3 Needs Michigan Football should address in transfer portal

Michigan football needs to get more active in the transfer portal and here are three positions of need the Wolverines should address this offseason. 

There’s no question that the transfer portal has changed college football and the construction of rosters all over the country.

Michigan State is a prime example of that. Without the transfer portal, which the Spartans smartly mined for talent, almost like NFL free agency, they wouldn’t have won 11 games or the Peach Bowl. They wouldn’t have beaten Michigan.

While Michigan football actively recruits the transfer portal, as shown by the addition of graduate transfer Victor Oluwatimi, a Rimington award finalist and second-team All-American, it could be more active.

Yet, one thing that made things easier for Oluwatimi to transfer to Michigan was that he was a graduate. Where the Wolverines run into trouble is underclassmen because credits don’t transfer easily and it can be hard to get admitted.

It cost Michigan football some transfers last year that wound up at MSU and other places. Yet, Michigan still needs to use it as a tool for building the roster and while you aren’t always going to hit a home run, it can be essential for building depth.

And with some recent departures to the NFL draft, Michigan football is going to need some additions through the portal and here’s a ranking of the Wolverines three biggest needs.

Safety/DB

Daxton Hill declared for the 2022 NFL draft on Thursday joining Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Chris Hinton, and Josh Ross.

All of those departures were expected and while some held out hope Hill would return to Ann Arbor, it wasn’t likely. The good news is that Michigan football has two talented safeties waiting in the wings in Rod Moore and R.J. Moten.

Moten had 35 tackles and an interception, plus three pass breakups, while Moore notched 33 tackles and had a pass breakup. He was also stellar in pass coverage and physical in the run game.

Moore is going to be a future star and Moten also looks like a quality starter. Plus Michigan is adding Keon Sabb, Zeke Berry, and Damani Dent.

But with Brad Hawkins also graduating, Michigan could use more depth at the position. Brandon Joseph of Northwestern is in the portal and since Northwestern is right there with Michigan in terms of tough academic standards, maybe it would help make a transfer easier to complete.

Either way, he would be a great fit and if not him, another veteran with the ability to play both deep safety and nickel could be valuable, even if he winds up just as a depth option.