Two Michigan standouts land on On3's All-Transfer Team
On3’s Jesse Simonton released his 2023 All-Transfer Team, honoring the top imports across college football this season, and two Michigan Wolverines football starters made the cut. Michigan, Colorado, Miami, Florida State and Oregon were the only five schools to have multiple representatives.
Graduate center Drake Nugent (Stanford) and graduate cornerback Josh Wallace (UMass) landed on the All-Transfer Team for Michigan.
Simonton wrote that Miami’s Matt Lee, who joined the Hurricanes from UCF, was the best transfer center, but Nugent checked in just behind him and still among the top five offensive lineman transfers in the nation.
RELATED
• Michigan opponent scout: Observations from watching Alabama’s 34-24 loss to Texas
• Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy a top-10 pick in ESPN mock draft
Nugent isn’t just one of the best transfers in the country, he’s a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, handed to the nation’s top center. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree, as selected by both the coaches and media, after starting all 13 games for the Big Ten champion Wolverines this season.
The 6-2, 301-pounder’s 80.5 overall PFF rating ranks seventh among all FBS centers with 550-plus snaps. His 84.1 mark in run blocking slots third and his 77.2 grade in pass protection checks in 27th. Nugent allowed 10 pressures and 4 sacks this season.
Wallace, meanwhile, made the leap from UMass to Michigan, appearing in all 13 tilts with nine starts for the Maize and Blue. The 6-0, 190-pound Bowie, Md., native was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection by both the coaches and media.
Wallace registered 26 tackles, including 2 behind the line of scrimmage, 4 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
“The senior locked down one half of the field for the Wolverines in 2023, ranking as Top 20 corner on the [season] per PFF,” Simonton wrote. “He allowed just 17 catches on 34 targets (impressive 50-percent rate) and zero touchdowns.”
Nugent and Wallace were two of nine transfers that Michigan brought in ahead of the 2023 season. They were joined by graduate kicker James Turner (Louisville), senior tight end AJ Barner (Indiana), graduate quarterback Jack Tuttle (Indiana), junior EDGE Josaiah Stewart (Coastal Carolina), senior offensive lineman Myles Hinton (Stanford), sophomore linebacker Ernest Hausmann (Nebraska) and graduate offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State).
Nugent (13), Wallace (nine), Barner (eight), Henderson (eight) and Hinton (five) have combined to make 43 stats for Michigan this fall.
The Wolverines are in the College Football Playoff for the third-straight season, thanks in part to contributions from their transfers. They’ll take on Alabama in the Rose Bowl semifinal, with a national championship game appearance hanging in the balance.
