straight playoff appearances.
“It’s pretty easy to get a program going when your best football players are your best kids and hardest workers,” Kenowa Hills head coach Don Fellows said. “You don’t always get kids as good as Lundon is that is as good of a person as he is. He works extremely hard. It’s almost like he’s oblivious to (the recruiting attention). He doesn’t like it when he gets taken off the kickoff team. Even with all this hype, he treated all the other kids absolutely amazing whether they’re the best or worst kid on the team. He loves them unconditionally and in 31 years of coaching, I haven’t had many kids like that.”
Fellows’ long coaching career also has taken him to the junior college level and he has a long list of college contacts. He has seen how recruiting has changed since he had the likes of Drake Harris (Michigan), Tommy Doles (Northwestern), Kavon Frazier (Central Michigan) and others at Grand Rapids Christian.
He saw the way Hampton got recruited. though, and there was a traditional approach to it.
“For Michigan, I think it was Coach Alford. He built a really good relationship with Lundon,” Fellows said. “The new staff at Michigan State, the new staff at Michigan, and Iowa, it felt like old-fashioned recruiting where the kids mattered and the high school head coach’s opinion mattered. In the world of NIL and big money, they still were concerned about character checks and buildings rapport with kids. That’s where those programs stepped up to the plate and what made the difference for Michigan.”
For Hampton, it is now a chance to also be done with recruiting and focus on a senior year where he hopes to win a state title and contend for Mr. Football.
“It’s a blessing,” he said, “but I know the work is just beginning.”Michigan now has 13 commits in their 2027 class. They have two running backs with Hampton joining Mississippi native Tyson Robinson. They also have four commits from inside state lines.
Hampton is rated a three-star recruit by Rivals and ranked the No. 16 rising senior in the state of Michigan.
Allen Trieu covers Midwest football recruiting for On3. He has been featured on the Big Ten Network on its annual Signing Day Show. His Michigan and Michigan State recruiting columns appear weekly at detroitnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Trieu: Why Lundon Hampton, Kenowa Hills running back, chose Michigan
Reporting by Allen Trieu, Special to The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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