Nearly three years ago, in the summer of 2019, Michigan football managed to reel New Jersey native Jordan Morant, a heavily-recruited four-star safety, into the class — despite his insistence that he would take the bulk of the 2020 recruiting cycle to make a decision.
2020 was a safety-heavy class, with Morant, fellow Garden State defensive back RJ Moten, and West Bloomfield’s Makari Paige all pledging to the Wolverines. Moten is a likely starter in 2022, while Paige is battling for the opposite job with Rod Moore, but Morant has struggled to see the field outside of special teams. After spring ball, he was announced to be in the NCAA transfer portal.
And now we know where he’s heading. On Saturday, Morant took to Twitter to announce he’s heading to the ACC, to play for the Duke Blue Devils.
Jordan Morant, who had an offer from Rutgers football, is leaving Michigan and now in the transfer portal.
[autotag]Jordan Morant[/autotag], a former top recruit and one of the top players in New Jersey in the class of 2020, has entered the transfer portal. The safety has been at Michigan the past two years.
In high school, Morant played for Bergen Catholic but he calls Parsippany, a north Jersey town, his home.
Morant played in five games last season, primarily appearing on special teams for the Wolverines. It was thought that this spring would be a big one for the defensive back to crack the two-deep at Michigan.
In high school as one of the most coveted recruits in the nation, Morant visited Rutgers in late May, 2019. Two weeks later, he committed to Michigan while on a visit. He was ranked a four-star recruit according to Rivals, the No. 23 safety in the nation and the seventh-best player in New Jersey in the class of 2020.
Thank you Michigan ❤️ Nothing but love ! Time to move on to the next chapter. Go Blue
Once he was thought to be the next great Michigan football safety, but now it appears that won’t be happening.
In the summer of 2019, the Wolverines got a commitment from Oradell (N.J.) Bergen Catholic four-star safety Jordan Morant, who was rated as the No. 165 player in the country in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite. But since arriving in Ann Arbor, Morant hasn’t really been much of a factor, as he was seemingly surpassed by both of his 2020 classmates in RJ Moten and Makari Paige, as well as 2021 recruit Rod Moore.
On Friday, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Rainer Sabin, Morant has entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Michigan football safety Jordan Morant, a former four-star recruit, has entered the NCAA transfer portal, @freepsports has learned.
Given that 2020 was a free year, eligibility-wise, according to the NCAA, with having played in five games last season, Morant still has four years of eligibility left, so long as one of his years he only plays in four games. He played just seven defensive snaps in 2021, but managed 77 snaps on special teams across the five games he appeared in, according to PFF.
Why the defensive backs seem like players the Wolverines head coach could see hitting the field early.
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Jim Harbaugh doesn’t often like to compare players to each other as he says it diminishes one or the other. But what if he finds a comparison that’s all upside?
Such seems to be the case when it comes to the incoming defensive backs, as Harbaugh sees a group of signees that could come in and be early impact players for Michigan.
“It’s a really, really good, really good athletic group,” Harbaugh said. “You saw Dax Hill come in and make a big impact as a freshman. There’s gonna be all four really with the license and ability to make the same kind of impact in our secondary. Very excited about that.”
Getting more specific — though he didn’t speak about safety Makari Paige from West Bloomfield (MI) — Harbaugh broke down what he likes about some of the incoming players, starting with Michigan’s first commit in the 2020 class.
Andre Seldon
Michigan signee Andre Seldon
“Andre is a tough competitor,” Harbaugh said. “Watched him over at camps, watched him over at Belleville. Watched him run track and lead his team. Those are the kinds of guys you want playing in your secondary.”
Jordan morant and R.J. Moten
Michigan signee Jordan Morant
“Jordan Morant – he’s a Dax Hill-type of safety. He’s got that kind of special ability,” Harbaugh noted, before moving on to Moten. “R.J. Moten’s another one. Big, strong athlete that – he’s even got the ability to be a corner. But he’s also got the strength and physicality to be a safety and cover people. It’s a really dynamic group.”
Eamonn dennis
The next player he touched on is one we project to wide receiver, but Harbaugh also says could play on the defensive side of the ball.
“Eamonn Dennis has the ability to be both a defensive player or an offensive player,” Harbaugh said. “Could be a corner or could be a receiver. Kind of like a Mike Sainristil – another really good Mike Sainristil.”
“Pretty simple – Eamonn Dennis is a really good receiver and he’s a really good defensive back. If you think Mike Sainristil, if you watched Eamonn’s tape, you’re gonna think of Mike Sainristil. That’s who I thought of when I first watched Eamonn Dennis play football. He could be a corner, he could be a slot receiver. He could be a return person.”
William Mohan
The final player he mentioned isn’t a defensive back, per se, in that he’s projected to VIPER, which is technically a linebacker position.
But Harbaugh raved about how versatile Brooklyn (NY) Erasmus Hall’s William Mohan is, and why he could be a guy you see all over the field once his time comes.
“The other person to mention is William Mohan, who is the type of athlete where he could be a corner, he could be a safety, he could be an outside linebacker,” Harbaugh said. “Sounds a lot like a VIPER, I know as I say it. He’s another youngster who is so versatile, so good and athletic. Really another youngster on this group that was recruited by everybody. He’s really gonna be fun to watch. The way he runs and hits, it’s special. It really pops off the screen.”
“Wiliam is a long, really athletic player that could cover,” Harbaugh later continued. “His ability to blitz off the edge is special. Track down ball carriers. He loves to hit. Take a look at some of his highlights of special teams or defense. He’s a very, very physical. Can get ‘em down and can also make a lot of big hits. We’ll see exactly what position when it says athlete, but that’s just really saying this guy has the ability to play corner, safety, VIPER, and that’s a good thing.”
Everything you need to know about new Wolverines signee Jordan Morant.
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Stars
Overall
Position
State
247Sports
4
116
#12 S
#3
Rivals
4
–
#23 S
#7
ESPN
4
192
#8 S
#6
247Sports Composite
4
163
#14 S
#5
Vitals
Hometown
Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic
Projected Position
Safety
Height
5-foot-11
Weight
212-pounds
Recruitment
Sporting a Michigan offer since Jan. 2018, Morant also had offers from big time programs such as Ohio State, Penn State, Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M, Notre Dame and LSU.
At one time rated the top safety in the country, Morant did a slew of visits in the spring, visiting Ann Arbor, Columbus and South Bend, but was a part of the big official visit weekend in late-June. While he contended at the time that he wouldn’t make his college choice until the All-American Bowl in Jan. 2020, after the visit to Ann Arbor, he quickly rescinded that notion, pledging to the Wolverines as he departed campus on June 23.
There was some concern if Michigan could hold onto him momentarily, as he made an official visit to Texas A&M in September and USC in November. However, he visited Ann Arbor again twice unofficially, for the Ohio State game and again the weekend before Early Signing Day for the Michigan – Oregon basketball game.
Readiness Level
While he could require a year to acclimate, especially given the depth ahead of him, he could work his way into the depth chart in year one. Is likely to be a year two/three contributor and eventual starter.
Prep
• Attended Bergen Catholic High School (2020) coached by Vito Campanile
• Part of a 5-4 Crusaders team his senior year in 2019 and an appearance in the Non-Public Group 4 Playoffs
Key Statistics
• Registered 12 tackles, one pass breakup and returned a kickoff for a touchdown as a senior
• Contributed 60 tackles during his junior campaign, including one tackles for loss, one sack, seven pass breakups and four interceptions
• Posted 36 tackles, three tackles for loss and three pass breakups as a sophomore
Honors and Rankings
• 247Sports Composite ranking of four-stars and the nation’s No. 163 overall prospect; rated as the fifth-best recruit in New Jersey and the No. 14 safety prospect
• Four-star recruit according to 247Sports; No. 3 prospect in New Jersey, the 12th-best safety and the 116th overall recruit in the nation
• ESPN300 member; listed as the 192nd prospect nationally, the sixth-best player in New Jersey, eighth-rated safety in the country and a four-star recruit
• Rivals.com four-star prospect, the No. 7 prospect in New Jersey and the 23rd-overall safety prospect nationally
• PrepStar Magazine Top 350 All-American; listed as the fifth-best player in New Jersey, the 14th-best safety prospect nationally and the 191st-overall recruit in the country
• 2019 Adidas All-American
• 2018 first-team All-Defense on NJ.com
• 2018 second-team all-state in northjersey.com
• Two-time second-team all-state selection on defense (2017-18)
• Three-time first-team all-county on defense (2017-19)
• Jersey Sports Zone Player of the Week
• Selected to participate in the All-American Bowl and Polynesian Bowl all-star games
Personal
• Jordan Christopher Morant was born on Oct. 18, 2001
• Son of Lorie Arcala and Johnnie Morant
Several Wolverines football commits and targets took in the top ten basketball matchup in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It certainly wasn’t the biggest recruiting weekend for Michigan football, but still, the Wolverines gridiron contingent had a solid outing taking in the maize and blue on the hardwood.
With many of the coaches out of town recruiting, that didn’t mean that there couldn’t be a bevy of commits and prospects to come to town, especially with a top ten matchup between the No. 5 basketball team and No. 10 Oregon.
WolverinesWire was on the baseline to capture the commits, recruits and staff members who were at Crisler Center to take in the game.
Michigan commit Jordan MorantMichigan commit Andre Seldon2021 Oak Park (MI) four-star OT Rayshaun Benny2021 Livonia (MI) Detroit Country Day three-star OT Caleb Tiernan2022 Cincinnati (OH) Archbishop Moeller TE Josh Kattus
