Michigan Offers 2023 Lineman Olaus Alinen
After hitting on commits on back-to-back days over the weekend, Michigan has the No. 8 recruiting class in the country for the 2021 cycle. Outside of that success, the Wolverines are keeping a keen eye towards future classes, and 2023 Windsor (Ct.) Loomis Chaffee offensive tackle Olaus Alinen picked up an offer within the last week.
“It’s from a school like Michigan, which is one of the best schools in the U.S,” Alinen told Wolverine Digest. “It was so amazing. I can’t really describe it.”
In the 2023 class, Michigan has only offered four offensive tackles, so Alinen caught the Wolverines’ attention early on. At 6-7 and 325 pounds, Alinen is a massive bookend tackle that stands out among any crowd.
As a native of Finland, Alinen has had to execute his due diligence to find out more on the Michigan program.
“I have been doing my research in college football, and I know that Michigan is a very successful team that has a great history,” Alinen said. “They have great facilities and the second largest stadium in the world. It’s an awesome place to be if you’re a football player.”
At the moment, Alinen only has three years of football experience under his belt, but he is learning quickly. Regardless of the direction his football career takes, though, Alinen is focused on setting himself up for success off the gridiron, and he feels that Michigan can help him accomplish those goals.
“You can’t play football for the rest of your life, so you need to have a good education,” Alinen said. “But also the school needs to be able to provide the things that you have a chance to go pro like Michigan does.”
This past fall, Alinen played in the First Division Men’s League in Finland, but he will be attending high school in the United States at Loomis Chaffee moving forward.
“I think the season went well for me,” Alinen said. “I got a chance to play with three, four years older kids than me and also went to European championship cup, so it’s the under 19 years old national team, so it was an awesome season, and I think I improved a lot as a player. I am a smarter player than I was, and I gained a lot of strength and speed.”
Alinen is currently quarantining with his family overseas, but he is able to work out at the local gym because the coronavirus cases in his city are so low. But once he arrives in the U.S. in the fall, Alinen is looking to visit Ann Arbor as soon as he can.
After picking up an offer from Michigan, Alinen also received scholarship offers from Oregon and Georgia Tech.
Click here for a link to Alinen’s Hudl profile.
Michigan is already looking ahead to the 2023 class, and Olaus Alinen is the latest recipient of an offer from U-M. Where do you think Alinen projects at the next level? Let us know!