St. Thomas Aquinas LB Hood commits to Michigan

St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker Jaydon Hood will join teammate Ja’Den McBurrows in Ann Arbor next year.

The Raiders linebacker committed to the Michigan Wolverines on Monday afternoon, announcing his decision on his Twitter account.

“I like the culture, the atmosphere and I like the results of them putting linebackers in the [NFL] recently and the traditions that they have,” Hood said. “I like the way they develop players. Their players always normally go in the top three rounds. They’re always putting people in the league, and I feel like I fit their scheme perfect.”

Hood, who transferred from Cardinal Newman to St. Thomas Aquinas after the 2019 football season, is rated a four-star prospect in 247Sports’ composite rankings. He is listed as the No. 11 inside linebacker and No. 298 overall player in the 2021 class.

The Raiders rising senior chose Michigan over offers from Alabama, LSU, Miami, and Minnesota, among others.

“I’m looking forward to everything they’ve said and promised,” Hood said. “They talk about the development of the players, they talk about the winning culture, they talk about how organized they are and how they do things, and I just want to see that in person. That’s what I’m looking for.”

Hood, who is an Under Armour All-American, had a dominant junior year at Cardinal Newman, racking up a team-best 103 tackles and 20 tackles for loss. Hood also had five sacks, five forced fumbles and an interception. He was a first-team AllCounty selection.

Hood joins McBurrows in the Wolverines’ 2021 class. McBurrows committed to Michigan on April 24.

“I talked to him a little bit,” Hood said. “He says he loves it the same way I love it. He talks about the coaching staff’s been good to him, that even though he hasn’t been up there, they treat him like he’s already there. It’s been good.”

Hood’s recruitment, like many players’ recruitment these days, has been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic. The NCAA extended a recruiting dead period through June 30.

“It definitely did [affect my recruitment] because I’m not able to see the schools anymore because everything is based off of words, videos and pictures,” Hood said. “But you’ve kind of just have to come down and do what you have to do because the virus has definitely changed the way recruiting happens. In a way, you kind of just have to go with the flow and I went with it, and it was Michigan.”

Hood