BOULDER — It’s Michigan for Carlo Kemp.

Fairview’s senior linebacker, Colorado’s top recruit and rated a four-star player by national recruiting services, announced on Sunday that he has verbally committed to play for the Wolverines.

Kemp will graduate early from Fairview, in December, and enroll in Michigan to be ready for classes in January and participate in spring football.

While telephoning the select schools he visited, then passed on, Kemp, 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, said virtually everything about Michigan was what he and his family sought for the next step in his life.

“I’m relieved,” he said.

WATCH: Fairview’s Carlo Kemp commits to Michigan

The process, he said, was both stressful and enjoyable, but he found what he was seeking.

“Do I see myself being there? Yes,” Kemp said. “Definitely the town (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and atmosphere. And, of course, the academics at the forefront of it all. Michigan is one of the top, top academic programs and, of course, along with playing top-caliber football.”

The chance to play for Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh, Kemp said, was also a huge factor as “everything I wanted is at Michigan.”

Kemp’s grandfather, Sam Pagano, the legendary and successful coach at Fairview who won three big-school titles, said “I’m very proud of him. He’s a hard worker, good student and a good person. He has loved football since he was a little kid and he has worked at it, lifting, practicing, playing hard … and he can play so many positions. We’re all just so proud of him.”

Jennifer Pagano, Carlo’s mother, said she was thrilled and that she “likes Harbaugh a lot. I just think he’s a man of integrity and he really wants the best for my son and anybody who attends there.”

Kemp, who had 14 solid offers — he kept the number down, Sam Pagano said, because “you only want to deal with the places where you have interest” — also visited officially Colorado and Notre Dame, and seriously considered UCLA.

“But Michigan was the place where I wanted to go,” Kemp said.

Kemp led the Class 5A Knights to a 7-2 showing in the regular season and they were runners-up in the Front Range League. They went down at home to Chaparral 37-8 in the big-school preliminaries on Friday night.

“It’s bittersweet,” Kemp said. “I loved playing at Fairview and everything about it. But now it’s time to move on. I’m excited and Michigan has what I want.”

Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or @neildevlin