Sean Bormet discusses Michigan wrestling roster transformation with On3

Michigan wrestling coach Sean Bormet knows his team is going to look very different in 2023-24. Simply put, it’s loaded.

Bormet and the Wolverines added four grad transfers in Michael DeAugustino, Chris Cannon, Lucas Davison and Shane Griffith. In addition to a stout recruiting class, Michigan looks like a national title contender, or at least a team that can put a scare into Penn State next year.

Bormet joined On3 and talked about the busy offseason.

“Each year, you know, this thing has kind of changed and it’s kind of a moving target,” Bormet said. “I mean, two years ago coming off our 100th team, you know, we lost 60% of our lineup after that season and rebuilt. I thought we had a great, great year last year. And again, we had you know, a lot of guys graduating and you know, with extra COVID years Michigan being such a prestigious academic institution, I think just the way all these things are lining up, it’s a great opportunity.”

Bormet told On3 the background on recruiting and familiarity with DeAugustino, Cannon and Davison, all from Northwestern.

But it was Griffith that was the big prize. The four-time All-American and 2021 national champion is on the shortlist for a national title at 165 or 174, depending upon where he goes weight wise next season.

“It’s actually the third time I recruited him, so third time was the charm,” Bormet said. “The the first time I saw him wrestle, he was a sophomore in high school. I was out there recruiting some other guys in Jersey and it was at a sectional tournament, and the first time I saw him wrestling,, it was clear to me he just had some really special talent, actually some really special composure to his wrestling emotionally and psychologically. I could just see it for a young kid. I was so impressed.”

Griffith was close to Michigan at one point, but Bormet finally got his big recruit.

“You know, in that recruiting process, he made an early decision to go to Stanford and then when they were going to drop the program that year, when he was in the portal the first time, we were recruiting him pretty hard … And then Stanford decided to reinstate the program and Shane felt a deep sense of loyalty and I think obligation.

“I respect him even more for the decision he made because I thought it made sense. It was great for wrestling. It was the right thing for Stanford … Then this opportunity came up I kind of thought like, come on, Shane, third time, like, come on, man.” 

Griffith went 87-11 in four varsity seasons for Stanford. He went 28-0 in 2020 before the NCAA Tournament was canceled at the start of the pandemic

“I felt Michigan was the best place for me career-wise for me with the field and sector that I want to get into,” Griffith told Pat Lanni of NJ.com. “On top of it, I think Michigan is in the best place right now for me to give it one last run. They have a great room. They’ve had a few transfers the last few weeks so (the coaching staff) says they’re in title contention, definitely in team title contention so I think that will be a cool environment to go out in and have great guys push me to be the best I can be in my last year.”

With the amount of talent in the room for Michigan, expect Bormet and the Wolverines to be near or at the top of the college wrestling world come 2024.