Michigan football all-transfer portal team: Top Wolverines stars revealed

USA Today

2 days ago

Michigan football all-transfer portal team: Top Wolverines stars revealed
In the not-so-distant past, it was something of a rare occasion that you'd see teams like Michigan football taking in many, if any, transfers. But with the transfer portal now essentially unrestricted, especially with NIL, if you're not bolstering your team with incoming transfers, you're not trying very hard to win games.
Michigan football has gotten on board in recent years, not going as portal crazy as some other teams -- relying more on recruiting out of high school -- but the Wolverines have added some key pieces that have helped the team win. So we're doing a bit of a thought exercise: what would an all-transfer portal team look like for the maize and blue?
Given that Michigan hasn't been as prolific in the portal as some other programs, there are some key positions that don't have more than one player. And some of our inclusions are current players on this 2025 team -- whether they've been on campus for a while or they're just joining.
With that in mind, here is our all-transfer portal team for the Michigan Wolverines.
Offense
QB - Shea Patterson
Former school: Ole Miss
We're getting controversial right out of the gates. Patterson was a former five-star who didn't quite rise to the level that Michigan fans expected. He had a solid year in 2018, helping the Wolverines go from 8-5 the year before to 10-3. In 2019, he was injured on his first play from scrimmage, but by the year's end, he was firing on all cylinders, with three 300-plus yard games to close out the regular season.
Alternate: Jake Rudock, Iowa
RB - Justice Haynes
Former school: Alabama
Haynes has yet to play an actual game for the Wolverines, only the spring game, where he rushed six times for 51 yards. But he's expected to be a co-starter along with Jordan Marshall, and has very high expectations as he enters his junior year.
Alternate: Ty Isaac, USC
TE - AJ Barner
Former school: Indiana
Michigan actually does a stellar job recruiting tight ends out of high school so it's pretty rare that it goes out and gets one in the transfer portal. Yet, despite Colston Loveland emerging as a potential star at the end of 2022, it went out and got Barner to pair with him, and he ended up being stellar for the Wolverines as a pass-catching threat.
Alternate: None
LT - LaDarius Henderson
Former school: Arizona State
We could have gone with Myles Hinton here, but since he's played on both sides, we've chosen Henderson here. It took a few games to get going, but he ultimately settled in at left tackle, en route to Michigan's 2023 national championship.
Alternate: Brady Norton, Cal Poly
LG - Josh Priebe
Former school: Northwestern
Though expectations were very high that Priebe would come in and look the same as the previous few years' transfers along the offensive line, he didn't quite rise to that level. It took him most of the season to find his groove, but he ended up being OK once he got fully acclimated.
Alternate: None
C - Olu Oluwatimi
Former school: Virginia
The greatest of the O-line transfers for the Wolverines, Oluwatimi was a standout and engine for the best offensive line in the country. Not only did he become an alternate captain, but he won the Rimington Trophy, given to the nation's best center, and helped lead the OL to a second-straight Joe Moore Award.
Alternate: Drake Nugent, Stanford
RG - Lawrence Hattar
Former school: Ferris State
Little is known as of yet about Hattar, who arrives on campus this summer. But due to a lack of incoming transfers, we've slotted him in here.
Alternate: None
RT - Myles Hinton
Former school: Stanford
Hinton makes the list after all. He was hit-or-miss in 2023, his first year in Ann Arbor, despite getting the nod to start right away. But he improved greatly, actually, after moving to left tackle in 2024, which allowed him to get drafted in 2025.
Alternate: None
WR - Donaven McCulley
Former school: Indiana
It actually speaks volumes that Michigan football doesn't have a productive wide receiver transfer who's already played in games at the top here (because there really aren't any), thus we're going with the expected No. 1 wideout coming into 2025. McCulley had a solid 2023 in Bloomington, had one catch in the spring game for the Wolverines this year, for 25 yards, and should be formidable in the new-look Chip Lindsey offense.
Alternate: C.J. Charleston, Youngstown State
WR - Anthony Simpson
Former school: UMass
Even less is known about Simpson, who was productive for UMass in 2023. He comes to Ann Arbor as the receiver on the roster with the most yards (at the FBS level) and figures to be a factor in 2025.
Alternate: Amorion Walker, Ole Miss (via Michigan)
WR - Daylen Baldwin
Former school: Jackson State
There were high hopes for Baldwin when he came in 2021, but his big highlights were a pair of touchdown catches in garbage time against Western Michigan and Wisconsin (both from then-freshman J.J. McCarthy). He never quite settled in beyond that and left some potential on the table.
Alternate: None
Defense
EDGE - Mike Danna
Former school: Central Michigan
Danna was one of the bright spots for Michigan football in 2019 and he showed out as a reserve edge rusher. We strongly considered fellow one-year rental Eyabi Okie-Anoma, but ultimately went with Danna, who played so well he ended up being a draft pick by the dynastic Kansas City Chiefs.
Alternate: Eyabi Okie-Anoma, Alabama
DT - Cam Goode
Former school: UCF
Goode took a full year before he started to come on strong, but in 2023, even as an alternate, it was hard to take him off the field once he got into the rotation. He was a solid player, despite going undrafted in 2024.
Alternate: Damon Payne, Alabama
DT - Tré Williams
Former school: Clemson
Like we did a bit on offense, there's a bit of projection here with Williams, who has yet to play a down (outside of the spring game) for the Wolverines. But expectations are high for the transfer who very well could be a starter for the maize and blue this year.
Alternate: Jordan Whittley, Oregon State
EDGE - Josaiah Stewart
Former school: Coastal Carolina
One of the feel-good stories, Stewart was a very good player as a freshman with the Chanticleers, but would the undersized edge rusher see his game translate to the Big Ten? The answer ended up being a resounding yes, with big plays made in the 2023 Rose Bowl, in addition to what he did in his senior year.
Alternate: None
LB - Ernest Hausmann
Former school: Nebraska
A current player, Hausmann was solid as a reserve in 2023 before stepping into a starting role in 2024. Now expected to be a team captain in his senior year, he's one of the best linebackers in the Big Ten.
Alternate: Troy Bowles, Georgia
LB - Jaishawn Barham
Former school: Maryland
Another current player (Michigan didn't start getting transfer linebackers until quite recently), Barham has all of the talent in the world and certainly could find himself being called on day one of the 2026 NFL draft if all goes right. With freaky athleticism, he checks all the boxes, but he also took almost the entire 2024 season before he started playing within the confines of the defense.
Alternate: Edward Warinner, MSU
CB - Josh Wallace
Former school: UMass
Wallace was a late addition to the 2023 team, coming aboard in the summer. But he got the nod as a starter in Week 1 and though there was a bit of a learning curve, he eventually became a solid defensive back who was pivotal in the Wolverines national championship run.
Alternate: Ricky Johnson, UNLV
NB - Tevis Metcalf
Former school: Arkansas
Nickelback is a premium position for the Wolverines, which means they recruit the position well without much of a loss of talent. We're slotting second-year defensive back Tevis Metcalf in here due to his production in the spring game, though we haven't seen him play the position in real games yet.
Alternate: None
S - Wesley Walker
Former school: Tennessee
Walker started all season for the Vols but didn't quite replicate his performance in Knoxville while in Ann Arbor. However, he was OK as a reserve but had a big moment in the ReliaQuest Bowl, picking off Alabama QB Jalen Milroe to really help Michigan put its knee on the Crimson Tide's throat early in the game.
Alternate: Jaden Mangham, MSU
S - TJ Metcalf
Former school: Arkansas
Strongly expected to be a standout for the Wolverines this year, it's unclear if the 2025 transfer will be a starter at safety, a key reserve, or play nickel. Still, there has been a lot of talk about how good the former Razorback might be in Ann Arbor.
Alternate: None
CB - Aamir Hall
Former school: Albany
Like his transfer predecessor, Josh Wallace, it took some time for Hall to come around. Perhaps a bit longer than it did Wallace. But once he did, he was solid, making huge plays in the Ohio State game and the ReliaQuest Bowl. Michigan certainly wishes it had another year with Hall in the defensive backfield.
Alternate: None
Special teams
K - Dominic Zvada
Former school: Arkansas State
It didn't seem likely that anyone would come in and make Michigan football fans forget about Jake Moody, the Wolverines' most prolific kicker, yet Zvada appears to have done just that. A standout in 2024, he should be a likely candidate to win the Lou Groza Award in 2025.
Alternate: None
P - Hudson Hollenbeck
Former school: Mississippi State
We're going with Hollenbeck here, not only because there haven't been a lot of incoming transfer punters, but also because he's played in games (the ReliaQuest Bowl) whereas incoming transfer, Luke Bauer, has yet to earnestly put on a winged helmet.
Alternate: Luke Bauer, Missouri