5 realistic transfer portal options for Michigan Football

Michigan football has been active in the transfer portal and here are five realistic targets for the Wolverines, including some that have already been offered. 

If there is one thing we have learned this week, it’s that Michigan football is going to be active when it comes to the transfer portal.

In fact, if you look at the 247 sports 2023 transfer portal rankings, Michigan football is ranked No. 1 after the addition of LaDarius Henderson from Arizona State. Henderson checked in as a four-star prospect in the transfer portal rankings and is ranked 12th overall.

Sounds like another really solid addition for Michigan football but he won’t be the last. It seems as though the Wolverines are looking to add more than just 2-3 transfers as they do most years.

This would be good news and the vibes around the program are that players want to come here and why not? It certainly has worked out for Olu Oluwatimi. Eyabi Okie also transferred just before the season and his stock is on the rise. He sounds like he will return next season.

Michigan football is winning and churning out NFL draft picks at a really high rate. So I would expect more additions in the coming weeks and here is a look at five transfer portal targets that are realistic options (some have already been offered).

 Fentrell Cypress, CB (Virginia)

Fentrell Cypress is ranked as the No. 1 player in the transfer portal by 247 sports. He’s a 6-foot, 180-pound corner that posted 14 pass breakups this season.

You’d think that Oluwatimi would be a selling point since he just came from Virginia and with DJ Turner likely headed to the NFL, Michigan football will have a starting position open.

Ohio State is also in the mix and the Buckeyes are the favorite according to the On3 prediction machine but Michigan football is going after Cypress according to The Wolverine and this is a name to watch.

It could be a Michigan-Ohio State battle and I don’t know about anyone else, but I’d want to play on Michigan’s defense right now, not Ohio State’s, although there will be no shortage of competition for the top defender currently on the market.

Ray Davis, RB (Vanderbilt)

We don’t know if Blake Corum is going to come back next season but after a stellar 2022 campaign and the relatively short shelf life of running backs, it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see him move on in favor of the NFL draft.

There have been rumors about that happening for a month or so and there was actually some buzz about Wisconsin standout Braelon Allen transferring to Michigan football.

On Tuesday, Allen announced on Twitter that he was going to stay at Wisconsin. But Michigan football could still use another running back and an ideal option could be Ray Davis.

The former Vanderbilt running back had 1,000 yards last season in the SEC along with five touchdowns and 4.8 yards per carry.

Surely, behind Michigan’s offensive line, he could have another stellar season, and at 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, he could be a perfect complement to Donovan Edwards.

Another thing is that Davis is a graduate transfer so there wouldn’t be any worries about admissions. Jesse Minter also coached at Vanderbilt in 2021.

Josh Cuevas, TE (Cal-Poly)

Michigan football took a couple of hits in the tight end room this week as Erick All and Louis Hansen both entered the transfer portal.

While Colston Loveland is poised to take over the full-time starting job next season, depth is always a good thing especially when you use tight ends as much as Michigan does.

So the offer on Tuesday to Josh Cuevas, a 6-foot-5, 245-pound tight end from Cal-Poly made a ton of sense. He caught 58 passes for 663 yards last season and had six touchdown receptions. He is also a solid run blocker and would fit perfectly in Michigan’s offense.

Arizona State, Nevada, Utah, Washington, and Illinois have all offered the recruit out of Los Angeles who earned third-team All-Big Sky and was an FCS Freshman All-American.

Obviously, Cuevas would be a solid fit and seems like a perfect two-way tight end to replace Luke Schoonmaker since he’s headed to the Senior Bowl and likely the NFL after this season.

Josaiah Stewart, EDGE (Coastal Carolina)

Michigan football has been spectacular at churning out pro-level edge prospects. Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo are the names many know.

But Mike Morris and Taylor Upshaw are both going to be playing in the NFL next season and Morris is likely going to be picked by the end of the second day (of the draft) at least.

With Eyabi Okie, Derrick Moore, Braiden McGregor, and Jaylen Harrell, the pass rush is still going to be solid next season, but you can never have enough edge rushers.

Michigan football seems to take that view because the Wolverines joined the mix with Josaiah Stewart, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound EDGE on Tuesday. He was second-team All-Sun Belt after 41 tackles, 3.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries, and a total of 40 pressures in 2022.

It’s interesting that Michigan is offering more underclassmen than usual due to some of the admissions issues in the past of getting all credits to transfer. Stewart and Cuevas would both have multiple years of eligibility, while Davis and Cypress are graduate transfers.

Jaeden Gould, CB (Nebraska)

It seems like Michigan football is after more depth in the secondary. Part of the reason for that could be that the 2023 class has just one defensive back committed.

It’s strange for a team that has won 25 of 27 games and back-to-back Big Ten championships to have issues on the recruiting trail but the 2023 class is still underwhelming.

So, if Michigan doesn’t add a more veteran corner, it could turn back to a player it’s familiar with that ended up at Nebraska in former four-star DB Jaeden Gould.

Gould is coming off his freshman season, which is good for the admissions process, and while he didn’t play a lot at Nebraska, he was right around the two-deep as a freshman and made a solid impression. He was in line to contribute more next season too before entering the portal.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder could be also a cornerback or a safety. Michigan was the favorite at one point for Gould before Nebraska was able to win him over late in the process.

It seemed like Michigan lost interest a little but if the Wolverines are looking for a multi-year contributor at defensive back in the portal, Gould could be a fit, especially with his previous interest in the program.