Another Michigan football running back enters transfer portal

Best of luck to him.

Michigan football has avoided a mass exodus into the transfer portal thus far unlike many teams. If you look around college football, there are droves leaving certain teams in search of greener pastures.

It was only recently that the Wolverines had their first defectors — running back C.J. Stokes and walk-on Sam Staruch. Now the maize and blue have lost another little-used running back who’s decided to seek another opportunity.

Leon Franklin was a preferred walk-on but in the past few seasons, he’s seen his name called quite regularly once the game was in-hand — before even some others on scholarship. In 2021, he had eight carries for 33 yards, just four for nine yards in 2022, and 11 for 33 and a touchdown in 2023.

He took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce he’s entering the transfer portal.

Despite having not redshirted and having not played in the COVID year, Franklin says he has two years of eligibility remaining. According to CFBStats, Franklin played in 12 games in 2023 (66 snaps), eight in 2022 (42 snaps), and nine in 2021 (43 snaps), with most coming on special teams.