Michigan Wolverines Pre-Season

Makayla Rayis, Writer|May 8, 2023

Now that we are inching towards summer, college football is just coming closer. And it is time for teams to get their stuff together and prepare for the upcoming season. Michigan had a great season last year and accomplished a lot. There is a lot of news coming out regarding Michigan Football and what is to come this season.

But let’s get into what’s been going on pre-season:

According to the rankings made by 247sports and also USA Today preseason top twenty five, the Michigan Wolverines are the second-best team entering the 2023 season in the country. They made this ranking with a combination of pre-season polls across many websites. Rece Davis from ESPN says, “Michigan has a proven quarterback that I think is going to improve greatly this year. They’ve got the best cornerback in America in Will Johnson. They’ve got some transfers on both lines of scrimmage, including a pass rusher. They’ve done a really good job in the transfer portal the last couple of years, particularly on the lines of scrimmage. They’ve go their running backs coming back, a couple of wide receivers that might even be bigger threats. And a transfer tight end from Indiana.” Michigan has gotten a lot of good feedback following the previous season.A lot of players have come but some have also gone.

Here are some that are staying at Michigan:

Senior WR Cornelius Johnson- In 2022, Johnson led with sixteen touchdown catches and had 499 receiving yards on thirty two grabs
Junior DL Kris Jenkins- Returning for his senior season, he finished 2022 with fifty four tackles, two sacks, and two quarterback hurries
Graduate LB Michael Barrett- Returning for his sixth season; In 2022, he was seen in fourteen games with thirteen starts, seventy two total tackles, one sack and two interceptions
Junior OL Zak Zinter- Returning for his senior season, after earning his first-team All- Big Ten honors as the Wolverines’ starting right guard in 2022
Senior OL Trevor Keegan- Coming back for his fifth season, two-time All-Big Ten standout and that includes earning first-team honors from the coaches in 2022
Senior DB Mike Sainristil- For his final year of eligibility, he returns to Michigan. He has been a key part for this team after switching from wide receiver to nickel, he has fifty one tackles, two sacks, and seven pass breakups
Junior RB Blake Corum- The number one ranked running back returning in CFB for his senior season; In 2022, he rushed for 1,463 yards and eighteen touchdowns in twelve games

Here are players that are coming from the transfer portal:

Junior TE Aj Barner(Indiana)- Barner committed on December 20th to Michigan from Indiana after playing three seasons with them. In 2022, he had twenty eight receptions for 199 yards and three touchdowns in ten games. He still remains with two years of eligibility left
Graduate QB Jack Tuttle(Indiana)- Tuttle started four career games and went on to throw 819 yards and four touchdowns
Senior C Drake Nugent(Stanford)- He started twenty four games for Stanford and earned an All-Pac-12 honorable mention
Sophomore Edge Josiah Stewart(Coastal Carolina)- He recorded forty one tackles, ten tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and five quarterback hurries in 2022
Junior OL Myles Hinton(Stanford)- Hinton started 19 of his twenty four games through three seasons with Stanford with two years of eligibility left
Freshman LB Ernest Hausmann(Nebraska)-Hausmann was a Michigan recruit out of high school but chose Nebraska. In Nebraska, he had fifty four tackles, two tackles for loss, and one fumble recovery
Senior OL LaDarius Henderson(Arizona State)- He started twenty nine career games and played 1,802 seasons with Arizona State. Currently has one year of eligibility remaining

Here are some of Michigan’s players entering the transfer portal:

Graduate Edge Eyabi Okie- His Michigan career will only last one season, he committed to Charlotte to play for former Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi
Sophomore WR Andrel Anthony- Anthony entered the portal and has pledged to Oklahoma
Senior TE Erick All- He became Michigan’s second team captain to announce his intentions to transfer and has chosen Iowa
Senior QB Cade McNamara- He was a team captain who suffered a season ending injury this past season. He has committed to Iowa
Freshman LB Deuce Spurlock- He played just two games last season and has pledged to Florida
Graduate QB Alan Bowman- He entered the portal but stayed with Michigan through the 2022 season. After transferring from Texas Tech he spent two years at Michigan and will now be playing at Oklahoma state
Graduate Edge Taylor Upshaw- He will spend his sixth and final collegiate season at Colorado. he appeared in 38 games with two starts for Michigan
Sophomore TE Louis Hansen- After playing in three games over two seasons at Michigan, he has committed to UConn

Nine players from the 2022 Michigan football team were chosen during the three days of the 2023 NFL Draft. This was the third most in the draft following Alabama and Georgia.