The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1535358
16 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2025 3rd-Highest Ranked is where new Michigan quarterback commit BRADY SMIGIEL checks in among Wolverine signal-callers since 2021, be- hind only Bryce Underwood (No. 1 overall recruit in 2025) and J.J. McCarthy (No. 47 in 2021), according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Smigiel currently is the No. 92 overall prospect in the 2026 class. The next highest-rated behind Smigiel was current sophomore Jadyn Davis (No. 106 in 2024). Right now, you've got four guys with [graduate] TJ Guy, [senior] Derrick Moore, [sophomore] Dom[inic] Nichols and [junior] Cam[eron] Brandt — you find me a better edge group in the country. I got to see it, because those guys are unbelievable." — Head coach Sherrone Moore on the "In The Trenches" podcast ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS 25 Players signed with and joined the Michigan basketball pro- gram out of high school from 2018-24, and a whopping 17 of them entered the transfer portal and ended their college careers elsewhere — a sign of the times. Only eight have not entered the portal, including rising sophomore guard L.J. Cason, and of that group, four of them were one-and-done to the NBA. Cason's two other 2024 classmates have already left the program in guards Jus- tin Pippen (California) and Phat Phat Brooks (undecided). NUMBERS AND QUOTES BY CLAYTON SAYFIE 2 Michigan basketball alums are participating in the 2025 NBA Combine May 11-18 at Wintrust Arena in Chicago — forward/center DANNY WOLF and center Vladislav Goldin. The two seven-footers are two of 75 overall players invited, including 10 from the Big Ten. There are only a few times when I've been in the booth calling a game and saying, 'Hey, the defensive tackles won the game.' And they did that against Ohio State, the national champions. They kept trying to run the football, and Kenneth Grant and Mason Graham just kept throwing their guards onto the ground and making tackles. They single-handedly won that game in Columbus." — Analyst Joel Klatt on the NFL Network broadcast of the 2025 draft Whether you think this punishment is too harsh or not nearly enough, I don't care. I won't bother trying to convince you one way or the other. Personally, I think Michigan's done enough. Harbaugh served multiple suspensions in 2023, including the season-ending win against Ohio State. The team won the national title anyway. Now, Har- baugh's in Los Angeles with a pointless show cause, Connor Stalions is the subject of a bad Netflix documentary, all the players are gone and Moore will serve a suspension this year. "It's time we move on. College sports are on the precipice of changes most of us couldn't have imagined only 15 years ago when Ohio State coach Jim Tressel ended up losing his job because five players got free tattoos. I'd bet 15 years from now we'll look back at Michigan's sign-stealing scandal in much the same way." — CBS Sports' Tom Fornelli on head coach Sherrone Moore's expected two-game suspension in 2025 PHOTO BY CHAD SIMMONS/ON3 PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL