Eleven newcomers to make first impression at 2024 Michigan football spring game

The 2024 Michigan Wolverines football team will take the field for its spring game Saturday at The Big House (noon ET on FOX). The event will give fans an early look at the squad, including 11 players who will be making their first public impressions in winged helmets. The Maize and Blue have two transfers and nine early enrollee freshmen. Here’s a rundown of those newcomers.

TRANSFERS

Junior LB Jaishawn Barham

A Baltimore St. Frances Academy product, Barham played two seasons at Maryland, starting 23 games and earning All-Big Ten honorable mention each year. He’s a projected starter at inside linebacker, along with junior Ernest Hausmann.

Height/weight: 6-3, 248
Jersey number: 1
Stats at Maryland: 37 tackles, 3 TFL, 3 sacks in 2023; 58 tackles, 6.5 TFL, 4 sacks in 2022
Quotable: “Jaishawn is a super-talented young man. He’s got some Big Ten experience from playing at Maryland. The biggest thing that kind of goes back to the culture piece: He fits us as a young man and the way he goes about his day-to-day as a professional. The big thing is him trying to learn the defense. We’ve thrown him in, and we didn’t throw him in the shallow end — we threw him into the deep end. He’s been running with the first team and he has a standard he knows he has to live up to. He’s done a good job.” — Michigan linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary

Graduate OL Josh Priebe

The Niles, Mich., native was a team captain last season at Northwestern. He started 29 games with the Wildcats, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors last season. He’s been repping at left guard this spring.

Height/weight: 6-5, 305
Jersey number: 68
Stats at Northwestern: His 61.4 overall PFF grade ranked tied 18th among Big Ten guards last season (minimum 500 snaps). He allowed 17 pressures and 4 sacks in pass protection.
Quotable: “There’s more time invested certainly with the practices — they’re longer, there’s more hitting, there’s more physical contact. And I think that’s one of those things that is, I know, going to make me better as a player. The practices here, I can already tell, are going to make the games feel a lot easier.” — Priebe on Michigan practices compared to Northwestern

FRESHMEN

LB Jeremiah Beasley

The Belleville (Mich.) High product participated in Michigan’s postseason practices at the end of the 2023 campaign, and he’s hit the ground running.

Height/weight: 6-1, 230
Jersey number: 23
Quotable: “Obviously, the young kids, Cole Sullivan and Jeremiah Beasley, guys that should be in high school and they’re getting quality reps at spring practice — very, very excited about those two guys. I think they’re going to be two high-end guys that are going to continue the tradition that we’ve had here of solid linebackers that are very, very productive. Been very happy with those guys.” — Brian Jean-Mary

QB Jadyn Davis

Out of Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day, Davis was the highest-rated recruit in Michigan’s 2024 class. He’s in the mix along with several others at quarterback, with the Wolverines not having a clear-cut starter at the moment.

Height/weight: 6-1, 203
Jersey number: 2
Quotable: “Jadyn is going to have an opportunity, just as the others, to become a starter at the University of Michigan. And if he’s ready to do that, he’ll be awarded with that opportunity. He embodies what you want in a quarterback — leadership, command, the care factor, the ‘it’ factor. His personality is infectious. It’s good to have a guy like that.” — Michigan offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell

OL Blake Frazier

The son of former Michigan center Steve Frazier (1995-99), Blake attended Austin (Texas) Vandegrift, a powerhouse program. He’s one of just six scholarship tackles on Michigan’s roster, putting him in the mix by default, and his position coach said he’s been “impressive.”

Height/weight: 6-6, 275
Jersey number: 77
Quotable: “Blake Frazier has been impressive so far in his limited time on campus.” — Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome

OL Jake Guarnera

One of three scholarship centers on Michigan’s roster (along with seniors Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson), Guarnera — who hails from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. — should get some playing time in the spring game.

Height/weight: 6-4
Jersey number: 308
Quotable: “You can kind of simplify things and say, hey, let’s start at the baseline of zero, whereas last year we were able to start at the baseline of much, much higher because every guy was a returning starter who had 30 games under their belt. I don’t think that’s been a thing that’s necessarily better than what we’ve done in the past, it’s just different because the room is different. I think maybe, if anything, it’s helped some of the young guys like Blake and Jake, who are coming in and maybe taking a bit more time on some of those lower foundational pieces we didn’t have to in the room in years past.” — Grant Newsome on being a first-time offensive line coach for a group that doesn’t have returning starters

TE Hogan Hansen

A four-star recruit out of Bellevue (Wash.) High, Hansen was the No. 327 overall player in the class, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

Height/weight: 6-5, 230
Jersey number: 81

EDGE Dominic Nichols

The Ijamsville (Md.) Oakdale product is one of three EDGEs in the class — Devon Baxter and Lugard Edokpayi being the others — but the only early enrollee. Baxter was a four-star prospect.

Height/weight: 6-5, 251
Jersey number: 33

DB Jacob Oden

One of the top leaders of Michigan’s recruiting class, Oden has an opportunity to jump into the two-deep of the depth chart as a freshman. Currently, the Wolverines have just six scholarship safeties. One of them (senior Rod Moore) is injured, and another (junior Zeke Berry) is taking some reps at nickel. Oden is also versatile himself.

Height/weight: 6-1, 206
Jersey number: 5

TE Brady Prieskorn

A four-star and the No. 150 overall recruit in the country per the On3 Industry Ranking, Prieskorn hails from Rochester (Mich.) Adams. He could push for playing time as a reserve this season.

Height/weight: 6-6, 245
Jersey number: 22

LB Cole Sullivan

Regarded as a high-level athlete that could play EDGE if needed, Sullivan was a four-star recruit and the nation’s No. 289 overall prospect, per the On3 Industry Ranking.

Height/weight: 6-3, 215
Jersey number: 18
Quotable: “I think, to me, the thing I look forward to is seeing a Cole Sullivan, where he’s going to end up at the end of his career here, because he’s got a bright future. You just look at his build and how he moves and all that stuff — I’m saying through the weight room and all that stuff when they’re doing all the testing and things like that — he’s got an exciting future, and it’s fun to sit down and talk to him.” — Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale