Michigan football had a really strong offseason. It started out rocky with the firing of Sherrone Moore, but the Wolverines righted the ship when they hired Kyle Whittingham.
Whittingham, the long-time head coach for Utah, has always been known as a great coach and a tactician. However, he has also proven to be really good at acquiring talent, which is another key aspect of being the head coach, maybe the most important.
That's reflected in a new list put out by ESPN, ranking the top 100 newcomers in college football this season, a list that includes freshman and transfers to new teams.
Michigan football has five newcomers ranked in ESPN's top 100
The top-ranked newcomer shouldn't surprise any Michigan football fans. It's five-star running back Savion Hiter, who is ranked as the No. 24 newcomer for this season. Whittingham has been raving about Hiter. He's expected to make a major impact this season, so that ranking makes total sense.
Right after him is John Henry Daley at No. 25. The elite pass rusher is expected to be 100 percent by the time fall camp rolls around, after suffering a ruptured Achilles in November. He had 11.5 sacks before that happened.
The No. 49 prospect is my favorite addition from the transfer portal, J.J. Buchanan. He's a big target at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds and he was dominant down the stretch last season. He got 215 of his 427 receiving yards last season in the last three games.
Buchanan was one of the most Underrated moves in the portal. He was listed as a tight end at one time, but is a wide receiver. Smith Snowden checked in at No. 63. Snowden, a second-team All-Big 12 cornerback gives the Wolverines three solid corners with Zeke Berry and Jyaire Hill both back.
Salesi Moa, another player added from the portal, also ranks in the top 100 (No. 91). He transferred from Utah after signing with the Utes in the 2026 class. He turned heads this spring, just like Hiter, so Moa should be expected to have an instant impact this season.
It's notable that three of those additions are on offense. It's even more sigficant that two of them are wide receivers. We saw the impact that Andrew Marsh had last season. If Buchanan, Moa, and also Jamie Ffrench can upgrade the wide receiver room as expected, that should boost the development of Bryce Underwood, which will boost Michigan's ceiling in 2026 in a meaningful way.
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