Former University of Michigan offensive lineman Dan Samuelson has decided he will continue his collegiate football playing career at Eastern Michigan University in the fall.
Samuelson announced in August 2015, he would be leaving the Michigan football program to play elsewhere and kept his options open, and officially made the decision to reside in Ypsilanti.
“Coach Creighton and Coach Grubb did contact me in August a few days after I left Michigan,” Samuelson said. “Seeing if I wanted to join the team for this season. I was very interested but wanted to take my time and not rush into making a decision so quickly.”
Samuelson is a 2013 graduate of Plymouth High School in Indiana, where he was an All-Conference selection in his junior and senior seasons and was an All-State selection in 2012.
With 14 offers to choose from, consisting of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wake Forest, and many MAC schools to name a few, he decided on Michigan. But after two seasons will leave for EMU, which he says, feels more like home.
“My parents and I both have accumulated many friends in my two years at Michigan and having the chance to be close to them is very reassuring,” Samuelson said. “It makes it not as big of a transition. There's a lot I like about the campus. It's smaller and more personable than what Michigan was like. It's more what I'm used to in my hometown.”
He left Michigan following the 2015 fall camp; he stated he wouldn’t get much playing time for the upcoming season. He has set the goal to get as much playing time as possible at EMU and wants to help EMU reach a bowl game.
“I'd just like to say how grateful I am for a chance to start a new beginning under Coach Creighton,” Samuelson said. “From what I've seen so far, he's a great Christian, family man and leader and I can't wait to learn from him. I'm training every day at home so I will be ready to help the team in any way I can when I arrive on campus in August.”
