KALAMAZOO, MI -- Western Michigan's football team got a shot in the arm Wednesday afternoon as linebacker Robert Spillane decided to rejoin the team.

Spillane, a 6-foot-2 junior requested a release from the team in late-February for unannounced reasons.

Rumors swirled at the time that former head coach P.J. Fleck had reached out to Spillane and asked him to join his new team in Minnesota but the Golden Gophers administration and Spillane both denied that. Minnesota did report Fleck for an undisclosed minor NCAA violation though.

"We've been texting throughout the whole process of when he was away," coach Tim Lester said Wednesday. "I was hoping he was doing alright. He came in and I met with him and he told me he wanted to come back and join the guys and that he felt terrible about his time away."

Lester said Spillane had to meet with the team's leadership council, the coaching staff as well as the the entire team and they needed to unanimously agree to have him back.

"That happened this morning, so I know he's excited and we're excited to have him," Lester said.

That doesn't mean Spillane will slide right back into his starting role though.

"He's going to come in and have to earn everything he gets, just like everybody else on the team," Lester said. "He's missed some opportunities and it gave opportunity for our young guys to play, which was great, and he'll have to come in and compete and try to earn that spot back."

Spillane posted his reaction on Twitter:

Spillane propelled himself into a leadership role early last season when he forced a fumble late in the team's game at Northwestern to secure a victory for his Broncos.

He then pulled down a pivotal interception against Ohio in the Mid-American Conference championship game to keep his team's undefeated season alive.

Spillane accounted for 111 tackles in 14 games last season (60 solo tackles and 51 assisted), caused two forced fumbles, had three interceptions for 23 yards and registered three sacks for 21 yards.