Sophomore wide receiver/cornerback Amorion Walker has entered the transfer portal. He played in thirteen games for the Wolverines over the past two seasons.
Walker came out of Ponchatoula (LA) Ponchatoula in the 2022 class and was ranked as a 3-star, the #72 wide receiver, and #522 overall. I gave him a TTB Rating of 81.
Michigan's coaching staff believed in Walker as an athlete, and he had some freaky testing times when it comes to sprints and short shuttles. But after two years on campus, he was listed at 6'3" and 180 lbs. Despite Jim Harbaugh saying he considered Walker to be a starter last winter, he looked overmatched in the spring game - getting torched by walk-on Peyton O'Leary - and then got passed up by UMass transfer Josh Wallace during the summer.
Players usually seem to end up closer to home when they transfer - see Oregon native Darrius Clemons transferring to Oregon State - so I would expect Walker to end up somewhere near SEC country. He has a crystal ball right now for Ole Miss.
As for Michigan, the Wolverines will once again be looking for help at cornerback after losing Walker and rising second-year player Cam Calhoun (Utah) to the transfer portal. Starter Will Johnson returns on one side, but Wallace and Mike Sainristil are heading to the NFL, leaving sophomore D.J. Waller, redshirt junior Ja'Den McBurrows, redshirt freshman Jyaire Hill, and a few others to battle for playing time. Michigan may look to the portal once again for a starter.
It was probably worth a shot but it didn't work out. Expect to see more of this with the new world of NIL, portal, and HS recruiting approaches changing. Will be interesting to see if Walker sticks at CB or moves back to WR at his next stop.
ReplyDeleteI expect to see Sabb or Moore slide to nickel and Waller/Hill should be in the mix for starter at CB but I agree with Thunder. Portal maybe best path to find a starting CB. Perhaps they can strike gold again.
Sabb or Moore to nickel is possible, but I would think it's more likely McBurrows or a portal guy. They already went after Upton Stout and Rod Heard for the nickel position, so I don't think they believe the solution is an in-house one.
DeleteI think our "best 5" puts Paige, Moore, and Sabb out on the field along with Will Johnson and another CB.
DeleteI don't think McBurrows is good enough -- but I was never more wrong than when I said the same about Sainristil. Happy to be proved wrong again, but Sabb is the better player in my eyes.
re: Stout and Heard: They didn't have Moore and Paige back when they were recruiting those nickels from the portal. Could have lost both.
Still a good idea to look at portal for nickel if you can get a good starter or developmental type (why not). I just don't see a big need here relative to other positions. Moore has practiced there before. I think Sabb as well. Both fit the mold and have NFL talent.
Safety/nickel is in great shape for 2024, IMO.
I'm surprised he didn't stick around, but move to WR. Crazy athletic, and probably toughened up for blocking duties spending a year on an aggressively elite defense ... but Corner was not his calling
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