Transfer portal season is nearly over, and Michigan football has made some pretty significant upgrades to its roster. The Wolverines have created what should be one of the most dynamic and explosive offenses in the Big Ten, and possibly the country, and brought in a lot of talented players. Michigan completely revamped its special teams unit, and it looks like a true contender in the Big Ten.
However, there are still some spots of uncertainty. While Michigan football brought in a lot of talented transfers, they also lost a few players they would have liked to retain, such as running back Justice Haynes, linebacker Cole Sullivan, and cornerbacks Jayden Sanders and Elijah Dotson. With that being said, let's look at the three positions with the most uncertainty as the roster reaches its final form for the 2026 season.
1. Linebacker
This is the most concerning position on the roster. Michigan football is losing its top three linebackers to graduation and the NFL in Jimmy Rolder, Jaishawn Barham, and Ernest Hausmann, and the player slated to be the top linebacker in 2026, Cole Sullivan, opted to transfer to Oklahoma.
While Michigan has some talented youngsters, such as freshman Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, the Wolverines don't have any truly established linebackers yet. It's possible that a big name could still find their way to Michigan with a last second portal entry, but the Wolverines might have to prepare to head into 2026 with an unproven linebacker group.
Cole Sullivan was arguably the biggest transfer loss for Michigan, and admissions seemingly blocking Cal transfer Cade Uluave was another tough blow. The Wolverines have added a handful of solid depth pieces at linebacker through the portal, including North Dakota State transfer Nathaniel Staehling, but it's unclear whether that will be enough to carry them through a tough 2026 schedule.
2. Safety
Michigan did a great job of managing the cornerback position, with the retention of Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry, along with the addition of Utah cornerback Smith Snowden. Safety, on the other hand, seems to be more up in the air. The Wolverines did retain Mason Curtis and Rod Moore, but both are recovering from injuries.
With Rod Moore, there's a lot of unknown. Moore could return to All-American levels of play and elevate this Michigan team, or he could deal with injury issues and play a much smaller role. Moore has basically been hurt for the past two seasons, making it impossible to predict his impact.
There was hope that BYU All-American safety Faletau Satuala would join Jay Hill in Ann Arbor, but that didn't happen. The Wolverines also lost two safeties to the portal, in Brandyn Hillman and TJ Metcalf. Michigan did add Memphis transfer Chris Bracy. Heading into 2026, Michigan looks like it will be thin at safety. This will definitely be a position group to watch.
3. Tight End
Ever since the arrival of Jim Harbaugh, the tight end position has been a massive strength for Michigan. In 2025, however, that strength became a glaring weakness. Michigan's tight ends battled injuries and inconsistent play, which really harmed the offense. It was believed that Michigan might be aggressive in the portal to bring in an established tight end, but the Wolverines did not do that.
Michigan did add JJ Buchanan from Utah, who was listed as a tight end yet spent most of his time lined up as a receiver. Buchanan is a dynamic player who will likely play a big role for Michigan in 2026, but he was listed as a wide receiver by the university.
With Marlin Klein graduating, that means that Michigan's top two tight ends in 2026 will likely be Hogan Hansen, who missed most of 2025 with injuries, and Zack Marshall, who announced on social media that he underwent surgery in early January.
It will be interesting to follow these position groups, as their level of success in 2026 could define Michigan's season. Stay tuned for any updates or last minute portal additions to any of these groups.