How transfer portal can impact Michigan Football in 2022

Breaking down what kind of impact the transfer portal could have on Michigan football heading into the 2022 season, including a pair of key targets. 

With signing day arriving Wednesday, an important yet underappreciated aspect of this program has not gotten the buzz it deserves. The infamous transfer portal which was debuted in October of 2018 has had many exceptional talents pass through it. With the expansion of NIL and national branding, we’ve seen an extreme increase in the number of players that have entered the portal.

This year alone, we’ve seen players who were once deemed to be the savior of their respected school as well as Heisman contenders use the transfer portal.

While the portal grows and players de-commit and commit elsewhere, we have to raise the question — how does this affect Michigan football?

This affects Michigan football both positively and negatively.

U-M has not made a big splash in the transfer portal at all since its first iteration. The most notable player to come out of the portal in Michigan’s favor so far is Daylen Baldwin who we’ve seen limited action from.

The bulk of transfer portal activity regarding Michigan has come from players transferring out. For example, players like Zach Charbonnet, Giles Jackson, Benjamin St-Juste, and Drew Singleton who were all highly touted recruits left for their own reasons.

Another Michigan team, Michigan State has had huge success with the transfer portal picking up key pieces on both sides of the ball rather than losing talent like Michigan.

What the portal can mean for Michigan football next season and beyond?

With the portal being the new meta, Michigan football needs to stay competitive with transfers to ensure long-term success.

The two clear-cut players the Wolverines are going after are Virginia tackle Victor Oluwatimi as well as Arizona State running back DeaMonte Trayanum who were both brought in on visits recently.

A topic of discussion that’s been brewing lately is the quarterback situation. It’s almost a guarantee that someone transfers out because of how stacked it is, but Michigan football is in a very unique situation. As of right now, Cade McNamara is obviously the starter and will be next year assuming he does not declare for the draft.

While this is all opinion-based and speculation, I do genuinely believe that J.J. McCarthy is fully invested in Michigan. He clearly knew the situation going into Michigan and while he competed for the starting job I think he knew McNamara was going to start regardless of his upside.

It’s rare you see a player like McCarthy so invested in a program and a coach. A perfect example of this is when he eased tension with his recruitment after Michigan’s abysmal season last year.

Other than that, I would not be concerned with any major transfers leaving the program barring any unforeseen issues.

And in short, The transfer portal is going to be a key factor moving forward with this program, and it’s important that Harbaugh is able to adapt and pick up some of their portal targets.

I have full faith in this coaching staff to get it done. Limiting the players that leave the program and maintaining a good mixture of players coming in from both recruiting and the transfer portal can ensure long-term success and keep Michigan at the top of the Big Ten.