The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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MARCH 2023 THE WOLVERINE 21 Jon Jansen holds plenty of Michigan credentials — two-time captain, All- American, national champion and now analyst on Michigan football radio broad- casts. The former offensive tackle for the Wol- verines hosts the "In The Trenches" pod- cast for Michigan. When it comes to U- M's transfer additions and their potential impact, he goes right up front, on either side of the ball. Asked for his top three transfers in terms of 2023 impact, he actually named four, starting with all three offensive linemen. "You're talking to an offensive lineman," Jansen reminded. "I would go [Drake] Nugent, [Myles] Hinton and [LaDarius] Henderson. You've got to be really good up front if you're going to win the Big Ten championship. "I think those guys are creating depth, creating experience, leadership, talent, all of those things, infusing that into the offensive line." Then, he went to the bonus round. "You bring in a guy like Josaiah Stewart, who has the abil- ity to get after the quarterback," Jansen said. "You can never have too many guys who can put pressure on the quarter- back or protect the quarterback. I took a bit of liberty on your three and went with four, but those guys are going to have great impacts on this 2023 team." Jansen also stressed his approval for the way Michigan is going about acquisition through the portal. In Ann Arbor, it's not a desperation scramble for 15 or 20 players in a year, which Jansen identifies as a coach needing to change every- thing quickly and dramatically. "Michigan is navigating the correct way — using it as a supplement, but not saying, 'Hey, we need to go out and get 15 guys in the transfer portal or we will be no good this year,'" he said. "Even if it didn't have the seven that are coming in this year, Michigan still has a lot of talent coming back, and it would be able to field a really good football team. It's not relying on those transfers for success. It's hoping they can supplement and create even more success. "For Michigan, it will always be that supplement. Maybe one year, it's one guy, like Olu Oluwatimi, or another year, you have seven guys coming in. Michigan is a program under Jim Harbaugh — and previously under Mo [Gary Moeller] and Lloyd [Carr] — that does a damned good job of developing the talent they have on the roster." — John Borton "Some people are even projecting that he could be a second-day NFL Draft pick this year, if he had decided to go out," Stefani pointed out. "He was an All-Pac-12 selection a year ago, who had accepted an invitation to go to the East-West Shrine Game. He's a guy that was on a lot of these NFL Draft boards. "His only Power Five offers were Arizona State and Illinois. But this kid came in as a freshman and started at tackle for nine games at Arizona State. That's pretty darned impressive. He didn't need two or three years into a college program to make an impact. "He's the guy I think is most likely to step in and start from Day 1 at Michigan. But they've got so many offensive line- men, between the transfers and the kids coming back, it's still going to be a battle for him. I think he's still going to be a starter. He's that good." 'ANOTHER MIKE DANNA' Josaiah Stewart, a 6-foot-2, 235- pound edge rusher, set Coastal Caro- lina's sack record as a freshman with 12.5, getting named a freshman All- American. In two seasons, he piled up 79 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 16 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and a pass breakup. "He could be another Mike Danna [an All-Mid-American Conference defen- sive end at Central Michigan who trans- ferred to U-M in 2018 and just helped the Kansas City Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII]," Stefani said. "He's got that sort of potential. "Michigan has so many players com- ing back next year that, other than the cornerback position, they're in good shape with experience. Stewart is go- ing to be going up against veterans who were rotation players last year — [soph- omore edge] Derrick Moore, [senior edge] Braden McGregor, [senior edge] Jaylen Harrell. "We've got edge players returning that got a lot of playing time. It's the same on the offensive line. It's sort of a luxury to have these kids come in. They'll really be able to be picky and put the best kids out there — especially on defense, because they rotate a lot." The Wolverines could still go after a cornerback in the May 1-15 open portal period. For a two-time defending Big Ten champion, wise investing is always an option. ❏ Jon Jansen Remains 'Up Front' About Transfer Prospects Graduate transfer Drake Nugent made 24 starts in 27 game appearances at center for Stanford. He is one of three offensive line transfers for U-M this season. PHOTO COURTESY STANFORD ATHLETICS