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Jordan Morant, Ex-Wolverine

Rising junior safety Jordan Morant has entered the transfer portal. Morant played eight games in 2021 and made 1 tackle on special teams.

Morant committed to Michigan in the 2020 class out of Oradell (NJ) Bergen Catholic. At the time he was coming off of a stellar junior season where he made 60 tackles and 4 interceptions. He was an Under Armour All-American and seemed headed for stardom. Unfortunately, he suffered a lower body injury early in his senior year that was rumored at the time to be potentially career-ending and led him to redshirt as a freshman.

By the time Morant got on the field in 2021, he was behind in his development, having been passed up by classmates (R.J. Moten, Makari Paige) and at least one younger player (Rod Moore). He has a lot of physical talent at 6’0″ and 210 lbs., but competition is stiff for playing time at Michigan. It’s unfortunate for him – and for someone like defensive end Braiden McGregor – that injuries during their senior year have hampered their development here at the next level.

Michigan has plenty of safeties left on the depth chart, so this is not a huge factor for the program. It also frees up a scholarship for Michigan, as the Wolverines currently have 88 scholarship guys slotted to be on the roster in the fall and need a few guys to disappear before then.

Eight players from the 2020 class have entered the transfer portal, where Morant joins Andre Seldon (New Mexico State), Darion Green-Warren (Nevada), Cornell Wheeler (Kansas), Dan Villari (Syracuse), Osman Savage (Alabama A&M), William Mohan (Tennessee), and Aaron Lewis (Rutgers).

2022 Season Countdown: #123 Jesse Madden

Name: Jesse Madden
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 198 lbs.
High school: Oakland (CA) Bishop O’Dowd
Position: Quarterback
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #18
Last year: I did not rank Madden. He played in one game.
TTB Rating: N/A

Madden, who is the grandson of the late John Madden, joined Michigan’s program in 2021 with relatively little fanfare. One would think a bigger deal would have been made about the grandson of a Hall of Fame coach joining the team, but I guess everyone was so excited about 5-star freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy that they forgot about Madden.

Madden got a bit of playing time last season in the blowout win over Northern Illinois, but it was just a chance to hand off the ball during a 53-point win. I remember watching his high school highlights and thinking he would be unlikely to threaten the depth chart at quarterback very much. Now during the spring, we know that he has been passed up by freshman Alex Orji and redshirt freshman Davis Warren at the very least, not to mention Cade McNamara, McCarthy, and Alan Bowman.

Prediction: Backup quarterback

2022 Season Countdown: #124 Trevor Andrews

Name: Trevor Andrews
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 218 lbs.
High school: Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood
Position: Linebacker
Class: Redshirt freshman
Jersey number: #42
Last year: I did not rank Andrews. He redshirted.
TTB Rating: N/A

Andrews was a solid high school quarterback who threw for 28 touchdowns as a senior. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he was playing with talent around him, including Michigan linebacker Junior Colson and cornerback Myles Pollard. Instead of continuing on offense, Andrews has made the transition to the other side of the ball, where he’s undersized and inexperienced at linebacker. He’s unlikely to get on the field this fall.

Prediction: Backup linebacker

Visitors: April 15-17, 2022

This is a light visit week/weekend considering a little thing called Easter, but there are still a few players making their way to campus.

2023

Brady Drogosh – QB – Warren (MI) De La Salle: Drogosh is a 6’5″, 200 lb. prospect with offers from Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, and Minnesota, among others. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star and the #47 quarterback. He recently ran a laser-timed 4.61.

Samaje Featherstone – RB – Oakley (CA) Freedom: Featherstone is a 5’9″, 180 lb. prospect with offers from Army and FIU. He’s a 247 Sports 3-star and the #103 running back. Freedom is the alma mater of former Michigan wide receiver Giles Jackson.

Dante Moore – QB – Detroit (MI) King: Moore is a 6’3″, 195 lb. prospect with offers from Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and others. He’s a 5-star, the #3 quarterback, and #5 overall. Michigan is not really pursuing any other quarterbacks in the 2023 class, so they have all their eggs in the Moore basket, so this is an important visit for the Wolverines. Right now the crystal ball leader is Notre Dame. UPDATE: Moore is no longer planning to visit Michigan this week.

Hit the jump for more.

2022 Season Countdown: #125 Paul Jokisch III

Name: Paul Jokisch III
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 230 lbs.
High school: Birmingham (MI) Seaholm
Position: Defensive end/outside linebacker
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Jersey number: #44
Last year: Jokisch was not on the roster.
TTB Rating: N/A

Jokisch is joining the football team for the first time. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s the son of former Michigan wide receiver Paul Jokisch, who played in the mid-1980s before being a fifth round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers. He’s also the nephew of former Wolverine Dan Jokisch and the cousin of former walk-on lineman Dan Jokisch, Jr. So there are a lot of Michigan connections.

For whatever reason, Jokisch III did not play football for his first two years on campus and joined the team this spring. I assume he will have to knock off some rust following the hiatus. You can see below that he played some wingback in high school – where he was a little bit of an awkward fit – and listed at 6’3″ and 230 lbs., he’s undersized to play an edge position at Michigan right now. Perhaps a year or two in the weight room might change that, but he’s very likely just a scout team guy right now.

Prediction: Backup defensive end/outside linebacker