The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2023 THE WOLVERINE 61 T he transfer portal opened Dec. 5, something that diehard Michigan and college football fans likely knew but didn't think too long and hard about. The Wolverines have taken transfers here and there in recent history, but they've usually only filled one or two po- sitions of need per season. Plus, it's hard to get credits to transfer into U-M, mak- ing it challenging to land anyone other than graduates or players who are near the beginning of their college careers. Two weeks into this transfer portal season, however, the Maize and Blue already had landed seven talented play- ers in offensive tackle LaDarius Hen- derson (Arizona State), linebacker Er- nest Hausmann (Nebraska), offensive tackle Myles Hinton and center Drake Nugent (both from Stanford), edge Jo- saiah Stewart (Coastal Carolina), plus quarterback Jack Tuttle and tight end AJ Barner (both from Indiana). The Wolverines' 2023 recruiting class has hovered around 25th nationally in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings for most of the cycle, without a crown jewel like a Daxton Hill, Blake Corum, J.J. Mc- Carthy or Will Johnson. They may not have as many impact freshmen as they have in recent years — 11 burned their redshirts this season, six the year prior — but head coach Jim Harbaugh and Co. augmented the traditional high school recruiting haul by importing some ex- perienced transfers who are ready to go out of the box. And Michigan likely isn't done adding more portal talent, either. On3's team transfer portal rankings factor in players going in and out, and Michigan was slotted No. 2 as of Dec. 21. You can expect those rankings to fluctu- ate daily before the Jan. 18 deadline, but it's nonetheless impressive for a pro- gram that hasn't brought in that many transfers, unlike "Transfer Portal U" Michigan State and others. There are plenty of players these days who are entering the portal to maximize their name, image and likeness (NIL) value and simply go where they can make the most money. That's all well and good for some. But it turns out two things are still important to enough kids — winning and being developed. That's the case for both Henderson and Hausmann. "The thing is, if NIL was the factor, I can tell you right now, I'd be somewhere that probably isn't too much of a win- ning, established program," Henderson told The Wolverine. "A lot of people as- sume that the Alabama's and Michigan's and all them probably are just putting millions of dollars in everybody's hands and that's probably how they're good. "But the thing is, they're already good, they're already established, so whether they get me or don't get me, I bet Michigan has a pretty good season. The people that are really offering the extreme, crazy amounts, a lot of times, are the schools that need you, and if they don't get you, they know it's going to be really bad for them." Michigan has a strong culture, and that also is attractive, Henderson said. The Wolverines are willing to reel in transfer portal prospects, but they won't sacrifice their culture in exchange for them. The same thing goes when they recruit prep players — "fit" is an important aspect, overlooked by some schools. "We're looking for the guys who really like football, really want to get good at football," Harbaugh said. "And no mat- ter what their star rating is, it's fairly irrelevant to us." Players who can contribute on the field add to the outstanding culture that has been built? Sounds like a win-win. * * * Michigan basketball freshman guard Jett Howard is a natural scorer. That's a sometimes overused and vague term, but it applies for the head coach's youngest son, who's averaging 15.5 points per game while shooting 49.1 percent overall and 40.0 percent from three-point range. His points-per- game average is the highest by a Wol- verine freshman since guard Manny Harris posted 16.1 back in 2007-08. With all due respect to Harris, who went undrafted in 2010 before a ca- reer in the NBA G League and overseas, Howard is a much better NBA pros- pect. He's got every offensive move in the book, is a lights-out shooter and is ahead of the curve as a passer (he was averaging 2.5 assists per outing). "He's somebody who can just fill it up offensively," junior center Hunter Dickinson said of Howard. "That's his biggest strength — being able to get a bucket when you need him to. "He doesn't have a certain move, I would say. He's got, people call it, 'a bag.' He's not a robotic player; he's more natural, go with the flow. He's so tal- ented that he's able to do many different things out there." Howard could become a one-and- done if he chooses, with CBS Sports' Gary Parrish tabbing the rookie as the No. 10 overall pick in his mock draft this past summer and The Athletic's Sam Vecenie slotting him as the 23rd-best prospect in the draft in his Nov. 25 big board. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ CLAYTON SAYFIE U-M Finding Right Fits In Transfer Portal Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie@on3. com and follow him on Twitter @CSayf23. As of Dec. 21, head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines checked in at No. 2 in On3's team transfer portal rankings after landing seven talented players in the first 15 days of availability. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER