One thing Michigan football fans have learned not to do is star gaze, whether it be in recruiting or via the transfer portal. While recruiting certainly requires talent, there’s usually a better idea of what a team is getting when it comes to the transfer portal, as players have already somewhat developed.
In our eyes, the Wolverines have had a solid offseason in the transfer portal, losing very little developed talent, while acquiring key pieces from other teams who do have requisite experience. However, some brain trusts don’t agree with us.
CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello ranked the Big Ten teams in terms of how they fared in the transfer portal this offseason, counting additions while subtracting departing players, and Michigan was ranked third-to-last at No. 16, ahead of only Maryland and Northwestern.
Michigan lost a lot from its second line of defense at linebacker and in the secondary, including six linebackers, with two starters leaving for the NFL Draft and All-American cornerback Mike Sainristi also landing in the pros. Nine of the 17 departures in the portal landed at power teams.
Michigan added nine players via the portal and lost 17, as Marcello noted. But let’s look more closely at each coming and going player.
Incoming players
| Player | Pos. | Fmr. School | Outlook |
| Jaden Mangham | S | Michigan State | Likely starter |
| Amorion Walker | WR | Ole Miss via U-M | Heavy in rotation |
| CJ Charleston | WR | Youngstown State | Heavy in rotation |
| Wesley Walker | S | Tennessee | Potential starter |
| Dominic Zvada | PK | Arkansas State | Likely starter |
| Ricky Johnson | CB | UNLV | Potential starter |
| Aamir Hall | CB | Albany | Likely starter |
| Josh Priebe | LG | Northwestern | Starter |
| Jaishawn Barham | LB | Maryland | Starter |
As you can see, every player listed above will be either a starter, in contention to start, or, at the very least, heavy in rotation. The same cannot be said of those who departed.
Now let’s look at the outgoing players and what their role was a year ago.
Departing players
| Player | Pos. | New. School | 2023 role |
| Hayden Moore | LB | Washington | Did not play |
| Semaj Bridgeman | LB | Michigan State | Did not play |
| Amir Herring | OT | Kansas | Did not play |
| Jeremiah Beasley | LB | Missouri | High school senior |
| DJ Waller | CB | Kentucky | In rotation (expected 2024 starter) |
| Cristian Dixon | WR | None selected | Four games, 18 snaps, not in true rotation |
| Karmello English | WR | None selected | In rotation, did not play past Week 7 |
| Eamonn Dennis | WR | Ohio | Special teams only |
| Keon Sabb | S | Alabama | Started games, heavy rotation |
| Reece Atteberry | DT/OL | None selected | In special teams rotation |
| Noah Stewart | OT | Eastern Washington | 1 snap Week 1 on special teams |
| Matthew Hibner | TE | SMU | Redshirted, in rotation four games, postseason |
| Amorion Walker | CB | Ole Miss | Returned to Michigan as WR after transferring to Ole Miss as CB |
| Darrius Clemons | WR | Oregon State | In rotation (88 snaps) |
| Cam Calhoun | CB | Utah | Redshirted, 15 snaps in Weeks 2 and 3 |
| CJ Stokes | RB | Charlotte | Redshirted, 3 snaps in Weeks 1 and 2 |
| Sam Staruch | WR | UMass | Did not play |
| Jake Thaw | ST | Delaware | Key player on special teams |
So, as you can see, there wasn’t a ton of production of the departed. When it comes to players who were truly in rotation and in relatively heavy use, only Keon Sabb, DJ Waller, and Jake Thaw had prominent roles. Darrius Clemons was in rotation but yielded very little production. Five of the 17 did not play, five either redshirted or played less than five games, and two were special teams only players.
Conversely, Michigan acquired a ton of experience to offset the inexperienced departures. Of the aforementioned, likely only four figured to be in heavy rotation in 2024, while all nine incoming transfers should be at least that.