It might have been a tough decision, but Chance Stewart feels like he made the right one when the 2014 Michigan quarterback decommitted from Wisconsin on Tuesday.
“Me and my family talked about it and we thought it was the best decision right now to let them know that we were going to open things up and see what else is out there,” said the 6-foot-6, 205-pounder, who committed to the Badgers back in August.
“We’re going to take a couple visits, go see some spring practices and find the best fit for me. We felt we owed that to Wisconsin to let them know that we were opening things up. They were very positive about it. (Badger defensive coordinator Dave) Aranda said I’m still one of their top targets for the 2014 class. They want me to get up there for a visit and meet the coaches and everything. They were very positive about it, which is nice, but I think it was the perfect time to let them know that we were going to open things up.”
The Sturgis High School (Sturgis, Mich.) standout hasn’t eliminated the Badgers.
“Wisconsin is definitely in the mix,” he said. “We just want to make sure that’s the perfect fit. We’re going to take a couple visits, meet some coaches and see what happens.”
He currently holds offers from Wisconsin, Western Michigan and Toledo. He’s already set up a few upcoming visits and is looking into others.
“I’m going to take spring practice visits to Western Michigan, Toledo and Bowling Green,” he said. “I’m probably also going to see spring practices at Purdue, Iowa and Michigan State too.”
It's too early to know if Stewart will slide up Notre Dame's recruiting board with the news that Gunner Kiel is expected to transfer. Stewart did attend Notre Dame’s camp last year and Irish offensive coordinator Chuck Martin has kept in contact through the mail.
“I have not talked to Coach Martin lately,” Stewart said. “I’ve still been getting mail from them. Coach Martin wrote me a letter either last week or the week before that, but I haven’t talked to them on the phone.”
There’s a chance South Bend could be added to Stewart’s spring itinerary.
“I think we’ll probably try to squeeze in a spring practice there definitely,” he said.
Stewart isn’t in a rush to make a decision, but would like to have one sooner than later.
“I’m probably going to take my time, but it’s something I’d like to have done by summer. I definitely want to get it done before next season just to get everything out of the way so I can concentrate on my football season next year, but nothing real quick; probably end of summer.”
