60 days until Michigan football: Wolverines struck gold in the NCAA transfer portal last season
There are 60 days until the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines football team takes the field in the Aug. 31 opener against Fresno State. Each day until then, we’ll discuss current Michigan events, the upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.
Michigan has some cold-hard facts it can show prospective transfer student athletes about how much incoming players can make an impact on a great team. Look no further than last season, when the Wolverines had nine incoming transfers join the program, all of whom played critical roles in one way or the other.
The Maize and Blue had transfers lining different positions on the field, with two offensive line starters in center Drake Nugent and left tackle LaDarius Henderson, a starting tight end in AJ Barner, a starting cornerback in Josh Wallace, defensive role players in EDGE Josaiah Stewart and linebacker Ernest Hausmann, a premier place kicker in James Turner and backups in quarterback Jack Tuttle and offensive tackle Myles Hinton, who opened five contests. All nine were in the two-deep of the depth chart.
All told, Michigan’s transfers played 4,165 snaps for a 15-0, national championship-winning team. Pretty impressive.
| Player | Offense / Defense Snaps | Special Teams Snaps |
| OL Drake Nugent | 845 | 0 |
| OL LaDarius Henderson | 639 | 69 |
| TE AJ Barner | 620 | 120 |
| CB Josh Wallace | 616 | 16 |
| EDGE Josaiah Stewart | 349 | 3 |
| LB Ernest Hausmann | 338 | 100 |
| OL Myles Hinton | 287 | 20 |
| K James Turner | 0 | 88 |
| QB Jack Tuttle | 55 | 0 |
Alright, so Michigan’s transfers were able to play early and often, and the team won big (as big as possible). The group was also developed, though, too, which was one of the key points that each player hit on when discussing why they chose the Wolverines.
Barner is the best example of that, going from a solid tight end at Indiana to a fourth-round NFL Draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks after one season with the Wolverines. He wasn’t even the team’s most featured tight end, either, with now-junior Colston Loveland accumulating 649 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns to Barner’s 249 yards and 1 score.
Henderson, meanwhile, also became a draft pick, going in the seventh round to the Houston Texans. Three others — Nugent (Packers), Wallace (Rams) and Turner (Packers) are currently on NFL rosters after going undrafted.
Stewart, Hausmann and Hinton are projected starters for Michigan this fall, and Tuttle is right in the mix for the starting quarterback job after missing spring practices with an injury.
Life is good for the Wolverines’ transfer portal imports.
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