The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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18 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2023 BY JOHN BORTON M any view the transfer portal in college football as a sig- nificant hedge against holes in the roster. If that's the case, the Wolverines appear to have in- vested wisely for 2023 and beyond. Athlon Sports certainly thinks so. The publication recently listed Michigan as the best program in the Big Ten regard- ing the potential impact of its transfer haul. While acknowledging that U-M presents far from the most prolific entry into the portal game, Athlon still rates the Wolverines' selections at the top of the league. The seven transfer Wolverines include senior tight end AJ Barner and gradu- ate student quarterback Jack Tuttle from Indiana; sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann from Nebraska; offensive linemen Myles Hinton, a senior, and Drake Nugent, a grad student, both from Stanford; grad student offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson from Arizona State; and junior edge rusher Josaiah Stewart out of Coastal Carolina. "This class isn't as large as some of the others in the Big Ten or in college foot- ball," Athlon points out. "However, all seven players could be impact additions for coach Jim Harbaugh. "Tuttle fits the need for an expe- rienced quarterback after two others [Cade McNamara and Alan Bowman] transferred. All three offensive line transfers will factor into the depth chart, with Henderson likely to make the big- gest impact. Stewart will help the pass rush off the edge. Hausmann is a rising star who collected 54 tackles as a true freshman at Nebraska last fall." Sean Callahan, publisher of Husk- erOnline, covering the Cornhuskers, stands as a strong proponent of the por- tal as a means of wise roster protection. "It's like investing in stocks," Callahan insisted. "You diversify your portfolio, and the transfer portal has become a piece of the portfolio. Maybe 15 percent of your total take a year is going to be transfer guys. "Nebraska has unfortunately had to live off it a little more than you'd like [27 transfers in the past two seasons], but in a perfect year, you're going to have almost 15 to 20 percent of your total ad- ditions come from the transfer portal, because of the immediacy those players can provide your roster." Michigan's seven transfers in 2023 constitute 23 percent of the program's 31 incoming players, and in 2022, the Wol- verines' intake was 12 percent, with just three transfers (Olusegun Oluwatimi, Eyabi Okie and Cam Goode) to go along with 23 signees from high school. Jim Stefani, Michigan graduate and producer of a widely utilized information service, The Recruiting Brain, concurred regarding the increasing importance of the portal. "You're mitigating the short-term im- pact of not landing the [freshman All- America cornerback] Will Johnsons or [sophomore tailback] Donovan Edwards of the world, who can come in and make an immediate impact as a freshman or sophomore," Stefani said. "That's where these transfers can come in and make an impact. "The key to mitigating the lower- rated-than-normal recruiting class this year is getting this year's transfer Instant a ssIstance Instant a ssIstance Michigan Selectively Adds Transfer Talent, Experience Tight end AJ Barner started 10 games as a captain for the Indiana Hoosiers last season, making 28 catches for 199 yards and 3 touchdowns. PHOTO BY ANDREW MASCHARKA/INDIANA ATHLETICS