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Princeton RB transfer John Volker signs with Michigan football

clayton-sayfieby:Clayton Sayfie•04/21/25•

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John Volker
John Volker was an All-Ivy League honorable mention for Princeton in 2024. (Photo by Princeton Athletics)

Princeton running back transfer John Volker has committed to Michigan Wolverines football. On3’s Pete Nakos reported Monday morning that Volker has signed with Michigan.

Volker visited Ann Arbor Friday and earned an offer while on campus. Michigan added another transfer portal running back in former UMass ball-carrier CJ Hester, who signed with the Maize and Blue on Saturday.

The 6-foot-0, 215-pounder spent four seasons at Princeton (2021-24), graduated and is now headed to Michigan. He redshirted as a sophomore in 2022, meaning he has one year of eligibility remaining.

Appearing in 29 career games, the Fair Haven, N.J., native rushed 245 times for 1,183 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Michigan has two running backs at the top of the depth chart in junior Justice Haynes and sophomore Jordan Marshall, but the Wolverines just lost junior Benjamin Hall, who was expected to be in the mix for snaps, to the portal this month.

Volker led Princeton in rushing in 2024, earning All-Ivy honorable mention recognition. He registered 514 yards and 6 touchdowns on 89 rushes, adding 10 catches for 75 yards. The Tigers posted a 3-7 overall record, 2-5 in Ivy League play.

Volker paced Princeton with 17 missed tackles forced, and he racked up 2.8 yards after contact per carry. Volker is a speedster with high-level athleticism, reporting a 4.40-second 40-yard dash time, 40-inch vertical leap and 565-pound max squat.

“The thing that stands out is he’s a freak athlete,” Mike Fenske of MJF Football Recruiting, an advisor of Volker, told TheWolverine.com. “If you look at his running numbers, his 40, his vertical and his lifting numbers, he would be up there with anybody at this year’s NFL combine. He has a 40-inch vertical and a legitimate 4.4 40. He ran 4.4 in high school. He’s solid at 6-foot, 215 pounds. I think he’s going to surprise a lot of people.

“He gets tough yards,” Fenske said. “He’s going to break tackles. But once he gets space, nobody is catching him. He’s a breakaway type runner.

“His freshman year, he was used as a short-yardage guy. I think he averaged 4.9-5 yards per carry (in his career), but it’d be higher if it weren’t for him being a short-yardage and goal line guy as a freshman. He’s strong and powers his way in. He’s an ideal between the tackles guy, but he has all-purpose skills. He can catch the ball, too.”

In 2023, Volker rushed a career-high 93 times for 447 yards and 7 touchdowns. He registered 96 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries in 2022, redshirting by playing in only four contests, and he recorded 126 yards and 2 scores on 35 attempts as a freshman in 2021.

A Rumson-Fair Haven (N.J.) High product, Volker was an unranked recruit in the 2021 class.

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