Michigan moved from No. 7 to No. 4 in the 247Sports Recruiting Rankings as Alexandria (Va.) Episcopal Academy Top247 defensive end Luiji Vilain announced his verbal to the Wolverines on Sunday afternoon.

Vilain has actually been committed to the Maize and Blue for roughly two weeks now and talked with 247Sports about his decision on Saturday.

“To be a Wolverine it means excellence,” Vilain said. “Just a great school academically and just a great football program. That’s all I can think about when I think about Michigan. I think about excellence.”

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Vilain went public with his decision back home in Canada surrounded by family and friends. Holding close to 30 offers he chose Michigan over his other finalists Virginia Tech and USC.

“Honestly it felt right from the start,” Vilain said. He’s been to Ann Arbor several times including the clinching visit in May.

“First of all it’s a great school academically. It’s a great football team. I made a connection with the coaching staff. Coach (Greg) Mattison is a really good guy. My mother spoke with the coaching staffs that were recruiting me and she felt Michigan was the best too.”

Ranked by 247Sports as the nation’s No. 5 weak-side defensive end and No. 94 player overall, Vilain is commit No. 14 for Michigan in the 2017 class and the fourth ranked inside the Top247 per the 247Sports Composite.

“Coach (Jim) Harbaugh is a great coach,” Vilain said. “He comes from the NFL. He wants to win and knows how to win and I think his track record speaks for itself. Coach Mattison is a great guy. I love him. He’s been recruiting me hard. We’ve built a great connection. I’ve met his wife and spoke with her, she loves me too. Playing for Coach Don Brown, seeing what he did at Boston College in having the No. 1 defense in the country, I feel like I could really excel in his defense.”

Vilain is looking forward to helping build Michigan’s class leading up to National Signing Day.

“Hopefully we can get Donovan Peoples-Jones,” Vilain said. “Our class is really good. I’ve been in contact with 2017 recruits like Donovan, Ambry Thomas, Jaylen Kelly-Powell. I want to get Isaiah Wilson too.”