The spring transfer portal window is officially closed. One year removed from winning a national championship, the Michigan Wolverines were aggressive throughout the winter, bringing in a multitude of players head coach Sherrone Moore believes can help Michigan get back to the College Football Playoff.
Having to replace multiple first-round picks yet again is a tough task. Plus, it is unclear what Judge Claudia Wilken will decide to do about scholarship limits in the House vs. NCAA Settlement that has been put on hold twice in April. Nonetheless, Michigan has the potential to be deeper and more talented than last season.
Let’s get into how the Wolverines’ football roster looks after the transfer portal deadline.
Players transferring in
- Arkansas DB TJ Metcalf
- Arkansas DB Tevis Metcalf
- Louisiana CB Caleb Anderson
- Alabama DL Damon Payne Jr.
- Clemson DL Tre Williams
- Texas State K Beckham Sunderland
- Georgia LB Troy Bowles
- UCLA LS Trent Middleton
- Cal Poly OL Brady Norton
- Ferris State OL Lawrence Hattar
- Missouri P Luke Bauer
- Fresno State QB Mikey Keene
- Alabama RB Justice Haynes
- UMass RB CJ Hester
- Princeton RB John Volker
- Indiana WR Donaven McCulley
- UMass WR Anthony Simpson
This has been a very successful offseason. To start, bringing in Justice Haynes creates one of the best running back duos in college football with Jordan Marshall. Michigan bolstered the offensive line by getting Brady Norton, who is expected to compete for the starting left tackle position. The Wolverines then found a true starting-X wide receiver in Donaven McCulley, who led Indiana in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2023. And once healthy, Mikey Keene will compete with Bryce Underwood and Jadyn Davis for the quarterback job, but will serve as a mentor at the very least.
On defense, Moore brought in depth at all three levels. Tre Williams and Damon Payne Jr. are great additions to the interior line, Troy Bowles is quality depth at linebacker, and TJ and Tevis Metcalf both looked good in the spring game and should make an instant impact.
247Sports ranks Michigan as having the 32nd transfer class, sitting less than a point behind rival Ohio State, whereas On3 ranks the Wolverines ninth, sitting right behind Kentucky. Those rankings can still change with the current players in the portal, but those are solid numbers with a pool of players that have extreme upside.
Notable incoming freshmen
- QB Bryce Underwood
- OL Andrew Babalola
- OL Ty Haywood
- OL Avery Gach
- OL Kaden Strayhorn
- DB Shamari Earls
- DB Jordan Young
- DB Elijah Dotson
- DB Kainoa Winston
- WR Andrew Marsh
- LB Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng
- DL Nathaniel Marshall
- DL Bobby Kanka
Everyone knows Underwood has the potential to be a star, but so does most of Michigan’s incoming freshmen. Andrew Babalola, Ty Haywood and Kaden Strayhorn is a great trio of offensive linemen, and the defensive backs are going to be a problem once they all arrive in Ann Arbor for fall camp.
Notable players transferring out
- CB Kody Jones (Memphis)
- DL Owen Wafle (Penn State)
- Edge Breeon Ishmail (Purdue)
- OL Raheem Anderson (Western Michigan)
- OL Jeff Persi (Pitt)
- OL Andrew Gentry (BYU)
- OL Dominick Giudice (Missouri)
- P Tommy Doman (Florida)
- QB Jayden Denegal (San Diego State)
- QB Alex Orji (UNLV)
- RB Cole Cabana (originally committed to Minnesota, signed with Western Michigan)
- WR Tyler Morris (Indiana)
Tyler Morris, Tommy Doman, Dominick Giudice, Andrew Gentry and Alex Orji are the names that pop out on this list as former starters who have decided to leave Ann Arbor for other programs. Giudice, Gentry and Orji were not in line to start, so going to other programs was the right decision for their careers.
However, Morris was a bit of a surprise early in the cycle, and he will unfortunately miss the 2025 season with a torn ACL he suffered this offseason. Doman struggled in 2024 after a stellar 2023, so transferring to Florida was a smart move as he currently hopes to find the magic he played with two seasons ago.
NFL Draftees
What comes next
Michigan will have multiple position battles taking place throughout the summer, with the biggest being at quarterback. The offensive line is starting to take form, but there will be a fascinating battle at left tackle between Evan Link, Babalola and Norton, and another at right guard with Nathan Efobi currently the favorite.
The secondary is also a position of intrigue, as there are a ton of quality players at both corner and safety. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod to start at both cornerback and safety between the returners, transfers and freshmen.
One position Michigan could still look to bring someone in at is wide receiver. Remember, just because the portal is closed doesn’t mean players in the portal have nowhere to go; they can still sign with a school for the upcoming season. It is not out of the question Moore tries to find a talented pass-catcher to pair up with what he currently has.
