The University of Michigan is only 260 miles from Indianapolis, the city where Emil Ekiyor transformed into a star offensive lineman.
For more than a year, Ekiyor imagined playing college football in Ann Arbor and facing the Big Ten's best on cold, overcast days in the fall that had become so familiar to him.
But there was the allure of Alabama -- the program that had always been the sport's pacesetter since he could remember.
In February 2017, almost five months after he committed to the Wolverines, the Crimson Tide had offered him a scholarship.
Ekiyor didn't want to renege on his pledge to Jim Harbaugh's team.