Indianapolis Cathedral four-star offensive guard Emil Ekiyor's decommitment should come as no surprise to anyone on this site.
The 6-4, 339-pounder officially visited Alabama on Sept. 30 and since, then he's been viewed as an open recruit by the Michigan staff. I hinted at the status of his commitment at that time but couldn't completely elaborate on where things stood.
Leading up to his Alabama official Ekiyor himself told me that he was strongly considering flipping and finally confirmed with me on Friday and that he'd be making the flip public today.
Ekiyor is a large, athletic young man, carries a high ranking and is obviously coveted by Alabama, but there were some red flags about him. He's had issues with his body and physique. Notre Dame, an in-state Catholic university that should have it's pick of the litter with prospects from Cathedral, never offered Ekiyor partly because they felt he needed to drop some bad weight and get in better shape — that never happened. He's dealt with a lot of injuries in high school for someone his size. Someone who appears as big and strong as Ekiyor does should be as banged up as he's been. He's always done well in camp settings but is not dominant in games and that's an issue. He also hasn't been fully committed to Michigan for some time. He visited Tuscaloosa more than he did Ann Arbor. He's been described as "high maintenance" from some closer to the situation in Indianapolis.
Personally, I'm a fan of Ekiyor as a person. He's always been great to talk to and I've always gotten a long with him as far as asking him questions and digging for information. He's also been very impressive in camp settings and moves extremely well for a large young man. With that being said, the concerns seem warranted. He's been described as a finesse player in a power player's body by some people who have seen him in person many times.
Michigan fans are going to have trouble with this because Ekiyor is highly ranked and was clearly made a priority by Alabama, but it's not necessarily seen as a loss by those close to the recruiting machine at U-M.
The 6-4, 339-pounder officially visited Alabama on Sept. 30 and since, then he's been viewed as an open recruit by the Michigan staff. I hinted at the status of his commitment at that time but couldn't completely elaborate on where things stood.
Leading up to his Alabama official Ekiyor himself told me that he was strongly considering flipping and finally confirmed with me on Friday and that he'd be making the flip public today.
Ekiyor is a large, athletic young man, carries a high ranking and is obviously coveted by Alabama, but there were some red flags about him. He's had issues with his body and physique. Notre Dame, an in-state Catholic university that should have it's pick of the litter with prospects from Cathedral, never offered Ekiyor partly because they felt he needed to drop some bad weight and get in better shape — that never happened. He's dealt with a lot of injuries in high school for someone his size. Someone who appears as big and strong as Ekiyor does should be as banged up as he's been. He's always done well in camp settings but is not dominant in games and that's an issue. He also hasn't been fully committed to Michigan for some time. He visited Tuscaloosa more than he did Ann Arbor. He's been described as "high maintenance" from some closer to the situation in Indianapolis.
Personally, I'm a fan of Ekiyor as a person. He's always been great to talk to and I've always gotten a long with him as far as asking him questions and digging for information. He's also been very impressive in camp settings and moves extremely well for a large young man. With that being said, the concerns seem warranted. He's been described as a finesse player in a power player's body by some people who have seen him in person many times.
Michigan fans are going to have trouble with this because Ekiyor is highly ranked and was clearly made a priority by Alabama, but it's not necessarily seen as a loss by those close to the recruiting machine at U-M.
