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Visitors: December 15-17, 2023

TRANSFERS

Jaishawn Barham – LB – Maryland: Barham is a 6’4″, 233 lb. prospect who spent the past two seasons with the Terrapins. In the class of 2022, he was a 4-star, the #10 linebacker, and #119 overall. For the 2023 season, he made 37 tackles, 3 sacks, and 1 interception; that 1 interception came in the red zone against Michigan in the second to last week of the regular season. He could be a potential replacement for the graduating Michael Barrett, and perhaps junior Junior Colson could enter the NFL draft, too. Michigan offered him out of high school when he was coming from Baltimore (MD) St. Frances, which is the school that produced Blake Corum, Derrick Moore, Eyabi Okie, and others.

Joey Slackman – DT – Penn: Originally from Commack (NY) Commack, Slackman is a 6’4″, 300 lb. grad transfer from Penn. He made 49 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 2023. The 2024 season would be his sixth year. UPDATE: Slackman is no longer visiting Michigan.

Upton Stout – S – Western Kentucky: Stout visited last weekend. He’s a 5’9″, 185 lb. player who made 29 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 8 pass breakups this past year. Originally from Houston (TX) North Shore, he started off at North Texas before transferring to WKU. Stout made 4 interceptions during his first year at WKU in 2022. Stout will be a redshirt junior in 2024 and could step in at nickel for Mike Sainristil.

2024

Jo’Ziah Edmond – CB – Nappanee (IN) Northwood: Edmond is committed to Michigan (LINK). He’s a 4-star, the #23 cornerback, and #335 overall. This is his official visit.

Lugard Edokpayi – DE – District Heights (MD) Bishop McNamara: Edokpayi is a 6’6″, 230 lb. prospect with offers from Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Tennessee, and Texas A&M, among others. He’s a 4-star, the #22 edge, and #268 overall. This is his official visit, a midweek stay from December 12-14.

Zach Ludwig – LB – South Park (PA) South Park: Ludwig is committed to Michigan. This is his official visit.

Jaden Smith – LB – Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte: Smith is committed to Michigan (LINK). This is his official visit.

C.J. Stokes, Ex-Wolverine

Michigan running back C.J. Stokes has entered the transfer portal. This past season was his second season in the program, and he redshirted, so he will have three seasons to play three seasons. He was a 3-star, the #63 running back, and #797 overall in the 2022 recruiting class out of Columbia (SC) Hammond. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 59 before bumping him up to a 71 at the end of the cycle.

Stokes got a lot of playing time as a freshman. He ran 55 times for 273 yards and 1 touchdown, and he also caught 1 pass for 15 yards, while playing in eleven games. But toward the end of the season, Kalel Mullings switched from linebacker to running back and started to take some snaps. That carried over into the 2023 campaign.

During the current 2023 season, Stokes played in just two games and ran 2 times for 6 yards. He did have injury issues that caused him to miss a chunk of time. Either way, though, he appeared to have lost ground to Mullings.

I liked what I saw from Stokes during his time at Michigan, but he needed to continue getting stronger and working on some fundamental things, such as getting his shoulders square to defenders. I think he can go somewhere and still have a productive career.

Looking ahead to 2024, Blake Corum could technically return (if he uses the COVID year exemption) but will almost certainly be heading to the NFL. Donovan Edwards expressed before the season that he planned to jump to the NFL, but his season did not go according to plan. And Mullings played a good-sized role with 32 carries for 195 yards and 1 touchdown, possibly earning him the chance to be a starter next season. Edwards and Mullings could make a nice 1-2 punch in 2024 if both decide to return.

Potential depth chart for 2024 (according to seniority):

1. Kalel Mullings (RS Sr.)
2. Donovan Edwards (Sr.)
3. Tavierre Dunlap (RS Jr.)
4. Cole Cabana (RS Fr.)
5. Ben Hall (RS Fr.)
6. Micah Ka’apana (Fr.)
7. Jordan Marshall (Fr.)

Stokes is the third member of the 2022 class to transfer, following safety Damani Dent (Charlotte) and linebacker Deuce Spurlock (Florida).

Deyvid Palepale, Wolverine

Lancaster (PA) Manheim Township defensive tackle Deyvid Palepale flipped from USC to Washington. Aside from the Trojans, Palepale also has offers from Auburn, Florida, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.

Palepale is listed at 6’3″ and 305 pounds.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 3-star, 79 grade, #27 DT
On3: 3-star, 87 grade, #79 DL
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade, #35 DT
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #75 DL

Hit the jump for more.

Way-Too-Early 2024 Depth Chart: December 2023

The following depth chart has removed these listed players from the depth chart, even though some could return with a fifth year or COVID year exception:

• QB Jack Tuttle (graduation)
• RB Blake Corum (graduation)
• WR Cornelius Johnson (graduation)
• WR Roman Wilson (graduation)
• OL Karsen Barnhart (graduation)
• OL LaDarius Henderson (graduation)
• OL Myles Hinton (graduation)
• OL Trente Jones (graduation)
• OL Trevor Keegan (graduation)
• OL Drake Nugent (graduation)
• OL Zak Zinter (graduation)
• DT Cam Goode (graduation)
• LB Michael Barrett (graduation)
• LB/RB Kalel Mullings (graduation)
• LB Joey Velazquez (graduation)
• CB Mike Sainristil (graduation)
• CB Josh Wallace (graduation)
• S Quinten Johnson (graduation)
• K James Turner (graduation)

It also assumes that every currently rostered player and every currently committed prospect will be here in 2024, which is obviously not true.

Hit the jump for the depth chart.

Quick Thoughts on the CFP

Here are some quick-hitting thoughts on the College Football Playoff selection.

#1 Michigan: Personally, I don’t necessarily believe Michigan is the best team in the country. I think there are a couple teams that would defeat Michigan 51% or more of the time. That doesn’t mean Michigan can’t win the national championship. It just means things will have to fall their way and/or they’ll have to play up to their potential. But they had to be the choice for #1, because they have shown both a consistent offense and a consistent defense, along with solid special teams. Washington’s defense has not been great, and both Texas and Alabama have had losses. Unfortunately, I think Alabama is one of the teams that I would choose to defeat Michigan at this point, and I would have had Georgia ahead of them, too. This is a tough matchup for the Wolverines.

#2 Washington: Washington has a questionable defense, but their offense has been explosive for most of the year. They average 7.23 yards/play and QB Michael Penix, who used to play at Indiana, has thrown for 4,218 yards, 33 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions this year. And RB Dillon Johnson has run for 1,113 yards and 14 touchdowns. Despite some struggles, winning the games is what matters, and they did that 13 times with zero losses. Their last four games have been one-score wins, including one against a 5-7 Washington State team.

#3 Texas: Texas has an all-around good football program with former 5-star QB Quinn Ewers at the helm. They also have two former Michigan commits in star WR Xavier Worthy and DE Ethan Burke, the latter of whom leads the squad with 5.5 sacks. Their one loss came against Oklahoma, and it was a 34-30 game. Oklahoma finished 10-2 and is ranked #12. The big win was against Alabama early in the season, a 34-24 victory when the Tide were trying to figure out their QB situation. Head coach Steve Sarkisian struggled in stints at Washington and USC, but he’s a coach who worked with Nick Saban as a coordinator, which somehow propelled him to success at Texas. Sometimes spending a bit of time around Saban works magic for some guys, like it did with Jim McElwain, Kirby Smart, Lane Kiffin, and others.

#4 Alabama: First of all, Alabama shouldn’t be in the CFP because they had a loss to Texas. Florida State went 13-0 in a Power Five conference and absolutely should have been the CFP committee’s choice. The Seminoles should be #3 and Texas should be #4. Yes, Florida State QB Jordan Travis broke his leg and is out for the season, but the Seminoles continued to win without him. Winning the games should matter more than a popularity contest. But the CFP knows that a lot of people watch SEC football, and they don’t want to piss off a moneymaking conference. It’s a travesty that those players and coaches have to watch the CFP from afar. That being said . . . I would pick Alabama to beat Michigan, which sucks for the Wolverines. Michigan’s offensive line has struggled this season, and its best lineman, Zak Zinter, is out for the year with a broken leg. Meanwhile, Alabama QB Jalen Milroe (10.4 yards/attempt, 23 passing TDs, 6 INTs, 12 rushing TDs) has taken a giant step forward since the beginning of the year. He can run and throw and presents a lot of issues for Michigan’s defense. I’ll be doing my research and watching more film over the next few weeks, but I do think ‘Bama would beat Michigan more times than not.