Central Michigan defensive end Mike Danna has announced that he intends to transfer to Michigan for his fifth and final year of eligibility as a grad transfer. Grad transfers can play immediately.
Danna was a 2015 graduate of Warren (MI) De La Salle, the school that has also sent Shane Morris, Jared Wangler, True Wilson, and others to Michigan. He was listed at 6’3″ and 230 lbs. at the time, coming in to college as a 3-star, the #95 weakside end, and #2005 in the 247 Composite rankings. Central Michigan’s website listed him at 6’2″ and 257 lbs. last year.
Danna was a Pro Football Focus All-American in 2018, finishing the year with 66 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 3 fumble recoveries. He made 54 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks in 2017. He also had 31 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2016. He may have been a MAC player, but he has racked up 151 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, and 15 sacks in his career.
This is why he can vertical jump 42 inches. Another Highlight from Mike Danna…..#FireUpChips #19yearsold pic.twitter.com/LxcJsyfwlp
— CMU Strength (@ChippewaStrong) July 27, 2017
I can’t quite tell how much is on that bar up above, but that looks to be at least 600 lbs.
Danna provides an upgrade to Michigan’s defensive line after they lost three to four starter-level players from last year, including Chase Winovich, Rashan Gary, Bryan Mone, and Aubrey Solomon. The Wolverines addressed the issue with a big class of defensive linemen in the 2019 class, but the number of college-impact edge guys is low or maybe non-existent.
Michigan now has 87 scholarships allotted for 2019, so at least two more players will have to depart prior to the season (LINK).
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Waiting for the TTB grade…
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I haven’t really watched him play at CMU, so I won’t be giving him a grade.
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Exciting to see.
I’ll be interested to hear what others think of Danna’s upside in the Big Ten. Is he more likely to be a backup or a quality starter? All-conference potential?
Regardless, from my position-flexible perspective I see this as an important addition. Assuming he’s at worst a quality rotational backup at WDE, it gives some security and flexibility to the DL as a whole. Uche doesn’t have to be pushed to be an every-down player and can maintain his pass-rush focused role without wearing down. Paye and Hutchinson can focus on SDE and continue to rotate in at DT in passing downs. Maybe Villain emerges and Hutchinson moves inside full-time.
Kemp, Dwumfour, Jeter are still critical pieces but the pressure for Smith or Hinton to contribute is slightly less.
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Love the addition. Even if not a starter, he’s welcome depth, and THIS is what we need out of the stupid portal!
Welcome young man, and GO BLUE!
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Would have liked to see us land someone who was more of a pure DT, but possibilities there were limited. If he improves our pass rush, he’s definitely worth the spot.
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Clearly, he’s not skipping leg day.
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