247Sports confirmed with Michigan spokesman Dave Ablauf on Wednesday afternoon that second-year linebacker Drew Singleton has asked for and received a release from the program.

Singleton, a Paramus (NJ) Catholic native, was once a Top100 recruit who committed to Michigan over a plethora of programs back in the 2017 recruiting cycle. He injured his knee his senior year at Paramus Catholic, but had worked his way back to full health this season and saw considerable time on special teams early on in the year.

The former four-star’s transfer marks the fourth player to depart Michigan’s 2017 recruiting cycle, joining Corey Malone-Hatcher, Ja’Raymond Hall and Deron Irving-Bey.

Coming into the season, Singleton emerged as a potential contender at Michigan’s WILL linebacker position as defensive coordinator Don Brown labeled him as battling things out with Josh Ross and Devin Gil. Ross and Gil continue to split snaps at the position heading into this weekend’s game against Michigan State.

"The guys that are in there are Devin Gil, Josh Ross and Drew Singleton," Brown said back in August. "Those three guys are in that fistfight. Coach likes to use the term 'cage match,' I guess that's what it is. If you ask me today who's the leader in the clubhouse, I would say there is none. So if ask me, I think Josh and Devin Gil are probably slightly ahead of Drew. If that were the case we would let them both play and see who steps up and separates. Or, if they just keep on playing well, we'll leave it alone."

With Singleton moving on, the Wolverines now have eight scholarship linebackers on their roster (nine if you count Joshua Uche). They have two linebacker commitments in the 2019 cycle in three-stars Charles Thomas and Joey Velazquez. They recently offered a scholarship to four-star Tommy Eichenberg, who is expected to visit sometime in the near future.