Caleb Stacey now headed for Cincinnati
Cincinnati Oak Hills offensive lineman Caleb Stacey has had his eyes set on Michigan since last March, but as Signing Day draws near, he has had a change of heart. The three-star lineman now plans to sign with the hometown Cincinnati Bearcats.
"When it came down to it, Caleb just wanted to stay closer to home," said Oak Hills assistant coach Kyle Ralph. "He's a Cincinnati kid, and as it came down to it, he was more comfortable staying home in Cincinnati."
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The Bearcats hadn't kept up the pressure on Stacey during his commitment to Michigan. In fact, once he committed to Michigan, they backed off, and Stacey reached out to them after calling Michigan assistant Mark Smith to break the bad news.
"They actually hadn't really kept recruiting him," Ralph said of the Bearcats. "They respected his commitment to Michigan. I believe he called Coach Smith about an hour or so ago [to decommit from Michigan]."
Stacey, a three-star prospect rated the No. 17 guard in the country and No. 36 senior in Ohio, will head to Austin, Texas next week to participate in the International Bowl. The 6-4, 280-pounder will play in the game on Signing Day (Feb. 1) and sign his letter of intent to the Bearcats from Austin.
When he committed to Michigan on March 26, Stacey was the second member of the Wolverines' class. He is the third prospect to decommit from the Wolverines in the 2012 crop, joining Lyndhurst (Ohio) Brush tight end Pharaoh Brown and Crete (Ill.) Monee cornerback Anthony Standifer.