Michigan Football loses Collins Acheampong to Miami in a shocker

Just when Michigan football was building momentum in the 2023 class the Wolverines lost their top commitment as Collins Acheampong flipped to Miami. 

Recruiting is a wild business and Michigan football fans got a reminder of that on Tuesday as their top-ranked commitment in the 2023 class, Collins Acheampong flipped his commitment to Miami.

Acheampong considered Miami strongly during the summer before he finally decided to commit to the Wolverines. The word was that Miami made a strong NIL push because that’s been a big part of the Hurricanes’ recruiting strategy.

Michigan football seemed to overcome that. However, there were some concerns with Acheampong in recent weeks. He took visits to UCLA and USC, however, he recently told EJ Holland of The Wolverine that his pledge was solid.

Which is a good reminder that you can’t believe everything you read. Even Holland seemed genuinely surprised and he retweeted the news with the caption, “Wow.”

How much does the flip sting for Michigan football?

Acheampong’s decommitment is a big hit for the Wolverines. He’s ranked No. 187 overall according to the One consensus rankings and is the highest-rated commit according to those rankings. Beyond that, the 6-foot-8,  254-pound EDGE was just coming into his own.

The idea was that he would be able to follow in the footsteps of David Ojabo and Mike Morris — guys that were developed into first-round caliber players.

Frankly, after the season that Miami has had, I’m not sure how the Hurricanes were able to pull this off. Mario Cristobal is one helluva recruiter and it seems like the NIL draw was too hard to pass up. Here’s what Acheampong told On3 about his decision: 

"“It’s been up there for me in terms of relationships with the coaches from Day 1. Loved my visit there as well and it did feel like home . That’s why I struggled committing because I was split between the two schools. I loved what Harbaugh had done in the past for the Africans and his kind heart as well. Since I knew them first as well as going there with my brother Enow was the icing on the cake for me going to Michigan . A lot has happened since my commitment for sure and Miami still stayed in touch even after I closed my recruitment. They kept it going and caring for me as a person as they always did and so the love kept growing.”"

It’s a major disappointment and stems the momentum Michigan football had after landing four commitments from the state of Ohio in the four days.

However, after beating Ohio State for the second straight time and likely going back to the College Football Playoff, I have a feeling the Wolverines will be just fine.

This one does sting though because Acheampong could have been great at Michigan.