Kiante Enis, Wolverine

Winchester (IN) Winchester running back Kiante Enis (image via Scout.com)

Winchester (IN) Winchester running back Kiante Enis committed to Michigan on Thursday. He chose the Wolverines over offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan State, and a handful of MAC programs.

Enis is a 6'1", 200 lb. player who reported an electronically timed 10.53 in the 100 meters. As a junior in 2014, he carried the ball 299 times for 3,189 yards and 49 touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2013, he had 139 carries for 1,409 yards and 15 scores.

RATINGS
ESPN: Unranked
Rivals: 3-star, #54 ATH
Scout: 3-star, #26 ATH
247 Sports: 3-star, 87 grade, #36 RB, #552 overall

The nephew of former Penn State running back and Chicago Bears' first round draft pick Curtis Enis, Kiante is relatively new on Michigan's recruiting radar. He had not heard much from the Wolverines when he was offered in early May, but it was his biggest offer. He visited Ann Arbor in late May, attended Michigan's satellite camp today, and committed to the staff.

Enis is a speedy runner who's the fastest guy on the field in every game. He often looks for cutbacks, and he has the acceleration to make a cut upfield and leave a lot of people in the dust. Unlike some track guys, he has some change-of-direction skills. His speed puts a lot of pressure on defenders and can force them into some poor decisions when it comes to angles, tackling technique, etc. When he's on defense himself, he takes good angles, wraps up, and shows a willingness to hit that belies his thin frame. When he gets the ball in his hands, he knows what to do with it.

As successful as he is (he led the nation in rushing yardage in 2014), Enis is not a polished runner. He can dance a little too much, he carries the ball a little too loosely, and he does not run behind his pads. When he gets into traffic, he tries to twist his body around and wriggle out of tackles, which is not a skill that suits his skills and frame. He needs to get stronger in the lower body and learn to fight through contact. Defensively, Enis is a bit lazy in his stance and does not show a lot of polish, either, but that can probably be explained by the fact that he ran the ball 299 times last year. When the offense consists of Kiante Left and Kiante Right, Kiante's going to get tired.

Overall, much like the commitment of Michael Onwenu a couple days ago, Enis is a good pickup because of his versatility. The coaches are bringing him in as a running back, but he won't necessarily stay there. If offense doesn't work out after a year or two, he's a guy who might be able to play receiver, cornerback, safety, or even outside linebacker, depending on how his body develops. Personally, I think he looks like a safety, although I'm reminded of former Michigan (and USC) running back Justin Fargas, who played a bit of both running back and safety in Ann Arbor before transferring and making it to the NFL as a runner.

Enis is the eighth commitment in the 2016 class and the third  running back, joining Matt Falcon and Kingston Davis. Both of those players are perhaps a little more limited to running back, but they are thicker and in Davis's case, he's strictly a between-the-tackles runner. There is virtually zero chance that all three players (and there might be more!) finish their careers playing running back at Michigan. Enis also joins another Indiana player (and there might be more!), quarterback Brandon Peters, in the current cycle.

TTB Rating: 78 (ratings explanation)