When you have a new coaching staff, like Michigan football does, it stands to reason that there might be some changes on the recruiting trail with the current class.
That's been the case already for Kyle Whittingham, the Wolverines first-year head coach, who already lost a four-star quarterback commitment in the 2027 class after taking the mantle.
With new coaches and new systems, it's bound to happen. Different coaches have different likes in terms of players, and some players don't fit in the scheme as well, which was the case with Peter Bourque, the former Michigan QB commit, who would fit better in a pro-style system.
Latest movement with Michigan O-line recruiting
Michigan O-line coach Jim Harding just landed his first commitment with the Wolverines earlier this week, as Sidney Rouleau, a four-star offensive tackle from Texas, announced his pledge on Sunday.
This came after three-star commitment, Louis Esposito, took a visit to Notre Dame. The Irish offered Esposito and are trying to flip him. The same thing happened with Tristan Dare, who has been offered by Virginia Tech, TCU, Purdue, Arkansas, Stanford, and Northwestern since Whittingham took over.
Other teams smelled blood in the water. It turns out, there was a good reason to, as Dare announced his decommitment from the program on Tuesday.
The 6-foot-4, 260-pounder is ranked No. 748 overall in the 2027 class (Rival Industry Rankings), but has offers from Ohio State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Missouri, Florida, Ole Miss, Florida State, Washington, and a bunch more. Dare has five SEC offers, and a good chunk of Big Ten programs have offered, too.
It feels like the player and program decided to go in a different direction. Dare didn't seem to be as high on the priority list. Esposito did make it to campus this spring for visit. Dare didn't. That was telling.