Valor Christian’s Dylan McCaffrey commits to Michigan
Dylan McCaffrey, the star quarterback who led Valor Christian to a title last fall, committed to the University of Michigan on Monday evening.
McCaffrey, a 2017 graduate, announced his decision on Twitter:
After much consideration, I am Very proud to announce I have committed to the University of Michigan! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/spHPcFrQb5
— Dylan McCaffrey (@dcaf20) February 16, 2016
A starter since his sophomore year, McCaffrey has led Valor Christian to the Class 5A state title game each of the past two seasons. In December, he helped the Eagles win 5A with a victory over Pomona.
McCaffrey, who is listed as 6-foot-4, 185 pounds, threw for exactly 2,800 yards and had 27 touchdowns against just four interceptions as a junior. He also rushed for 592 yards and 13 more scores.
After the season, he was named the 5A player of the year by CHSAANow.com, and was named a junior All-American by MaxPreps.
That followed up a sophomore year in which McCaffrey threw for 2,378 yards and 22 touchdowns against six interceptions.
McCaffrey is a consensus four-star recruit according to each of the major services, and is a top-50 national recruit according to ESPN, Scout and 247Sports. ESPN lists McCaffrey as 2017’s 25th-best recruit.
He has been offered by at least 15 schools, and drew interest from major programs nationally. Included: LSU, Missouri, Nebraska, Penn State, UCLA and Washington. Colorado and Colorado State were also among his offers.
Ultimately, McCaffrey picked Michigan, who offered him a scholarship almost exactly one year ago. There, he’ll join former Fairview star Carlo Kemp, a 2016 grad who enrolled early this semester.
A two-sport athlete, McCaffrey is averaging 10.3 points and 4.3 rebounds for Valor’s second-ranked boys basketball team this season. He has played both varsity football and basketball since his freshman year.
McCaffrey is the younger brother of Max and Christian, who both starred at Valor. Christian was a Heisman Trophy finalist at Stanford this past season. In November, Dylan McCaffrey wrote that his brothers interest in the game helped draw him to football.
“I wanted to be like my older brothers,” McCaffrey wrote in a series called “Why I Play” from the Valor Sports Network. “They were the guys that I looked up to.”
But he also said that a football documentary about the New England Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl in 2001 — when Tom Brady stepped in at quarterback — further provided a spark for him to play. Brady played at Michigan in the late 1990s.
“After watching this,” McCaffrey wrote, “I got a feel for the joy that this sport brings to a lot of people, and I decided to try and chase this joy myself. I signed up the next football season.”
McCaffrey’s younger brother, Luke, is a freshman at Valor this year and made the varsity football and boys basketball teams.
McCaffrey is the second member of the 2017 football class to announce his college plans. Pomona lineman Jake Moretti pledged to Ohio State last July.
McCaffrey’s junior season highlights are below.
