The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 17 12th In the country is where Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt placed Michigan football in his post-spring top-25 ranking. The Wolverines checked in behind No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Oregon, No. 5 Clemson, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 7 LSU, No. 8 Georgia, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Illinois and No. 11 South Carolina. 21st Overall pick to the Minnesota Vikings is where Michigan junior cornerback Jyaire Hill slotted in analyst Todd McShay's "way-too-early" 2026 mock draft. He was the third cornerback to appear, behind Tennessee's Jermod McCoy (No. 13 to the Mi- ami Dolphins) and Alabama's Domani Jackson (No. 16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers). "Hill is tabbed as the next in a recent line of great Michigan cornerbacks to hear their names called early in the NFL draft," McShay wrote. "At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, he's a tall, lean and instinctive cornerback who ex- cels at knocking the ball away and contesting with bigger receivers (8 pass breakups and 1 interception last year). The Vikings failed to address arguably their top need in this year's draft but can do so in 2026." 27th In the nation is where Michigan ranks in the men's college basketball team transfer por- tal rankings as of May 6, 2025. That stands sixth among Big Ten teams, behind USC (sixth), Michigan State (16th), Maryland (19th), Wash- ington (23rd) and Ohio State (26th). 102 Wins for Michigan football during the College Football Playoff era, which began in 2014. The Wolverines stand behind Alabama (136), Clem- son (129), Ohio State (129), Georgia (125), Notre Dame (109), Oklahoma (108), Boise State (106) and Oregon (103). It was genuine. Usually when you go through this recruitment process, you find out people aren't genuine. They use a used car salesman type of pitch. This was not the case. It was genuine. It was straightforward. There was honesty in the room. You appreciate that those are the type of men my son is going to be around. We loved it." — Clarence Hester, the father of Michigan running back transfer commit CJ HESTER from UMass After you get picked, you go do a bunch of media. I was doing me- dia, and I was continually check- ing up to see if Will got picked. Everyone had him written down in the first round, so this is the worst case scenario. Once I found out he was still in there, I wanted to go sup- port him like I know he would support me in that case." — Defensive tackle MASON GRAHAM on going back into the NFL Draft green room after being picked to support cornerback Will Johnson J.J. is a beloved son. I'm just envisioning him playing. He's a tremendous competi- tor. It's great. You get a little nostal- gic about it, and I'm just so happy for each and every one of the guys. And now you're talking about long and trusting friendships. "Vikings fans are going to be really happy with J.J. MCCARTHY." — Former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh on his Los Angeles Chargers taking on Minnesota this coming season and how Vikings fans should feel about McCarthy ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS PHOTO COURTESY MINNESOTA VIKINGS PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN PHOTO COURTESY UMASS ATHLETICS