Lee County’s Otis Reese, Aubrey Solomon commit to Michigan

LEESBURG — Jim Harbaugh’s trip to South Georgia seems to have paid off.

Just weeks after coming to Leesburg as a guest at the Lee County Elite Prospect Football Camp, Harbaugh received a commitment from two current Trojans.

Lee defensive tackle Aubrey Solomon and safety Otis Reese both committed to Michigan on Saturday while taking a visit to Ann Arbor.

While Harbaugh said he didn’t think about recruiting when deciding to participate in the camp in Leesburg, there is no doubt that the visit played something of a role in Reese’s decisions.

“It most definitely helped,” Reese said. “It was big for the community. I just saw that he was a humble, hard-working guy. He came down and took pictures with everyone after the camp, and he never said no. It was really good for the community.”

Solomon is rated as a four-star recruit for the 2017 class and had offers from numerous big-time schools, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Ohio State.

Many recruiting sites, including 247Sports and Scout.com, expected Solomon to pick an SEC school.

“I liked the SEC schools,” Solomon said. “When I made my decision, I was looking out for me and what was best for me. Michigan gives you the blueprint for football and what comes after football.”

Solomon said he was also impressed by Harbaugh’s humbleness.

“He is very chill,” Solomon said. “You wouldn’t think that he is someone who has coached in a Super Bowl. He never mentions that or anything. He is very down-to-earth.”

The defensive tackle said he didn’t go to Michigan expecting to commit, but he enjoyed his visit and his interaction with the coaching staff.

“I went just thinking it would be a great opportunity to see something new,” Solomon said.

Reese, who is also rated as a four-star for the 2018 class by 247Sports, had received offers from UCLA and LSU, to name a few, before committing to Michigan.

“Michigan was always my top school,” Reese said. “I feel like they believed in me and they wanted me really bad. They said they see me making plays in their defensive scheme. When I got down there, I just fell in love with it and I said, ‘Why not?’ I talked to my mom and she told me she loved me, and I decided it was the right fit.”

After committing to Michigan, Reese said the whole Michigan football office went crazy.

“They were just jumping up and down and stuff,” he said. “It was so much fun. It was really an experience I will never forget.”

With two years of school remaining, Reese knows other universities will likely try to change his mind, but he isn’t bothered by that.

“Coach Harbaugh and linebackers coach Chris Partridge want me to go see other schools and experience them,” Reese said. “They don’t trip about that. They know their resume at the end of the day. We know what Michigan is going to be in the future, so I’m not worried about that.”