Alex VanSumeren Decommits From Michigan
Michigan's recruiting momentum took a hit this evening with the decommitment of Essexville (MI) Garber DT Alex VanSumeren, a top-250 prospect and the #4 in-state player in the 2022 class. Since committing to the home state squad, VanSumeren has picked up some major offers:
"Although I will always be grateful for the opportunity, I am no longer committed to the University of Michigan," he posted to social media. "My recruitment is open."
A four-star recruit per the 247Sports Composite, VanSumeren committed to the Wolverines in December of 2019 and since then, added offers from Michigan State, Penn State, Alabama, Stanford and recently, Arkansas.
His decommitment comes on the heels of a report from The Wolverine's Chris Balas that junior Michigan linebacker Ben VanSumeren, Alex's older brother, may soon appear in the transfer portal. Michigan, of course, turned over much of its coaching staff over the offseason, but it's unclear if that was a factor here; 247 lists Alex's primary recruiter as Shaun Nua and secondary as Sherrone Moore, both holdovers from the previous staff.
There's no sugarcoating the loss of a four-star in-state recruit at a position of need. Michigan does, at least, have another defensive tackle in the class, River Rouge (MI) three-star Davonte Miles, and hopefully the younger VanSumeren is open to the idea of coming back into the fold once he's looked at some of the other options available to him.
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February 11th, 2021 at 7:45 PM ^
This is unfortunate. It is tough to lose a high-quality player from MI. Best of luck to the kid (unless he is on a team that plays M) and to the coaching staff in finding another DT.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:28 PM ^
So obviously something happened with Ben, and Alex predictably soured.
But I'm not going to lose sleep over this, and neither should you.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:38 PM ^
Or vice-versa.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:32 PM ^
Long time to be committed and then change your mind. Wonder if Ben feels he was treated unfairly or something? Hopefully, Alex reconsiders after he looks around.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:41 PM ^
Pathetic and inexcusable from the coaching staff, but people here will make excuses as always.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:48 PM ^
Agree. They totally should have just forced this kid to come to the school they coach at.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:44 PM ^
They should have. I demand justice.
February 11th, 2021 at 8:48 PM ^
I don't think we can say it's pathetic and inexcusable when we don't any of the details. And we can't blame the coaches for not sharing the details.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:08 PM ^
It’s actually amazing he stayed committed this long after watching our season and Alabama’s. Assuming it’s a committable offer of course.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:36 PM ^
Coaches aren't allowed to talk about kids they're recruiting until they sign with the program. Harbaugh mentioned this on Jansen's podcast
February 11th, 2021 at 10:37 PM ^
you're right, we can't blame the coaches for not sharing the details, seeing as how doing so would almost certainly be a recruiting violation.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
Right? I mean if he really wants to play top notch football, how can he consider Alabama over Michigan. And if it is education he is concerned about, a Stanford degree is a total joke compared to a Michigan education.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:58 PM ^
Right? I mean if he really wants to play top notch football, how can he consider Alabama over Michigan. And if it is education he is concerned about, a Stanford degree is a total joke compared to a Michigan education.
February 12th, 2021 at 1:58 PM ^
Which part is pathetic - not needing the older bro anymore, or not being able to convince younger bro to ignore that & come to Michigan anyway?
Which, if too many dickwads like you don't sour the brew too much, he may decide to do on his own anyway?!
February 11th, 2021 at 9:40 PM ^
I think this kid is going to have a great career. In fact I was looking forward to seeing Ben develop at LB this year. He is pretty athletic.
I sure am curious how this all came about.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:10 PM ^
We’ll find out soon after they both head to Arizona.
February 12th, 2021 at 7:42 AM ^
I think this kid is going to have a great career. In fact I was looking forward to seeing Ben develop at LB this year. He is pretty athletic.
I'm highly skeptical he has the instincts to be a good P5 player. He is big, strong, and can jump, but his instincts and reaction time are slow in comparison. He has looked a step behind guys that are smaller and slower than him because he doesn't have the instincts.
February 11th, 2021 at 10:02 PM ^
Welp. I sure prefer the Glasgows?
February 11th, 2021 at 10:20 PM ^
Here's how it went down:
Ben: "Coach, am I going to start next year?"
Coach: "God, I hope not" (praying that anything is better than the poor man's Ben Mason)
Ben: "Well then, I'll take my much more talented brother out of here!!"
February 12th, 2021 at 7:39 AM ^
It is odd that big brother rumors of transferring and little brother decommits happen in the same week. I wonder what the deal is here. I was on board with saying just because BVS is rumored to want to transfer doesn't imply there is any worry for the younger brother. But, it seems unlikely to simply be a coincidence at this point.
February 12th, 2021 at 10:15 AM ^
It's possible that Alex's main reason for committing to UM was the chance to play with his brother. And if that's off the table, he's no longer interested.
February 13th, 2021 at 5:19 PM ^
Ben would have graduated by the time Alex came aboard.
I think the link between the transfer and decommit is likeliest to be that Alex wanted to do something that looks supportive of his brother. I don't think the well is poisoned.
February 12th, 2021 at 7:50 AM ^
How would he fit into a 3-4?
February 12th, 2021 at 8:01 AM ^
Magnus had a player comp of Vince Helmuth with upside of Ryan Glasgow. Not going to lose much sleep over this one. Ryan Glasgow would be nice but the floor isn't great.
February 12th, 2021 at 9:00 AM ^
Damnit. I read the thread yesterday with everyone reassuring each other that his brothers transfer means absolutely nothing and then I wake up to see this.
February 12th, 2021 at 10:57 AM ^
We have the brother and we can’t seal the deal. Because the brother is leaving a great education and a situation where he will get every chance to be an impact guy. I get there is fallout from a def coordinator leaving but this script has been played over and over far too much under Harbaugh. We didn’t have anywhere near this attrition under Hoke, Rodriguez, Lloyd, Moeller, Bo. And it’s embarrassing. We are a great school and program. And kids are leaving early and unhappy. I still can’t believe we lost DCaff for reasons other than Harbaugh burns people unnecessarily.
February 12th, 2021 at 11:11 AM ^
Yes, it's amazing. There were exactly zero players from Bo, Lloyd, Mo, Rodriguez, and Hoke that entered the transfer portal. It's almost like something has changed about the transfer rules since that time.
February 12th, 2021 at 3:29 PM ^
Players were leaving this regime with uncomfortable regularity before the portal was created my friend. And doing so even tho they had to sit out a year.
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