TRANSFER PORTAL
Donaven McCulley - WR - Indiana: McCulley is a 6'5", 203 lb. former quarterback who transitioned to receiver at Indiana. He entered the transfer portal in the off-season and was courted by Michigan, but he was convinced to rejoin Indiana's squad. After not being a major factor early in the year (2 catches, 21 yards, 1 TD in the first five weeks), he decided to re-enter the transfer portal and is now considering Michigan again.
2025
Andrew Babalola - OT - Overland Park (KS) Blue Valley Northwest: Babalola (5-star, #2 OT, #11 overall) committed to Michigan.
Avery Gach - OT - Franklin (MI) Groves: Gach is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Quante Gillians - DE - Rochester (NY) Aquinas Institute: Gillians is a 6'3", 278 lb. prospect who has been committed to Syracuse since June 2024. Michigan offered him in the last month, and he also has offers from Boston College and Pitt, among others. He's a 3-star, the #101 defensive lineman, and #978 overall.
Hit the jump for more.
Bobby Kanka - DT - Howell (MI) Howell: Kanka is committed to Michigan.
Joseph Mbatchou - DT - Loganville (GA) Grayson: Mbatchou is a 6'4", 275 lb. prospect with offers from Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, USC, and now Michigan; his offer from the Wolverines came through on October 11. He's a 4-star, the #41 defensive lineman, and #425 overall. This is an official visit.
Benny Patterson - DT - Newburgh (IN) Castle: Patterson is a 6'4", 245-pounder who is committed to Cincinnati. He's a 3-star, the #71 defensive lineman, and #655 overall. He also has offers from Florida State, LSU, and USC, though he doesn't have one from Michigan yet.
Carter Smith - QB - Fort Myers (FL) Bishop Verot: Smith is committed to Michigan (LINK).
Ivan Taylor - S - Winter Garden (FL) West Orange: Taylor is committed to Michigan (LINK). He recently took an official visit to Alabama and is considering the Crimson Tide.
Jordan Young - S - Monroe (NC) Monroe: Young is a 6'0", 184-pounder with offers from Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, and others. He's a 4-star, the #5 athlete, and #134 overall. Young took an official to Michigan over the summer and the coaching staff is recruiting him for the nickel position.
2026
Brady Hart - QB - Cocoa (FL) Cocoa: Hart is committed to Michigan (LINK).
2027
I know WR could use more talent but I'm not feeling too optimistic at the moment about a guy who Indiana decided to bench coming into Michigan and being a big deal.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I don't get the infatuation with McCulley. I didn't really understand it over the winter, and I don't understand it now, either. The only thing I can think of is that he fits the "big wide receiver" mold a little better than most guys on the roster, so maybe that's their singular focus with him.
DeleteSpeaking of which, I kind of feel bad for someone like C.J. Charleston. I feel like he's been totally forgotten even though he's playing some, but Michigan isn't getting him the ball at all.
Tall wide receivers pass the eye test and jump ball highlights are always fun. It's very low efficiency though.
DeleteI don't feel too bad for Charleston. I doubt he came to Michigan to get a bunch of targets, he came to experience big time football. And presumably to win games, so I guess that part is disappointing for him and all of us.
When can we shoot Bellamy into the sun? So MSU, with a rock bottom program, coaching getting fired, out recruits UM IN STATE for to talent WR. Exactly why is Ron Bellamy still employed? Michigan produces about 3 High level college WR in a decade, the number of time we lose out to Michigan freakin state should be exactly zero
ReplyDeleteI've heard various rumors about Nick Marsh, and I'm not sure I would put all the blame on Bellamy. There have been rumors about the NIL pitch not fitting what he was looking for, as well as his not being a cultural fit at Michigan. Obviously, NIL deals don't come from Bellamy, and you never know about the culture thing.
DeleteI don't think missing out on one kid should constitute a firing for Bellamy. He recently landed Andrew Marsh in the 2025 class, and there are rumors floating around about Derek Meadows, too. Nobody's ever going to bat 1.000 in recruiting.
My problem with Bellamy is the same I have with Moore/Campbell. They all knew we had no playmakers - guys who might night start on another P4 team (or at least a winning team
DeleteRecruiting was lacking until recently, but that does us no good now
Michigan has ALWAYS lost some head to head recruiting battles with MSU. Individual personalities and preferences are not always going to line up to our advantage, even with the program being stronger overall (to most).
DeleteNo preview thread, but I'll give it a shot here. Game of Field Goals. I am beyond doubtful of MICHIGAN these days, but the fanatic in me is too emotional to go that route in The Big House: 16-13!
ReplyDeleteFunny. MGo endorses Warren, and has this to say about the gimmick:
"Alex Orji may also get some run, because you might as well throw some stuff at the wall and see what sticks"
Oh now we're taking Mgo's observations at face value? Here you go post-game:
Delete"Warren: functional? Ehhhh. I want to believe Davis Warren can put the early turnovers behind him and round into a reasonably effective starter down the stretch here but there's one number that jumps out to indicate maybe this isn't in the cards: he had an average depth of target of 4.5 yards. That number combines with the Michigan State pass rush, which was as nonexistent as the numbers suggested, to tamp down enthusiasm. If Michigan is limited to four throws of more than ten air yards against these guys, how are they going to ramp it up against teams that actually get somewhat near the quarterback? This feels like a momentary reprieve more than turning the corner."
Meanwhile Orji
"There was a reason the Orji plays were considerably more successful: they made it a lot harder for MSU to deliver and unblocked guy to the ballcarrier since the run game was at least nominally 11 on 11."
Almost like this "gimmick" has some reproducible benefits to the run game if the defense is paying attention enough to play "11 on 11". It was not happening with Onedimensional Walkon Warren.
Also -- PFF had Orji with a higher score than Warren this game.
Also - Thunder recommends "I would start Warren and mix in Alex Orji on every third series"
#"Xs&Os"
#something about jansen
#correlation
#payup
I don't disagree with anything Brian wrote, and added in my post game the fact that Warren was throwing to wiiiide open guys, behind good protection. PFF agrees with my post game MVP for orji. So what?
DeleteOh, and your conclusion? Reeeaching ... nowhere near what PFF or MGo says. But in typical LyinLank fashion, you left out the other observations:
"Hello Temporary JJ McCarthy, my old friend. Best throw of the season and best of Davis Warren's career by some distance: the corner route on the flea flicker" and
"Effective Orji cameos. One frustrating part of Orji's tenure as the starter is that he didn't actually seem to be the kind of runner you have to worry about. He was fine, but he didn't break tackles and he didn't have the sort of ability on the edge that would warp a defense"
Lies of omission are still lies
Haha. Too easy!
As usual none of the quotes contradict anything I said. Now back to yours.
DeleteFrom "the gimmick" to "MVP for orji"... so you were wrong?
Hold it up.