Michigan football LB Ben VanSumeren enters NCAA transfer portal after brother decommits

Michigan football linebacker Ben VanSumeren entered the NCAA transfer portal less than 24 hours after his brother, Alex, backed out of his commitment to the Wolverines.

VanSumeren, a redshirt sophomore this past season, spent most of his career in Ann Arbor as a reserve player. He was used at times on defense, offense and special teams.

Until this year, VanSumeren was mostly deployed as a fullback. He then transitioned to the other side of the ball, where he played 76 snaps in six games and made two starts in losses to Indiana and Penn State.

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The 6-foot-2, 253-pound VanSumeren arrived in 2018 as a three-star prospect from Essexville.

He is the eighth scholarship player from U-M to enter the portal since September.

His loss won't be offset by the impending arrival of his more-heralded brother. Alex is a defensive tackle who is ranked as the fourth-best recruit from Michigan in the 2022 class. He reportedly has offers from Alabama, Michigan State, Stanford and other Power Five programs.

Contact Rainer Sabin at rsabin@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @RainerSabin. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines, Michigan State Spartans and sign up for our Big Ten newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football LB Ben VanSumeren enters NCAA transfer portal