Western Michigan loses QB recruit to Harvard

In a recruiting battle that you don’t see play out often, Harvard has won out over Western Michigan.

Such is the case of Conor Easthope, a 6-foot-2, 186-pound, 3-star quarterback out of Ann Arbor’s Pioneer High School.

Easthope committed to Western Michigan last month, but then reconsidered when offers from Ivy League schools began rolling in. Columbia and Harvard both offered on Monday, according to Easthope’s 247Sports profile, and he de-committed on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Easthope committed to Harvard.

Business Decison. C O M M I T T E D #GoCrimson♦️ #CrimXXI♦️ pic.twitter.com/vA5mVuewVB

— Conor Easthope (@cteasthope) April 18, 2020

While not exactly the same circumstances, Easthope’s decision echoes the one made in 2018 by 4-star quarterback Brevyn White, who chose to stick with his commitment from Princeton over a late offer from Alabama. As he told Sports Illustrated at the time:

“It’s not the easiest route to go where you look in the stands at all these big colleges and you see 100,000 fans. ‘Wow, it’d be cool to run out of the tunnel in front of that and play in front of those crowds and you’re getting your school paid for.’ You get a nice place to live. All of those things are nice. At the end of the day, there’s a greater payoff from Princeton and all of the Ivies if you apply yourself and work hard because they do offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience, just in a different way than the bigger universities.”

Obviously, Easthope wasn’t choosing between the SEC and the Ivy League, but in a way his decision was more difficult. Easthope chose between playing time at the FBS level and FCS. And it appears Harvard has the clearer path.

At Western Michigan, Easthope likely would have had to wait in line behind senior-to-be Griffin Alstott, who completed five of his six passes for 31 yards and a touchdown backing up Jon Wassink in 2019. At Harvard, Easthope will likely have a chance to compete for the starting role immediately. Jake Smith, Harvard’s starter as a junior in 2019, will be out of eligibility by the time Easthope arrives in 2021.