The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545685
58 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2026 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY JOHN BORTON M ost entrants into the college football transfer portal harbor a beef against the school they're leaving — playing time, per- ceived future status, etc. Not so with Michigan sophomore wideout JJ Buchanan. For him, it was more of a leap from great to the very top rung. Buchanan certainly doesn't regret a hugely successful freshman year at Utah. He played in 13 games and started seven, making 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. He saved his best for last, hauling in 4 recep- tions for 76 yards and a touchdown in Utah's Las Ve- gas Bowl victory over Nebraska. Just a few months later, he's settling into Ann Ar- bor, wearing maize and blue and dreaming of leaping catches in front of 110,000 on football Satur- days. No regrets, only real excitement for what's ahead. "Yeah, huge move," Buchanan reflected. "I believed in the coaches and I really wanted to follow them. I went in the por- tal and they ended up reaching out to me. It felt right. I love it here. I love the legacy and the history of Michigan football. I'm looking forward to bringing them back to their glory." Buchanan's father, Jeff, is a native Michigander, one who understands the difficulties involved in such a move. But with head coach Kyle Whittingham, of- fensive coordinator Jason Beck, receivers coach Micah Simon and tight ends coach Freddie Whittingham similarly trans- ported, any doubts about the move dis- appeared like snowflakes drifting into a volcano. "He had a lot of love for Utah," Jeff Bu- chanan stressed. "But when you have all of his coaches going to Michigan … it's so important for a player on a team to have that familiarity with the coaching staff. He's an offensive player, and most of the offensive coaches are there. Now he's in the transfer portal and they want him to come there and at least look at it, to see if it's an option. When you look at it from that context, you're not surprised at all." The younger Buchanan's confidence in what's to come isn't built on hope. Rather, it's having experienced firsthand Michi- gan's new head coach running a team, and operating in an offense run by Beck, one that finished second in the nation in scor- ing average. Envisioning it playing out in Ann Arbor represents no stretch. "It will be a very dynamic offense," Bu- As a freshman at Utah last fall, Buchanan made 26 catches for 427 yards and 5 touchdowns. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Power Move JJ Buchanan Heads East With Championship Hopes