[jwplayer NQYmmhL2-XNcErKyb]
When Michigan’s Carlo Kemp made his Wolverines debut in 2016, it seemed like odd-timing.
Midway through the season, Kemp saw his first playing time, but given NCAA rules at the time, it meant that his redshirt was then gone with his inclusion on the field. From there, Kemp switched from linebacker to defensive end and then to defensive tackle, becoming a starter in the process. He was voted team captain prior to the 2019 season, which had looked to be his last.
Or was it?
Earlier this week, The Wolverine Lounge’s Brandon Justice reported that Kemp was likely to return for a fifth-year, and it turns out his sources were prescient. Speaking to reporters at a coaching clinic in Lansing on Thursday night, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh confirmed that Kemp was granted a waiver by the NCAA and that he is now eligible to play a fifth-year in Ann Arbor.
“Yeah, that’s official,” Harbaugh told reporters at the Lansing Center, after speaking at the Michigan High School Football Coach Association clinic. “He got a fifth year.”
With fellow defensive tackle Michael Dwumfour announcing earlier this week that he’s in the NCAA transfer portal, that means three-of-four defensive line starters are returning in 2020.
To fill Dwumfour’s role, Michigan will turn to Donovan Jeter, Chris Hinton, Mazi Smith and Jess Speight to battle for that vacant starting position.