Michael Dwumfour Flips Commitment from Penn State to Michigan

Michigan's flip of 3-star defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour might not look like a huge recruiting win at first, but it could be monumental in the Wolverines' pursuit of the nation's No. 1 player. 

Dwumfour tweeted early Monday that he was no longer committed to Penn State:

Three hours later, the defensive tackle announced he was committed to Michigan:

Dwumfour's decision to flip from the Nittany Lions to the Wolverines was widely expected by recruiting analysts after the Wayne, New Jersey, native officially visited Michigan on Jan. 15.

According to Sean Fitz of 247Sports, Dwumfour visited Penn State this past weekend, but the Nittany Lions still weren't able to keep him in their class.

Standing at 6'2" and weighing 286 pounds, Dwumfour is rated as the No. 58 defensive tackle in the country. He is the 25th pickup in Michigan's 2016 class, which is ranked No. 3 nationally behind LSU and rival Ohio State.

While he is far from the highest-ranked pickup in Michigan's class, Dwumfour could be the key to getting the nation's highest-ranked recruit—fellow New Jersey defensive tackle Rashan Gary.

Courtesy: 247Sports

Dwumfour was a high school teammate of 4-star running back Kareem Walker, who enrolled early at Michigan on Jan. 11, at De Paul Catholic in Wayne. 

Both Walker and Dwumfour are close friends with Gary, and the three have talked about playing on the same team at the next level.

"(Walker, Gary and I) are like brothers," Dwumfour told Brandon Justice of SB Nation's Maize 'n Brew last week. "We spoke about (playing together) when we were young, and Kareem brings it up a lot now. It would be great if we could."

With Walker already on campus in Ann Arbor and Dwumfour now committed to the Wolverines, Michigan is one step closer to landing Gary, who is set to announce his decision next week on national signing day.

In terms of Dwumfour's potential impact on the field, Steve Lorenz of 247Sports called the defensive tackle an "important piece" for Michigan with 4-star commitment Jordan Elliott possibly flipping to Texas in the near future.

"With Jordan Elliott's situation with the Wolverines in flux, Dwumfour all of a sudden becomes an important piece to their 2016 puzzle," Lorenz wrote. "While there are questions about whether or not Dwumfour will qualify, we're told that he should be in good standing when it matters."

Dwumfour is extremely athletic for a defensive tackle, as he has a strong SPARQ score on ESPN.com, and has been clocked at a 4.8 in the 40-yard dash, per his 247Sports profile.

As for Penn State, Dwumfour's flip leaves the Nittany Lions with only one defensive tackle commitment for 2016 with a little more than a week left before national signing day.

Fitz noted Penn State once had four defensive tackle pledges in this class. The Nittany Lions are currently No. 14 nationally in 247Sports' Composite Team Rankings.

Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Justin Ferguson is a college football writer at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.