transfer portal overview

So this is unprecedented. As of writing this Michigan has already brought in five transfers in the week since the portal opened. They are widely expected to be adding a sixth in Indiana TE AJ Barner. What is going on? Did something change? Did we become the new Portal U? Well, I thought we should talk about it.

PORTAL?

Much of what Brian went through last week is still true. Zach Shaw of 247 wrote a comprehensive assessment of Michigan's needs yesterday that isn't behind a paywall so I'll just point you to that. Updates by position, with some additional scouting thoughts:

Cornerback: There are a lot of names out there and very little to suggest Michigan is making any headway with them. They're facing elite competition for Virginia's Fentrell Cypress, who's made visits to FSU and UCLA and "doesn't talk much about Ohio State"—it may be he's looking to go somewhere warm. UNC's Tony Grimes, whom Michigan recruited hard out of high school, is another option but he seems set on Virginia Tech unless Texas A&M can divert him. Last year's #1 overall recruit Travis Hunter entered the portal but people assume that's because he intends to follow Deion Sanders to Colorado and any Michigan hope is limited to "maybe we can get Charles Woodson in his ear" fanfiction at the moment. Michigan fans have noticed a few names from recruitments of old—Syracuse's Duce Chestnut is a tire worth re-kicking—but I assume Michigan's not going to move on anybody unless they think they're likely to be better than current options. Cornerback is also a position where guys can play early—2023 recruit Jyaire Hill left Michigan out of his top five but without any insider knowledge I assume that's just a fake out.

Offensive Line: Michigan added OT Myles Hinton and C Drake Nugent from Stanford to LaDarius Henderson. Henderson is gonna start; ASU fans don't have an MGoBlog equivalent to tell them things about offensive linemen yet they're universal in acclaiming Henderson the best player on their team this year. I watched some film on the Stanford guys last night. Hinton was a 5-star recruit but I would caution against assuming he's going to take a starting job in 2023. This year was marred by injury—the kind where you play on it then shut it down when the season's hopeless—but the player he was before the injury didn't seem to me like someone who's going to displace Barnhart, Jones, or Persi. Nugent is a different story; he was the best part of Stanford's OL last year, and has a lot of starting experience. PFF's OL grading issues make comparisons difficult but Stanford ran a similar offense to Michigan's and they rated Nugent the equal of Olu.

Defensive End: Michigan added Josaiah Stewart, a true sophomore Coastal Carolina edge who generated a lot of pressures in two years of starting. Brian's scouting was pretty thorough; I'm calling Stewart a "Danna-sized Tasmanian Devil." It's no guarantee that Stewart will start since McGregor/Moore/Okie have a lot of runway and Harrell/Upshaw have a lot of coaches' trust. But I'm comfortable at minimum suggesting Stewart is probably the favorite to start, and probably a lock on the passing downs job opposite Okie.

Linebacker: Adding Ernest Hausmann is a coup, especially since it appears Michigan could get back Michael Barrett, and Nikhai Hill-Green is coming off injury. Hausmann shouldn't be viewed as an instant starter after a true freshman season at Nebraska that was both promising and very "true freshman at Nebraska." The thing to be excited about here is his upside; expect some Junior Colson comps out of Schembechler Hall this offseason. Hausmann does immediately give them the space to move Mullings to running back now. The outlook here is "no longer desperately thin," with five playable guys by the end of the season versus the two they had this year, and Hausmann and Rolder representing a very fine future.

Tight End: Michigan seems to lead for Indiana TE AJ Barner after his visit, after which it felt like an announcement could come any time. Barner also visited UCLA last week, and seems to have several more schools interested. He's also a true junior so there may be issues with Michigan's transfer admissions policies to work through. Cal Poly freshman Josh Cueves is going to Washington.

[After THE JUMP: Are we Portal U now? Should we be?]

Portal!

NEEDS

The portal is a different game than recruiting high schoolers and for a team like Michigan they're generally looking for a few key plug and play pieces, especially since they've historically struggled to get undergrad transfers in. There does seem to be some movement on that front given a number of confirmed undergrad transfer offers, but we'll see how that actually plays out.

Michigan does not seem to need anyone at QB, WR, DT, LB, or S at the moment. With the addition of OL LaDarius Henderson I would imagine that Michigan is pretty set there as well if they are able to keep the guards out of the NFL draft with NIL money. That leaves the following spots as ones of interest, ranked in approximate order of need:

Cornerback. If DJ Turner and Gemon Green both go to the draft Michigan will be looking for a CB very hard. They will return Will Johnson and Mike Sainristil but they have nobody else who's seen a snap and no seemingly sure thing amongst the other freshmen or this recruiting class.

Tight end. Michigan will have Colston Loveland and Max Bredeson back next year; because they are Michigan that means they are two short of a full crew. Matt Hibner got some time last year and may step up but there's no clear option at #4.

Edge. Michigan will presumably lose Mike Morris. They bring back Eyabi Okie, Braiden McGregor, Derrick Moore, Taylor Upshaw (probably), and Jaylen Harrell. None of those guys is a burly anchor type and none of those guys is a sure thing to be a rush end. More lottery tickets here may be advisable.

Running back. If Blake Corum heads to the draft Michigan has CJ Stokes and (probably) Kalel Mullings to take some of the load off of Donovan Edwards, but if a Braelon Allen-level mooseback is available to be 1B to Edwards's 1A there is clearly an interest from Michigan. Anyone short of that and Michigan might as well roll with what they've got.

BPA. I mean if there's a dude, you know?

One note: scholarship limits no longer exist at a school like Michigan. Do you know how many "scholarship" players Michigan carried last year? 88. The ones that didn't fit in the 85 just got NIL. We are no longer bothering to bother with the "how many" question.

[After THE JUMP: names]