Bryce Underwood is Michigan‘s biggest recruit, no doubt. But he was more a part of the Wolverines’ commit-flipping scheme. In fact, around the time the QB flipped, Michigan already poached Georgia’s Shamari Earls, Cincinnati’s Benny Patterson, and NC State’s Jamar Browder. Underwood’s flip also saw one of his Belleville teammates change his decision as well and join him at Ann Arbor. The two are friends and are all set for their debut year. However, this prospect, Underwood’s friend, at just 14, had to face a life-altering incident and brave a traumatic incident right at the end of his prep career.
Trauma isn’t easy to deal with for a teenager. It gets even more problematic when you’re an athlete, and at the threshold of the most important period of your life. On the same day that Bryce Underwood announced his commitment, former Pittsburgh commit Elijah Dotson also announced his flip, signing with Michigan. The 4-star DB, at 14, lost a close friend, whom he regarded as his brother. Titus Cromer Jr. was a neighbour of the Dotsons, and the family was extremely fond of him, treating him as their own. He committed suicide, which affected Elijah Dotson deeply.
He shared his experience in a June 22 episode of The DB Network. “Emotionally, first of all, like that’s something… it’s nothing you can really do to stop you from going, from somehow going down,” Dotson said. “But you got to able to get out of it. That’s the most important part.” However, the DB did not process the pain of the tragedy well initially. “I’ll say, like for me to be able to get out of it, it took time. Like I mean, I wish I would have tried to get help sooner for real. Like, you know, I was just trying to thug it out. You can’t always try to be hard body with it. You got to get help, you got to talk to people. You can’t keep it in,” he revealed.
BREAKING: Four-Star CB Elijah Dotson has Flipped his Commitment from Pitt to Michigan, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’2 180 CB from Detroit, MI had been Committed to the Panthers since May
“I’m home, Go Blue man!!”https://t.co/j8VKe0qCRa pic.twitter.com/bRhlqHtjGn
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) November 20, 2024
This also ended up hampering him in the sport. “It would be times, I couldn’t even focus in football. I’m like man, like I can only think about that,” Dotson said, of his dark spiral. But he found some help in his coach, who encouraged him to channel that pain. “He’s like, ‘Man, you got to take advantage of being in that practice. Like, even though you’re going through, you got to take it out of practice.’ And I already knew that, but that really helped me lock in… I’ll take it all out on practice,” he added. More importantly, Dotson encouraged people to seek help when they face such crippling trauma. “You got to talk to somebody, like you really got to talk to somebody. I found somebody I could talk to, and that really helped me out a lot.”
Cromer was also in the middle of a life-support battle. After sustaining an undisclosed head injury, doctors pronounced him brain dead, but his mother went to court to keep him on life support. He passed away at the age of 16. Dotson continues to honor the memory of Cromer. He became involved with causes of suicide prevention and mental health for troubled youths. When On3 announced his commitment, a photo of Cromer was included in the graphic.
Michigan also stepped into a time when he wasn’t expecting an offer from the program. Ultimately, the 5-star prospect was sold on the idea of making Ann Arbor his new home.
Elijah Dotson on how Michigan happened for him
Initially, the family was disapproving of Dotson playing for the Wolverines. “We absolutely hated Michigan”, Charles Dotson, his father, told 247Sports. The Wolverines offered him when Jim Harbaugh was still their head coach. Elijah further shared how his journey to Ann Arbor panned out. There was a time when no school was offering him, despite being a sophomore. But partnering with Reggie Wynns of Rising Stars Academy helped move a few things, and offers from Penn State, Notre Dame, and LSU kept coming.
Michigan was hoping to recruit him as a DB. “They came, we had like a little workout at school, like we do, we would do like during the springtime. We do little stuff… We’re doing that like in a little indoor field, and coach came and he left. I’m like, ‘Dang they ain’t gonna offer me.’” Dotson figured. But then, he says his coach informed him that Michigan’s former DB coach, Steve Clinkscale, made him an offer. “And I’m like, ‘Man, I just got the best school in the state!’”
Eventually, the scandal broke out, and Harbaugh left along with Clinkscale, with whom Dotson had grown close. Fast forward to senior year, he made up his mind to play for the Pittsburgh Panthers. However, other schools were still trying to get him to flip, but Michigan upped its efforts. Connor Stalions stepped in, which led to Bryce Underwood and Dotson both flocking to Ann Arbor. Dotson has played a little bit of everything: safety, receiver, and even quarterback.
“He’s been through it all. I’ve seen him lose his friend. I’ve seen the struggles,” Charles Dotson told 247Sports. Braving all of that and nearly giving up football, Elijah overcame that major obstacle and will now debut at Michigan Stadium along with his friend, Bryce Underwood.
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