CMU football staff's 'love' leads to commitment from 3-star RB Lew Nichols III
When Lew Nichols III released his top four schools on May 31, Central Michigan was not on the list.
Just two months later, on July 30, the Cass Technical High School 2019 three-star running back committed to join the Chippewas' 2019 class.
"My top four was where I was at during that specific moment, but my recruitment was still open," Nichols said. "CMU kept recruiting me, which is why I chose them over others. The top 4 schools slowed down and at the same time, CMU stepped up by contacting me every day and showing me why they want me."
The recruiting efforts were led by coach John Bonamego, who contacted Nichols on a weekly basis and "kept things real" throughout the entire process, Nichols said.
"I talked to him a lot upon making my decision," he added. "Coach Bono showed a lot of love when talking to me and my parents."
However, it was not just Bonamego. Nichols' decision to pick CMU was also engulfed around running backs coach Jayden Everett, who is entering his second season in Mount Pleasant.
Nichols said watching his Cass Technical teammates Kyron McKinnie-Harper, a three-star athlete, and Ormondell Dingle, a three-star safety, join the CMU 2019 class motivated him to take another look at the Chippewas and eventually commit.
"It didn't make the decision for me completely because I still had to make the best decision for me, but knowing my teammates and other players such as Dequan and Darrell are committed to CMU definitely helped," Nichols said.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back had an offer sheet which included Central Michigan, Akron, Ball State, Cincinnati, Indiana, Kent State, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, Toledo and West Virginia. His former top 4 consisted of Pittsburgh, Purdue, Minnesota and Cincinnati.
CMU now has six 2019 commitments from Detroit - Dequan Finn (Martin Luther King), Darrell Wyatt (Martin Luther King), McKinnie-Harper (Cass Tech), Ormondell Dingle (Cass Tech) and Nichols (Cass Tech).
Nichols is the 16th commit in the class for the Chippewas.
Once he arrives on campus, the three-star running back plans to study business. Making academics a priority is important to Nichols, the CMU coaching staff and his parents, Arita and Lewis Nichols.
"School is very important to me," Nichols said. "Coach Bono and the other coaches talked a lot about life after football and let me know what I have to do to get my degree."
Nichols is CMU's highest-rated 2019 commit, ranking No. 829 in the nation, No. 51 at his position and No. 21 in Michigan, according to 247Sports Composite.
Central Michigan's 2019 class includes:
- Haines City (Florida) Senior 3-star OT Cameron Vaughn
- Clinton Township (Michigan) Chippewa Valley 3-star WR David Ellis
- Jacksonville (Florida) Westside 3-star WR Javon Gantt
- Detroit (Michigan) Cass Technical 3-star S Ormondell Dingle
- Detroit (Michigan) Cass Technical 3-star ATH Kyron McKinnie-Harper
- Plant City (Florida) Durant 3-star CB Demarcus Governor
- Warren (Michigan) De La Salle Collegiate 3-star OC Danny Motowski
- Detroit (Michigan) Martin Luther King 3-star QB Dequan Finn
- Farmington (Michigan) Harrison 3-star DE Maverick Hansen
- Bloomfield Hills (Michigan) Brother Rice 2-star DE Max Saylor
- Detroit (Michigan) Martin Luther King 2-star WR Darrell Wyatt
- Alpena (Michigan) 2-star LB Logan Guthrie
- Flossmoor (Illinois) Homewood-Flossmoor 2-star LB Justin Whiteside
- Montclair (New Jersey) 2-star RB Joshua Crawford
- River Rouge (Michigan) CB Kamal Hadden
