The college football transfer portal has been open for three days now. Since that time, thousands of players have entered the portal, including some Michigan football starters. Many players in the portal have already visited multiple programs, and many have made commitments. Indiana, for example, already has eight transfer portal commits, headlined by Michigan State star wide receiver Nick Marsh. Michigan, on the other hand, has zero. Should fans be worried about this?
Why Fans Should be Worried
In today's college football, things move fast. Massive NIL offers are being made to players by the hour, and those offers can be very enticing. Many players in the transfer portal say that they're planning on visiting multiple schools, only to commit on the first or second visit. And with the portal only being open until January 16th, players are on a tight schedule.
A handful of top targets are already off the board, and many more likely will be before Michigan has a real chance. The unfortunate fact is, this staff was put into an unfortunate position due to the Sherrone Moore firing. Players tend to know before the end of the season if they're going to enter the portal, and agents will talk to schools to gauge interest before the portal is open. Because Michigan has a whole new coaching staff, they're playing well from behind.
While it appears that Michigan has hired an elite coaching staff, many players are unfamiliar with many of the coaches. Utah isn't necessarily a big national program, and they typically don't compete for the best recruits or transfers. That means that the coaches may not be familiar with the top players in the portal, and the players may not be familiar with Kyle Whittingham and co.
Why Fans Shouldn't be Worried
This is still Michigan, and the Wolverines are in a much better spot than they were a year ago. This new coaching staff led by Kyle Whittingham is elite, and there's no doubt that they're going to get the best out of their players. Whittingham had tons of success at a smaller program in Utah, and now has the resources to compete with anyone.
Michigan also has more clarity now, as quarterback Bryce Underwood publicly posted that he will be returning to the Wolverines. It's hard to imagine that many top targets weren't waiting to see if Underwood would be returning, and he elevates the potential of the program going forward.
Along with Underwood's return, many top Utah players have entered the portal, and it's difficult to envision them not giving Michigan a serious look. That group is headlined by All-American EDGE John Henry Daley. The Wolverines should find success in recruiting the Utah transfers, which at least gives this portal class a very solid floor and elite potential.
At the end of the day, this isn't going to be the Michigan football of the past two years. This is going to be a much better-coached program, and that should be obvious to players taking a look at the Wolverines. Likewise, Michigan donors appear to be fired up with the hire of Whittingham, which should allow the Wolverines to make competitive offers to anyone in the portal. These next few days are going to be critical.