The interest there was real. It most certainly was. Sebastian Cheeks gave a hard look at the Michigan football program. He liked the academic profile of the university attached to it. He enjoyed his interactions with the players and was intrigued by the new defense implemented this offseason with concepts that came straight from the NFL. The proximity of Ann Arbor was also appealing for a kid raised in the middle of Big Ten country, where an afternoon car ride would transport him from home in Evanston, Ill., to the doorstep of the Big House.
But in late July, the four-star linebacker picked a softer shade of blue when he committed to North Carolina over the Wolverines.