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Avery Gach, Wolverine

Franklin (MI) Groves offensive tackle Avery Gach committed to Michigan on Friday afternoon. He picked the Wolverines over offers from Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, and Ohio State, among others.

Gach is a 6’5″, 290 lb. prospect.

RANKINGS
ESPN: 4-star, 80 grade, #34 OT, #296 overall
On3: 3-star, 89 grade, #32 IOL
Rivals: 4-star, 5.8 grade, #14 OT, #145 overall
247 Sports: 4-star, 90 grade, #13 IOL, #196 overall

Hit the jump for more.

C.J. Charleston, Wolverine

Former Youngstown State University wide receiver C.J. Charleston has committed to Michigan out of the transfer portal.

Charleston was an unranked 2019 recruit who committed to the Penguins out of Gates Mills (OH) Gilmour Academy. He redshirted as a freshman and then played in five games during the COVID season, making 7 catches for 112 yards. Then in 2021 he made 16 catches for 147 yards before tearing his Achilles prior to the 2022 season, which caused him to miss the entire year. The 6’0″, 190-pounder returned to play in 2023 and made 33 catches for 467 yards and 4 touchdowns while starting all thirteen games. He has two years of eligibility remaining, so he could be on Michigan’s roster through 2025.

Here you can see him catching a 72-yard touchdown pass on a broken play against Illinois State last year:

Charleston does not have great speed or size, so he looks to be more of an intermediate possession guy. I’m not sure he offers much in the way of skills that Michigan does not already have. But he is another body to add to the room, and I would hope that his experience and time in a college strength and conditioning program will help him play a role as a leader and blocker.

Below are some highlights of the Charleston, who was a high school running back. As a senior in 2018, he ran for 198 yards, 2585 yards, and 49 touchdowns, albeit against some pretty weak competition. You can see his body type and running style lend themselves to the receiver position more, so that may explain why it took him some time to make an impact at YSU.

Hayden Moore, Ex-Wolverine

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.

Dominic Zvada, Wolverine

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.

Semaj Bridgeman, Ex-Wolverine

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.