- Michigan
STATE CHAMPS! SCOUT TEAM: Central Michigan gets commitment from Dakota’s versatile, do-it-all D.J. Stepney
You never know where Macomb Dakota’s D.J. Stepney is going to line up on the field.
Now you know what field he’s going to line up on in college, though — Kelly/Shorts Stadium at Central Michigan University — as he made his college decision public Monday night.
Stepney chose the Chippewas over 16 other offers, including most of the Mid-American Conference (Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Toledo and Western Michigan) as well as Temple, Western Illinois, Syracuse, Iowa State, Indiana and Cincinnati.
The 6-foot, 182-pound Stepney played both free safety and running back for Dakota. In 2019, he ran the ball 142 times for 1,226 yards (8.6 yards per carry) and 13 touchdowns. He can also play in the slot, as evidenced by the fact that he caught 16 passes for 310 yards and another score in 2019.
On defense, he made 60 tackles, adding two interceptions and eight more pass breakups.
Oh, and he returns kicks and punts, too.
Stepney is rated as a three-star prospect (as a safety) by the 247Sports scouting composite, which ranks him as the 25th-best player in Michigan and the No. 62 safety in the country.
— MATTHEW B. MOWERY
