The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542609
FEBRUARY 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 37 ❱ MICHIGAN FOOTBALL WHITTINGHAM LANDS FAMILIAR FACES IN TRANSFER PORTAL U-M's first roster under head coach Kyle Whittingham went through a bit of a facelift shortly after his hiring, with 14 transfer portal commitments in and 26 departures as of Jan. 13. The headlining additions through the early stages of landing portal players came from Whittingham's old school at Utah, where three former Utes have joined the Michigan program. The top priority was edge John Henry Daley, who was an All-America selection (Walter Camp first team, AFCA second team, Associated Press second team) and one of the top available players after racking up 11.5 sacks in 2025. He suffered a season-ending injury in late November but is expected to be fully ready for the 2026 campaign. Also joining U-M are defensive line- man Jonah Lea'ea, who had 38 tack- les, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 pass breakup, 1 forced fumble and a fum- ble recovery this year, and tight end JJ Buchanan, who had 427 yards and 5 touchdowns as a true freshman this season in Salt Lake City. There are also familial ties in U-M's portal with wide receiver Braydon Al- ford (Butler), running backs coach Tony Alford's son, and linebacker Max Al- ford (BYU), his nephew, and son of the late Aaron Alford, who coached under Whittingham at Utah. Other offensive additions for the Wo lve r i n e s i n c l u d e q u a r te r b a c k B rayd e n Fowl e r- N i c o l o s i ( C o l o - rado State), running back Taylor Ta- tum (Oklahoma), wide receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr. (Texas) and offensive line- man Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres (Ne- braska). Its other defensive addition came in via Chris Bracy, a safety from Memphis by way of UAB. U-M also revamped its special teams with the addition of kicker Trey But- kowski and long snapper Nico Craw- ford, both from Pittsburgh, and punter Cameron Brown from UNLV by way of Australia. All are expected to compete for a starting role under coordinator Kerry Coombs. Some of the notable portal exits in- clude running backs Justice Haynes and Bryson Kuzdzal, wide receiver Semaj Morgan (UCLA), offensive linemen Ty Haywood (Alabama) and Kaden Strayhorn (Alabama), line- backer Cole Sullivan (Oklahoma) and defensive backs TJ Metcalf and Brandyn Hillman. — Anthony Broome Transfers In Name, Pos. Cl./Elig.* Old School Braydon Alford, WR Jr./3 Butler Max Alford, LB Gr./1 BYU Chris Bracy, DB Gr./1 Memphis Cameron Brown, P So./3 UNLV JJ Buchanan, WR So./3 Utah Trey Butkowski, K So./3 Pittsburgh Nico Crawford, LS Gr./1 Pittsburgh John Henry Daley, EDGE Sr./2 Utah Colin Hurley, QB Jr./4 LSU Jaime Ffrench Jr., WR So./4 Texas Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, QB Gr./1 Colorado State Houston Ka'aha'aina-Torres, OL So./4 Nebraska Jonah Lea'ea, DL Sr./2 Utah Taylor Tatum, RB Jr./3 Oklahoma Transfers Out Name, Pos. Cl./Elig.* New School Devon Baxter, EDGE Jr./3 Virginia Jadyn Davis, QB Jr./3 – Elijah Dotson, DB So./3 – Enow Etta, DL Sr./2 – Justice Haynes, RB Sr./1 – Ty Haywood, OL So./4 Alabama CJ Hester, RB Sr./2 – Brandyn Hillman, DB Sr./1 – Jaydon Hood, LB Gr./1 – Connor Jones, OL Gr./1 Georgia State Mikey Keene, QB Gr./1 Arizona State Bryson Kuzdzal, RB Sr./2 – Jaden Mangham, DB Gr./1 Purdue T.J. Metcalf, DB Sr./1 Tennessee Tevis Metcalf, DB Jr./3 – Fredrick Moore, WR Sr./2 Michigan State Semaj Morgan, WR Sr./1 UCLA Peyton O'Leary, WR Gr./1 – Jasper Parker, RB So./3 Arkansas Brady Prieskorn, TE Jr./3 Mississippi Ben Roebuck, OL Jr./3 Western Michigan Jayden Sanders, DB So./3 Notre Dame Kaden Strayhorn, OL So./4 Alabama Cole Sullivan, LB Jr./2 Oklahoma Beckham Sunderland, K Gr./3 Minnesota Davis Warren, QB Gr./1 Stanford Declared Early For NFL Draft Name, Pos. Cl./Elig.* Marlin Klein, TE Gr./1 Jimmy Rolder, LB Gr./1 * Class/eligibility shown for 2026 season COMINGS AND GOINGS (As of Jan. 13) Edge rusher John Henry Daley, a first-team Walter Camp All-American who registered 11.5 sacks in 11 games at Utah in 2025, headlines the transfer portal additions to the U-M roster through Jan. 13. PHOTO BY ANNA FUDER/UTAH ATHLETICS