Princeton (NJ) The Hun School defensive tackle Owen Wafle committed to Michigan on Sunday. The former Notre Dame commitment picked the Wolverines over offers from Boston College, Iowa, Minnesota, Rutgers, and West Virginia, among others.
Wafle is listed at 6'2" and 290 lbs. As a junior in 2022, he made 64 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks.
Chillicothe (OH) Chillicothe tight end Tayvion Galloway (4-star, #11 TE, #247 overall) decommitted from LSU. With Michigan already having two tight end commitments, I doubt the Wolverines will get back involved here.
OFF THE BOARD
Olney (MD) Good Counsel center Kyle Altuner (3-star, #61 IOL, #867 overall) committed to West Virginia. I thought he was perhaps leaning toward Michigan before the Wolverines got a commitment from fellow center prospect Jake Guarnera.
Name: Joshua Nichols Height: 5’10” Weight: 190 lbs. High school: Detroit (MI) Loyola Position: Safety Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #29 Last year: I ranked Nichols #121 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He redshirted. TTB Rating: N/A
Nichols is one of those walk-ons who seems like he's going to make an impact by the time his career is over, whether just on special teams or maybe a little bit on defense. He filled up the stat sheet as a high school senior two years ago - 82 tackles, 11 forced fumbles, 7 pass breakups, and 1 interception - and now seems to have put on about 20 pounds of muscle.
Nichols could have a Hunter Reynolds type of career. Reynolds played as a backup before transferring to start at Utah State. Now that Nichols has put on some good weight, perhaps this is the season for him to run down on kickoff and/or punt coverage and start to make a name for himself. With the talent and depth at safety right now, that's probably the best chance for him to get on the field.
Name: Noah Stewart Height: 6’7" Weight: 283 lbs. High school: Muskegon (MI) North Muskegon Position: Tight end Class: Redshirt junior Jersey number: #61 Last year: I didn't rank Stewart. He played in one game. TTB Rating: N/A
Denegal wins the annual Tom Strobel Random Lineman Turned Into a Tight End Award, previously awarded to the likes of Tom Strobel, Trente Jones, and Joel Honigford. Coming out of high school, Stewart was ranked as a 3-star offensive lineman by 247 Sports, but the offensive line is stacked. The official roster lists a position change from offensive line to tight end, but the #61 jersey lags a little behind the position switch.
Considering how much his predecessors actually played as extra (blocking) tight ends, perhaps I'm ranking Stewart way too low. At 6'7" and 283 lbs. he could potentially be a very tough tight end to deal with for 5-tech defensive ends - or even smaller players - so perhaps Michigan has some secrets plans to help Stewart outstrip this low-ish ranking. But until I see otherwise, I'll assume Stewart will be mostly on the bench.
UMass transfer target Josh Wallace has committed to Michigan. He picked Michigan over offers from Iowa, Oklahoma, and Virginia Tech.
Wallace was listed at 6'0" and 190 lbs. last season for the Minutemen. He's a two-time captain and started 34 games over parts of four seasons. Last year he made 41 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, and 8 pass breakups.
St. Louis (MO) University wide receiver Ryan Wingo (image via 247 Sports)
2024
Manuel Beigel - DT - Wallingford (CT) Choate Rosemary Hall: Beigel is an international prospect from Germany who has been committed to Michigan since July of 2022. He has since picked up offers from some other big-time programs like Georgia, Penn State, and Texas A&M, among others. This is his official visit.
Boo Carter - ATH - Cleveland (TN) Bradley Central: Carter is a 5'10", 184-pounder with offers from Michigan, Tennessee, and a bunch of others . . . but it seems to be a two-horse race between the Wolverines and the Volunteers. He's a 4-star, the #20 athlete, and #240 overall. This is his official visit.
Ondre Evans - CB - Nasvhille (TN) CPA: Evans is a 6'0", 190 lb. prospect with offers from Arkansas, Michigan, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and others. He's a 4-star, the #30 cornerback, and #340 overall. This is his official visit.
Name: Jayden Denegal Height: 6’4″ Weight: 238 lbs. High school: Apple Valley (CA) Apple Valley Position: Quarterback Class: Redshirt freshman Jersey number: #14 Last year: I ranked Denegal #97 and said he would redshirt (LINK). He played in one game. TTB Rating: 61
Denegal may have been regarded as a better passing quarterback than classmate Alex Orji last season, but it turned out that Michigan didn't really need a passer. They didn't really need Orji as a runner, either. They mostly just needed J.J. McCarthy and a few backups to take garbage time snaps (though Cade McNamara did start one unimpressive game before getting injured). Denegal got into the UConn game to hand off the ball, and that was it.
While McNamara is off to Iowa, McCarthy returns and will be backed up by some combination of Jack Tuttle and/or Davis Warren. Orji has earned some off-season hype because he's 6'3" and 235 lbs., looks really strong, and can run and jump and do fun things to watch. Some people have been clamoring for Orji to get the Dan Villari treatment and come in for some occasional running plays.
No one is clamoring for Denegal at this point. Buzz out of practice has been next to nil, but that's what tends to happen for the quarterback who is roughly fifth on the depth chart. With McCarthy possibly gone in 2024, maybe he will get a chance to vie for the starting job next season, but for now it seems like he will be buried on the depth chart for at least one season. I would expect to see him on the field a little here and there in mop-up duty.
