Michigan Football: Analyzing two more transfers and a 2023 commitment

Michigan football keeps dominating in the transfer portal and added EDGE Josaiah Stewart of Coastal Carolina as well as Drake Nugent of Stanford and a new 2023 pledge too. 

The 2023 recruiting class of Michigan football might not be ranked as highly as Wolverines fans wanted, but the transfer portal ranking of No. 1 overall will do just fine.

It’s a ranking that could certainly change as things progress, however, you can’t deny that Michigan football is an early winner thanks to a haul that got even more impressive with two more transfer portal additions.

The first was from Coastal Carolina edge rusher Josaiah Stewart. The 6-foot-2, 230-pounder earned a number of Sun-Belt second and third-team honors after 3.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss for Coastal in 2022.

In 2021, Stewart was even better with 12.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss, which is why he was the preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year. Stewart is ranked as a four-star recruit in the transfer portal and is the No. 24 overall player according to 247 sports. He’s also ranked as the No. 2 EDGE.

With Mike Morris and Taylor Upshaw likely headed to the NFL after this season, it was a good move and a pass rush that features Derrick Moore, Stewart, Eyabi Okie, Jaylen Harrell, and Braiden McGregor is pretty enticing.

Another experience O-line starter

Not long after Stewart announced his commitment, Michigan football got another transfer on the offensive line as former Stanford starting center Drake Nugent committed.

A former three-star recruit, Nugent has started 24 consecutive games for Stanford at center and earned Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 this season. He’s also the third guy with double-digit starts in the Pac-12 transfer to U-M.

Michigan will have a starting center job open with Olu Oluwatimi departing after this season, but it’s not a guarantee that Nugent will win it with Greg Crippen and Raheem Anderson also in the mix.

Nugent is another quality offensive lineman though and the Wolverines have shown a penchant for playing 6-7 guys regularly when it’s deserved, so I’m sure the playing time will figure itself out. It does seem like some guys are heading for the NFL though and that’s understandable.

The offensive line depth was also tested this season and the fact there the Wolverines have had so much talent across the board made for little dropoff when there were injuries. Therefore, it’s smart to invest in talent there once again.

Nugent is the No. 3 interior offensive lineman in the transfer portal and got an 89 grade, which is right below what’s needed for a four-star designation, but still, another proven starter won’t hurt an offensive line that should be among the best in college football again in 2023, especially after the addition of Nugent’s former teammate, Myles Hinton on Saturday.

3-star safety added in the 2023 class

As if two transfer portal commitments weren’t enough, Michigan football added another piece to the 2023 recruiting class in three-star defensive back D’Juan Waller out of Youngstown.

Waller is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, and ranked 688th overall in the 2023 class according to the On3 consensus rankings. He’s ranked 23rd in the state of Ohio and chose Michigan football over Kentucky and West Virginia. He was committed to Toledo at one point.

A late riser, Waller is another solid addition to the Wolverines 2023 class which is now ranked 20th according to the 247 team composite rankings after their 20th commitment. Seven of the 20 are four-star prospects.