Memphis transfer safety Chris Bracy is transferring to Michigan.
Bracy is a 6'1", 195 lb. safety who started eleven games in 2025 and played in thirteen altogether, making 81 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble, and 9 pass breakups. His position coach for the Tigers was former Michigan linebacker Desmond Morgan. In the 2023 and 2024 seasons combined at UAB, he made 33 tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception (returned for 58 yards against Louisiana), and 2 pass breakups.
Coming out of Mobile (AL) St. Paul's Episcopal in 2023, Bracy was a 3-star, the #177 safety, and #2008 overall.
Bracy is not a physical wonder by any means, but you're unlikely to get freaks who were #2008 overall and just came from Memphis. What he has is three years of experience playing college football and playing pretty regularly, including ranking #3 on his team in tackles and #1 in pass breakups in 2025. Bracy should provide a veteran presence and a willingness to come up and tackle on the edge, whether it's in the run game or on short passes. His deep speed and ability to cover is going to be the big question mark, but experience and knowledge can help overcome that at the safety spot.
Bracy should come in and either start or be a regular rotation player in Michigan's secondary. With some young players rising and Rod Moore's questionable health as he returns for a sixth year, there are a lot of moving parts at the safety spot for the Wolverines.
a step up in run D from Hillman (at least in discipline)
ReplyDeletebut a step down from Metcalf in pass D ... and it's not like Metcalf was great
My hopes lie in coaching. We have personnel & talent deficits on the D side of the roster. We need a Utah, Iowa and (gulp) Indiana level of coaching to bridge that gap
I really don't think the stars matter at all here. Deangelo Pounds was #1966 overall and the #170 CB. He's now being mocked in the second round. And even when he proved himself at JMU he still got ranked in the portal as only a 3 star.
ReplyDeleteMetcalf got knocked for his speed but he started at one SEC school before Michigan and will likely start at Tenn next year.
I think Michigan got a guy, probably for less money that either Hillman or Metcalf demanded, who is likely a better fit for what the team wants in '26. I like him in combo with Curtis -- who is obviously rangier and can cover a lot of ground as a deep safety.
These type of uptransfers don't come without risk but they are much surer things than higher rated high schoolers. I think it's telling that Clemson, Iowa, and Arkansas were all recruiting him. Probably not to sit the bench.
I think Bracy is a near lock to start next year, though Rod Moore may have something to say about that if he's back. Regardless he'll almost certainly be part of the rotation of guys getting a lot of meaningful snaps.
Big portal pickup from Michigan and I hope they get more aggressive in picking up proven starters from lower levels more regularly (aka the Hoosier Way).
I'm a believer in the notion that there's a portion of football players that just develop/mature later, so they miss out on all the star-glory coming out of high school. The portal system has allowed these players to move up as their bodies and talent develop. I once scanned through NFL rosters, just noting some of the obscure, and out-of-the-way colleges noted there, and there was quite a few. Well, the NFL was able to find that talent, so too should big-time college programs.
DeleteWhether this guy will be a breakout guy, I have no idea. But just because a player was #whatever in HS doesn't mean much when he's 21 years old and a different person from 17.
@anon
DeleteAbsolutely.
People develop at different ages. Also sometimes people in the same grade/class are 1 or 2 years different in age, so for us fans we see two "sophomores" and compare them to each other but in reality one is still a boy and the other is a grown man.
The other factor is that talent evaluation is an inexact science. Everyone knows that but I don't think everyone fully considers how inexact it is.
In Bracy's case I think misevaluation was a bigger factor than being a late bloomer. He wasn't recruited heavily but came in and played right away at UAB. Missed a year due to injury and uptransferred and became a starter right away at Memphis, where PFF says he graded out well (albeit far better in run defense than pass coverage).
Bracy is entering his senior year and is at this point a proven player. He might be limited (as the pass coverage grade illustrates) but at that point it becomes about the coaching staff putting him in position to do what he thrives at vs not. He might also just be developing his coverage abilities later in his career. With 2 years of eligibility left there's time to sort that out.
"... we see two "sophomores" and compare them to each other but in reality one is still a boy and the other is a grown man."
DeleteWhen I was in sixth grade (12 years old), I looked like I was about 8 or 9. Some of the boys were already shaving. When I was in 12th grade, I was 5'9' or so, and still wasn't shaving. But by sophomore year in college I had grown 4" and was 6'1" tall. Being so young-looking back then was horrible, but now at 66 and looking like I'm in my 50s, I'm okay with it. :-)