Michigan Football: Willie Allen transfer is a win for both sides

Michigan football had another player enter the transfer portal on Friday after not playing a down for the Wolverines.

There’s a narrative out there that Michigan football is experiencing some sort of mass exodus of transfers as another hit the portal in offensive lineman Willie Allen.

The Detroit Free Press was the first to report the news, which was quickly confirmed by a number of other outlets.

It might come as a surprise, but really, if you’re paying attention, it shouldn’t.

Allen was never going to start next season and was a long-shot to even make the two-deep. He was a former four-star recruit and went to LSU before transferring to Lousiana Tech.

From there, he transferred to Michigan football. He committed last fall and joined the program in the spring. However, it was clear that he wasn’t going to get himself on the field and with just one last season to go, why stick it out?

Truly, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Some might say he can stick it out and compete and that’s all well and good. But if this is your last chance to impress NFL scouts, I can understand wanting to play somewhere else.

And for those acting like it’s a big loss for the Wolverines, well, it isn’t.

That’s not an insult or a slight to Allen. I had high hopes when he committed and was hoping he could at least be the swing tackle for the 2021 season.

But after Michigan football took part in spring ball, it was clearly going to be an uphill battle as guys such as Ryan Hayes, Andrew Stueber, Karsen Barnhart, and Trente Jones were all above Allen on the tackle depth chart.

It helps Michigan football too

The reality is that without all of the transfers this offseason, Michigan football would be way over the limit. Sometimes you need some attrition and when you completely revamp the coaching staff outside of the head coach and offensive coordinator, some personnel changes are expected.

Some of the guys who transferred fit Don Brown’s defense better than Mike Macdonald’s and that’s fine. In the case of Allen, Michigan football could now potentially use that scholarship on a defensive tackle transfer such as John Ridgeway of Illinois State who picked up a Michigan offer on Thursday.

And for Allen, it gives him a chance to go somewhere he can start or at least compete for playing time. Not all transfers have to come with an overreaction, this just wasn’t a fit for either side.