Just two days after celebrating the commitment of four-star offensive tackle Sidney Rouleau, the Michigan Wolverines have been dealt a huge blow in their 2027 recruiting class. Three-star offensive lineman Tristan Dare has just decommitted from the program and has reopened his recruitment.

“BREAKING: Class of 2027 IOL Tristan Dare has decommitted from Michigan, he tells me for @Rivals,” On3’s Hayes Fawcett wrote on X. “The 6’4 290 IOL from Southlake, TX had been committed to the Wolverines since August. He currently holds a total of 35 offers.”

Dare’s decommitment comes at the most unexpected time, considering he made an unofficial visit to Salt Lake City this past week, where he posed for a picture with Michigan’s offensive line coach Jim Harding and posted on his X account. He also added the caption, “great time,” to his post. The circumstances leading to his decommitment raise several questions, yet no answers have been found.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound prospect from Texas is ranked as the No. 741 prospect and the No. 43 interior offensive lineman in the 2027 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Losing Dare is a massive setback for Kyle Whittingham and his blueprint. The new head coach relies heavily on a physical, downhill running game, which demands elite interior blockers. With Dare gone, Michigan’s 2027 trench depth takes a direct hit, forcing the staff to find an immediate replacement.

While his reasons for decommitting are unknown, the general belief is that he eventually had to leave after coach Sherrone Moore, Grant Newsome, and other members of the coaching staff who lured him to the franchise in August got fired.

There are common cases of athletes decommitting from programs after they experience a change in coaching staff.  However, Dare’s case with the Wolverines seemed to be different after he chose to stay with them despite Kyle Whittingham replacing Sherron Moore. It only took a little more time than others, even after his positive comments about Whittingham and a subtle promise to stick to the program.

“(Head coach Kyle Whittingham) has the reputation from Utah of always having solid programs. The opportunity to come over to Michigan is a home-run hire this late in the cycle,” Dare said. “You heard it in the press conference last week … He wants a disciplined team, but a tough team. That’s something I wanna see if I wanna be a part of. I haven’t thought about schools outside of Michigan,” he said.

At the time he committed to the Wolverines last August, the other top programs competing for his commitment were the Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Oklahoma Sooners. But in the past months, he has received offers from Stanford Cardinal, Northwestern Wildcats, Purdue Boilermakers, Virginia Tech Raiders, and Arkansas Razorbacks.

What’s left for Michigan’s 2027 recruiting class

After earning three commitments in about a week, the Wolverines moved to 16th in the 247Sports team ranking for the 2027 recruiting class. But with the loss of Dare, the program now sits at 20th. The program now has five commits in the class. From three offensive linemen commitments, they are back to two.

The program is left with four-star edge rusher, Recarder Kitchen, four-star offensive tackle Sidney Rouleau, four-star Darrell Mattison, three-star Maxwell Miles, and three-star interior offensive lineman Louis Esposito.

As the Wolverines seek to make more additions, they should also be sure to keep their commitments within their grasp to avoid another decommitment.  Quarterback Peter Bourque also decommitted last month after general manager Sean Magee and director of recruiting Sam Popper left the program. And Esposito, who is the son of former defensive line coach Lou Esposito, is still entertaining visits to other programs, having paid Notre Dame a visit recently. 

The habit of entertaining suitors was also the case with Dare, even when he was committed to Michigan. 

“Coach Switzer has been in contact, and he’ll come out to see me in the future. Coach B at Oklahoma is just three hours up the road, and they’ll come down to see me, and I’ll get to see him as well,” he said while he was committed to Michigan.

Perhaps the program, like some others. might be forced to ban their commits from making other visits. As for Dare, now that he is free, it is expected that he will pick one of his top schools very soon.