Michigan Wolverines news: MSU hires former U-M assistant, plus more

Former Michigan basketball assistant coach Saddi Washington has been officially hired by Michigan State in a move announced by the Spartans on Thursday.

My first thought is congrats to Washington. Saddi invested a ton in the Michigan basketball program over the past decade and was a huge asset to John Beilein and Juwan Howard. Things didn't end how he wanted I'm sure and honestly, I figured that he would be a head coach now.

Dusty May didn't retain Washington when he was hired but Saddi left with class and even though i hate to say it, the Spartans made a good move here. Washington is a great evaluator of talent and he was integral in Michigan's defensive gameplans over the years.

All Michigan basketball fans should wish Saddi good luck, just not the couple of times every year when the Wolverines go up against the Spartans.

Michigan football news nuggets

There's a few recruiting nuggets for Michigan football. The Wolverines have started trending for a couple of blue-chip defensive line prospects in the 2025 class. Read up on that if you missed it on Wednesday. Michigan is also trending up with some other targets in the 2025 class.

Beyond recruiting news, Ron Bellamy talked about why Michigan football is excited about both of its transfer portal additions this spring. Plus, we have a post-spring top-25 poll released by the Sporting News which has the Michigan Wolverines ranked No.8. Here's what Bill Bender wrote about the Wolverines heading into 2024:

"Michigan won the program's first national championship since 1997, and Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers before the Wolverines sent 13 players to the 2024 NFL Draft. That has led to varied predictions for where Michigan will be with first-year coach Sherrone Moore, but the style of play will not change much. New offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell must find a replacement for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and that answer likely will be Alex Orji. McCarthy and Blake Corum combined for 30 rushing TDs last season. That means this is a huge year for Donovan Edwards as the lead back. Moore also hired Wink Martindale as the new defensive coordinator, and that side features first-round talent in defensive linemen Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant, and cornerback Will Johnson. Michigan's opponents had a .624 winning percentage last season. Texas (Sept. 7), USC (Sept. 21), and Oregon (Nov. 2) coming to the Big House and road trips to Washington (Oct. 5) and Ohio State (Nov. 30). A 10-2 or even 9-3 record against that schedule would be playoff worthy. "