Michigan Football is a top contender for transfer DT Jay Toia

Michigan football is taking another step forward in its pursuit of transfer defensive tackle Jay Toia out of USC as he will visit Ann Arbor this weekend.

Things are finally starting to go Michigan football‘s way in the transfer portal. First, the Wolverines landed defensive tackle Jordan Whittley from Oregon State and now, they are a favorite and maybe the favorite to land another Pac-12 defensive tackle — Jay Toia of USC.

Whittley is a graduate transfer and will be entering his seventh season of college football. Toia is a little different. He was a member of the 2021 recruiting class and was recruited hard by Michigan football and defensive line coach Shaun Nua.

Yet, he wasn’t able to take official visits (no recruits were) due to the dead period and he wound up at USC. Toia enrolled early and played well enough to earn a spot on the two-deep.

Then, he suddenly entered the transfer portal this week and offered this explanation on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/JayToia_102/status/1399438116159696910

Toia’s message is pretty interesting. He uses the words re-evaluate and it makes you think he could even return to USC if that’s where he wanted to be after his visits. Who knows?

But as far as those official visits are concerned, Michigan football is getting one of them as Brice Marich of the Michigan Insider reported on Wednesday:

As Toia mentioned, Miami, UCLA, and Utah are some other schools that he wants to consider and is likely to visit now that recruits can be on campus again.

Breaking down Michigan football’s chances

By all accounts, Michigan feels like the favorite here. Nua has a really good relationship with Toia and there were multiple times when it felt like Michigan might be able to flip Toia during the recruiting process.

Toia is listed at 6-foot-3, 325 pounds by Rivals, and has drawn comparisons to B.J. Raji. And with the way he played at USC in the spring, he should be able to contend for immediate playing time next season in Ann Arbor, especially with the depth needed at defensive tackle.

Here’s the latest from Rivals’ Mike Farrell:

"“Michigan continues to be a strong player for Jay Toia due to the USC defensive tackle’s relationship with coach Shaun Nua. Aside from Michigan, some of the other schools that are in touch with Toia are Oregon, Utah, Arizona State, Miami, Oregon State, and Baylor. After impressing during his first spring practice and a full allotment of eligibility remaining he will be a major defensive pickup for a program, and he appears to be a must-get for the Wolverines.”"

That’s the kind of impact player Michigan has needed and you rarely get at this stage in the transfer portal.

Long term, he would be a home run and likely a multi-year starter at nose tackle. He was a top-200 recruit in the 247 sports composite rankings and landing him in addition to Whittley, Rayshaun Benny, George Rooks, and Ike Iwunnah would be a really impressive haul.