The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 31 CAMERON CALHOUN CB ★★★ Transferred to Utah and played for Kyle Whittingham in 2024 after two appearances during his freshman season at U-M. Calhoun transferred to Alabama in 2025 and then made it four schools in four years by transfer- ring to Ohio State for 2026. NATHAN EFOBI OL ★★★ Efobi has appeared in 19 games with five starts for the Maize and Blue, with all of his opening assignments coming during the 2025 season. He is competing for a starting role at guard during U-M's 2026 fall camp. KARMELLO ENGLISH WR ★★★★ The Phenix City, Ala., native departed U-M for West Georgia after the 2023 season before transferring to Coastal Carolina in 2025, where he appeared in all 13 games and caught 20 passes for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns. ENOW ETTA DT ★★★ Appeared in all 13 games in 2025 to bring his game total to 26 with one start in his Michigan career. Etta made 15 tackles, in- cluding 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack, last season with the Wolverines. BENJAMIN HALL RB ★★★ Appeared in 11 games across two years at Michigan with 44 rushes for 141 yards before transferring to North Carolina in 2025. Hall car- ried the ball 71 times for 274 yards and 2 touch- downs during his first season in Chapel Hill. AMIR HERRING OL ★★★★ Made one appearance at U-M before trans- ferring to Kansas. Herring did not suit up for the Jayhawks in 2024 but played and started in all 12 games at left guard in 2025. JASON HEWLETT JR. LB ★★★ Spent two seasons at U-M before transferring to Boston College, where he played in seven games with one start at linebacker in 2025. JYAIRE HILL CB ★★★★ Hill, who has played in 29 games with 22 starts at corner, earned his first All-Big Ten hon- ors in 2025 on the honorable mention list from the coaches and media. Hill started all 13 games with 36 tackles, 5 passes defended, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception last year. BRANDYN HILLMAN S ★★★★ Appeared in 33 career games with the Wol- verines, starting all 12 in which he appeared last season and earning All-Big Ten honorable men- tion honors from the coaches and media. Hill- man transferred to Virginia for the 2026 season. BREEON ISHMAIL EDGE ★★★ Played in eight games in 2024 before trans- ferring to Purdue for 2025, where he ap- peared in 12 games and made four starts, recording 23 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, a sack and a fumble recovery. AYMERIC KOUMBA EDGE ★★★ Appeared in two contests in two seasons and transferred to UCF in 2025, where he played nine games for the Knights. EVAN LINK OL ★★★ Link has played in 20 games with 18 starts at Michigan, getting the opening assignment in 11 games at right tackle in 2024 and six games at left tackle in 2025. He is competing for a starting role again this season and has repped at both guard and tackle. ZACK MARSHALL TE ★★★ Has appeared in 28 games with four starts at tight end at U-M. He appeared in 13 games last season, totaling 16 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown. FREDRICK MOORE WR ★★★ Moore played in 31 games at U-M, record- ing 15 catches for 160 yards and a touch- down before transferring to in-state rival Michigan State in 2026. HAYDEN MOORE LB ★★★ Moore failed to see the field as a freshman and transferred to Washington, where he has played in 16 games as a reserve over the past two seasons. SEMAJ MORGAN WR ★★★ Three-year contributor played in 37 games with seven starts in his U-M career, earning two-time All-Big Ten honorable mention acco- lades as a return specialist in 2023-24. Morgan transferred to UCLA ahead of the 2026 season. TREY PIERCE DT ★★★ Has played in 39 career games and made all 13 starts last season for the Maize and Blue, racking up 30 tackles with a tackle for loss en route to All-Big Ten honorable mention praise from the media. Pierce is expected to retain a starting role for the upcoming season. ADAM SAMAHA K ★★★ Made an extra point against Indiana in his lone appearance as a freshman but did not see game action in 2024 and transferred to North Carolina. He never played at UNC, en- tering the spring portal and transferring to Akron. Samaha transferred a third time and is now at Eastern Michigan. DEAKON TONIELLI TE ★★★ After not playing his first two seasons, Toni- elli checked in to all 13 games in 2025, catch- ing 8 passes for 72 yards and adding 2 tackles on special teams. DJ WALLER JR. CB ★★★ Played 11 games his freshman season before transferring to Kentucky, where he played in nine games over two seasons before transfer- ring to Louisville this offseason. ❏ TOP CONTRIBUTOR TO DATE CB Jyaire Hill Hill evened out some of the peaks and valleys in his game during a strong junior season but elected to return instead of testing the NFL Draft waters. He has de- fended 15 passes with 2 interceptions over the past two seasons and earned all-confer- ence honors in 2025. U-M's new staff loves "Sug" and expects him to be a stalwart as an outside corner for them this season. UNSUNG HERO OL Evan Link The results have not always been pretty, but Link has played both tackle spots and been a fixture on the U-M offensive line over the past two seasons. His sophomore campaign on the right side was a struggle, but he seemed to settle in at left tackle before an injury cut his 2025 season short. Now a candidate to start at a guard spot, Link is still repping at tackle and is set to be a key piece on an offensive line hoping to take a step forward. READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT THIS FALL DT Enow Etta Etta, a former four-star recruit and Michi- gan's top-ranked signee in the 2025 class (No. 123 overall), is in for a much bigger role in 2026. He and Trey Pierce were two top priorities for Kyle Whittingham and his staff in roster retention, and Etta (6-5, 328) is po- sitioned for a breakout season in a starting role — something U-M likely will need to re- alize its potential on the defensive interior. REPORT CARD Players In Class: 25 Rivals Industry Team Rank- ing: 18th Players Still At Michigan: 10 There is still a decent chunk of players on the roster from the 2023 class, but their legacy is yet to be written. Trey Pierce and Enow Etta could go a long way in boosting this class's grade as they are leaned on to play bigger roles. Jyaire Hill has proven to be a bona fide Big Ten star, while Evan Link has proven to be a versa- tile offensive lineman. Several here could still have their best football ahead under the new U-M coaching staff, but it feels light on high-end talent compared to the two classes that preceded it. B-