When Jim Tressel resigned from Ohio State back in May, one of the first things Michigan fans wanted to know about was the status of Bri'onte Dunn, the Buckeyes' five-star running back commit. After Dunn visited Michigan and showed more and more interest in the Wolverines, fans began to hope that Brady Hoke would get him to switch his commitment. This hope seemed a bit unrealistic at first, but after Kyle Kalis decommitted from Ohio State to Michigan, it suddenly seemed not only realistic, but even probable.
As the season went by and Dunn continued to express interest in Michigan (and visit campus), it seemed like he would ultimately decommit from Ohio State and end up in Ann Arbor. That especially seemed likely after Urban Meyer was hired by OSU. Dunn had made it known he'd rather not play in a spread offense, which Meyer is expected to primarily run. Needless to say, optimism was high in Ann Arbor over Dunn's recruitment.
As always in college football recruiting, things can change extremely quickly. That was especially the case with Dunn, who suddenly decided to reaffirm his commitment to Ohio State during an in-home visit with Meyer on Tuesday. He canceled future plans to hold an official visit to Michigan, and he really erased any possibility of ending up playing for the Wolverines.
The impact this decision by Dunn will have on Michigan's class is minimal in terms of filling a need now that Fitzgerald Toussaint has emerged as the main running back. It would have certainly been nice to add Dunn into the mix, but the need to add a running back isn't that high for the 2012 class.
Off the field, this is a big win for Ohio State. For months it seemed like Dunn was long gone and was set to join Michigan, but Meyer worked his magic and was able to keep him committed. The impact of that is pretty big, as Brady Hoke would have made quite a statement if he had been able to get another Ohio State commitment to switch to Michigan.
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