Michigan Football: Wolverines eyeing defensive ends in transfer portal

Michigan football has said its going to be more active in the transfer portal and so far, the Wolverines have expressed interest in a lot of players.

Nothing has come of out it so far, but Michigan football has been active with players in the transfer portal as the Wolverines try to address some key needs heading into 2021.

A big area of focus so far for Michigan has been the defensive line and specifically, defensive tackle, which has been a need for the program for what seems like a couple of years now.

It’s obvious that the Wolverines need to address some depth at defensive tackle and even if Michigan football doesn’t land a big-time player there, a couple of bodies need to be added.

At defensive end, it looks like U-M is also actively seeking to add some players, following the departure of Kwity Paye, who is likely going to be a first-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

Aidan Hutchinson will be back for the Wolverines at defensive end, but starting opposite him could be someone not even on the roster right such as Illinois defensive end Owen Carney Jr.

And according to EJ Holland of Rivals (subscription required) Michigan has been in contact.

Carney is 6-foot-3, 260 pounds and has eight sacks including five during the 2020 season. The former three-star recruit also had 11.5 tackles for loss and was named Second-Team All-Big Ten.

Right there, Carney would be worth adding since the Wolverines didn’t place a single player on the All-Big Ten squad and that was another sign of how bad things have gotten.

Yet, injuries to Hutchinson and Paye didn’t help. Cameron McGrone, who declared for the draft also missed significant time due to injury.

Another one of Michigan’s top recruits at the position, Braiden McGregor, tore his ACL. He was supposed to make an early impact with the Wolverines but wasn’t really healthy this season.

By 2021, the idea was probably that he would be ready to contribute on a similar level to Hutchinson, but that will be a big question.

Connor Murphy is another name to watch according to Holland ($). He played at USC and entered the portal recently. He was recruited by Michigan out of high school, so who knows?

The interesting thing is that the Wolverines clearly want to add some pieces at defensive end, as badly as they do at defensive tackle and that will be something to watch going forward.