As has become the trend in recent weeks, another linebacker has entered the transfer portal. This time it’s rising second-year player Hayden Moore.
Moore was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #94 linebacker, and #1166 overall in the class of 2023. He was originally committed to Nebraska, but the Wolverines swooped in late and notched a commitment from him in mid-December of 2022, just before National Signing Day. He did not play in any games, but he was named Defensive Scout Team Player of the Week four times during his freshman year.
The depth chart at linebacker has been problematic for young players who don’t see a clear path to playing time. Two juniors are slated to start this fall in Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham, and there’s a new linebackers coach in town. At one point Michigan had ten (10!!!) scholarship inside linebackers on the roster when the team only plays two at any given time, which is kind of the equivalent of having 25 scholarship offensive linemen or 15 scholarship wide receivers for an 11-personnel team.
Moore is the third linebacker to enter the portal in the last week, joining classmate Semaj Bridgeman and 2024 signee Jeremiah Beasley. From the 2023 class, Moore joins Bridgeman, CB Cam Calhoun (Utah), WR Karmello English, OG Amir Herring, and CB D.J. Waller, Jr. (Kentucky) as transfers one year after hitting campus.
For the second year in a row, Michigan has looked to the transfer portal to help shore up its kicking position. Last year Michigan landed James Turner from Louisville. This year they have possibly found their answer with Arkansas State transfer Dominic Zvada, who committed to the Wolverines.
Zvada is a 6’3″, 174 lb. junior who had started for the Red Wolves for the past two seasons. He was 17/18 on field goals (the lone miss was from 51 yards) as a freshman in 2022 and 30/31 on extra points (the lone miss was blocked). Then in 2023 he was 17/22 on field goals and 41/41 on extra points. His career long came as a freshman when he hit a 56-yarder.
Zvada was a Lou Groza Award finalist in 2022 (the year Michigan’s Jake Moody won the award) and was on the Lou Groza Award Watch List in 2023.
Arkansas State was Zvada’s only scholarship offer coming out of Chandler (AZ) Valley Christian in 2022.
The head coach of Arkansas State is former Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones.
Rising second-year linebacker Semaj Bridgeman has entered the transfer portal. Bridgeman was a 247 Composite 4-star, the #26 linebacker, and #302 overall in the class of 2023 when he came out of Philadelphia (PA) Imhotep.
Bridgeman did not play in any games last fall as the Wolverines made a run to a national championship. Michigan lost starters Junior Colson and Michael Barrett to the NFL, but their replacements are two transfers: Ernest Hausmann (Nebraska) and Jaishawn Barham (Maryland). Furthermore, the coaching staff is rumored to be looking at adding at least one more linebacker for depth purposes.
Looking back on his time being involved with Michigan, he was disappointed when recruiter George Helow was not retained. Then he was coached by Chris Partridge, who was fired in the wake of the Connor Stalions cheating scandal. Then he was coached by analyst Rick Minter for the remainder of 2023 after Partridge’s firing. And now there are rumors that the coaching staff, including new linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, is trying to recruit over some of the backup linebackers. So one can definitely see why there might be some frustration and a desire to start fresh somewhere else.
Bridgeman is the second linebacker to enter the portal in the last week, joining 2024 signee Jeremiah Beasley. From the 2023 class, Bridgeman joins CB Cam Calhoun (Utah), WR Karmello English, OG Amir Herring, and CB D.J. Waller, Jr. (Kentucky) as transfers one year after hitting campus.
Here are the results of the 2024 NFL Draft for Michigan players:
2024 1st round: J.J. McCarthy – QB – Minnesota Vikings (#10 overall) 2nd round: Kris Jenkins, Jr. – DT – Cincinnati Bengals (#49) 2nd round: Mike Sainristil – CB – Washington Commanders (#50) 3rd round: Junior Colson – LB – Los Angeles Chargers (#69) 3rd round: Blake Corum – RB – Los Angeles Rams (#83) 3rd round: Roman Wilson – WR – Pittsburgh Steelers (#84) 3rd round: Zak Zinter – OG – Cleveland Browns (#85) 4th round: A.J. Barner – TE – Seattle Seahawks (#121) 5th round: Trevor Keegan – OG – Philadelphia Eagles (#172) 7th round: Michael Barrett – LB – Carolina Panthers (#240) 7th round: La’Darius Henderson – OG – Houston Texans (#249) 7th round: Jaylen Harrell – DE – Tennessee Titans (#252) 7th round: Cornelius Johnson – WR – Los Angeles Chargers (#253)
Jenkins joins a Michigan-heavy defense with the Bengals, who spent a first round pick on S Daxton Hill a couple years ago and a second round pick on CB D.J. Turner II in 2023.
The Chargers are coached by former Michigan head man Jim Harbaugh, who drafted Colson and Johnson, both of whom play positions of need for the team. The Seahawks are led by Mike Macdonald, whose lone pick from Michigan (A.J. Barner at #121 overall) didn’t overlap with Macdonald’s one season at defensive coordinator in 2021. Barner transferred from Indiana for the 2023 season. However, former Michigan assistant coach Jay Harbaugh is on Seattle’s staff.
The following players signed undrafted free agent contracts with NFL teams:
Karsen Barnhart – OG – Los Angeles Chargers Trente Jones – OT – Green Bay Packers Braiden McGregor – DE – New York Jets Drake Nugent – C – San Francisco 49ers James Turner – K – Detroit Lions Josh Wallace – CB – Los Angeles Rams
McGregor is the biggest draft snub of these players, in my opinion. At 6’5″ and 257 pounds, I thought he showed adequate enough production and athleticism to get taken somewhere prior to the end of the draft. He was injured as a senior in high school and took a few years just to get back on track. I always thought he should have stayed in college one more year to continue ascending since 2023 was his first year as a starter; perhaps with that previous injury, he thought this might be the best time to try to make a jump for the NFL rather than risking another year in college.
Additionally, three former Wolverine signees were taken in the draft:
1st round: Xavier Worthy – WR – Kansas City Chiefs (#28) 4th round: Erick All – TE – Cincinnati Bengals (#115) 6th round: Joe Milton – QB – New England Patriots (#193)
Worthy signed with Michigan but was unable to enroll, so he transferred to Texas. All played at Michigan for three seasons (2020-2022) before transferring to Iowa in 2023. Milton spent three years in Ann Arbor (2018-2020) and then spent the next three seasons (2021-2023) at Tennessee.
The Minnesota Vikings traded up one spot in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He was taken #10 overall after the Vikings swapped picks with the New York Jets, who moved down to #11 and took Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu.
McCarthy is the highest drafted quarterback to ever come out of Michigan, topping his head coach in college, Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh was taken #26 overall in the 1987 draft by the Chicago Bears. McCarthy is also the first Michigan quarterback to be selected since Jake Rudock (6th round, #191 overall by the Detroit Lions) in 2016.
McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan over 2022 and 2023, with the lone loss coming to TCU in the 2023 College Football Playoff. He threw for 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions from 2021-2023. He set Michigan records for completion percentage in a season (72.3% in 2023) and in a career (67.6%) and won a national championship in 2023.
Of the quarterback-needy teams in the 2024 draft, I felt like Minnesota was the best fit for McCarthy. McCarthy’s main competition to start will be journeyman Sam Darnold, but they have a good cast of weapons that includes standout wide receivers (Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison), an upper-echelon tight end (T.J. Hockenson), and a productive running back (Aaron Jones). I would like to see the Vikings beef up their running game with a complementary running back and/or some offensive line help, but they may address those issues in the draft or in subsequent years.
