Michigan Wolverines news: NFL draft day, crystal balls, and more

In our latest Michigan Wolverines news roundup we talk about the NFL draft, more crystal balls for Michigan football, and more. 

The NFL draft is a three-day spectacle and it begins on Thursday night. There’s a chance we could hear the names of some former Michigan Wolverines called tonight, but we’ll definitely see some Michigan football players coming off the board over the next three days.

It seems like eight is a solid number in terms of predicting how many Michigan football players will be drafted. DJ Turner and Mazi Smith are the names to watch tonight. Luke Schoonmaker, Olu Oluwatimi, Mike Morris, Ronnie Bell, Jake Moody, and Ryan Hayes are some of the others.

Michigan football has had eight first-round picks since Jim Harbaugh took over as the head coach and the Wolverines have had a player go in the first round four years in a row and five of the past six.

I don’t know who will have a better chance — Smith or Turner — but they each play a position of need on defense and my hope is that one Wolverine is selected tonight. At least.

More crystal balls for Michigan football

The Michigan Wolverines have been on a roll on the recruiting trail and it seems like that positive trend will continue. 

Michigan football has started trending hard as the favorite for four-star linebacker Jeremiah Beasley, the No. 6 ranked recruit in the state of Michigan according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. Beasley, a linebacker, was projected to Michigan State at one time.

Now, it looks like the Wolverines are the team to beat.

Michigan Wolverines in NBA playoffs

Both former Michigan Wolverines playing in the NBA playoffs won on Wednesday night as Jordan Poole and the Golden State Warriors knocked off the Kings123-116 to game a 3-2 series lead.

Poole wasn’t spectacular for the defending champs but scored 10 points, grabbed three rebounds, and dished out six assists. He was 4-of-12 from the field.

Duncan Robinson is playing for Miami and the Heat finished off the biggest upset of the playoffs knocking off top-seed Milwaukee. Miami did that back in 2020 during the bubble and thanks to Jimmy Butler (and many others) it has happened again.

Robinson has started to get more minutes. He played 15 on Thursday night but connected on just one 3-pointer. Yet, Robinson played an important role in this series win for Miami. He averaged 9.8 points per game in 20 minutes per night and connected on 73.7 percent of his 3s.

The role of the former Michigan Wolverines standout had diminished, but he got another shot at the start of this series and all he did was make 14-of-19 3-point attempts. That’s big time and it’s one reason Miami is moving on to the Eastern Conference semifinals.