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Brady Norton, Wolverine

Cal Poly offensive lineman Brady Norton committed to Michigan on Monday. He picked the Wolverines over an offer from Ohio State.

Norton was listed at 6’3″ and 275 pounds while at Cal Poly as a redshirt freshman this past season, but commitment reports list him at 6’4″ and 290 pounds. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’s top FCS offensive lineman for the 2024 season.

With limited film from the FCS level, I don’t have a lot of insights into Norton. I’ve watched a few clips here and there, and I’m impressed by his quickness. I think Michigan fans might be impressed by how well he moves once he puts on a winged helmet. We’ll also be waiting to see how he measures up when he arrives on campus. Even if he is indeed 290 pounds, that’s a little bit light to expect much of a contribution upon arrival. He might need a year to comfortably get in the 300-310 pound range to make him a little more playable.

Norton reportedly has long arms, which could make him an option at tackle; I like his feet for the tackle position, but those can also be put to good use if the coaches plan to pull him from the guard spot. Again, the athletic ability is there, but the size might be more of the determining factor for which position he plays.

Norton has played just one season of college football after redshirting in 2023, so he has three years of eligibility remaining. The last FCS transfer Michigan took was cornerback Aamir Hall prior to the 2024 season, and Hall ended up making a couple interceptions and being a de facto starter with Will Johnson missing half the season. I don’t expect such an immediate impact from Norton, but he could be a solid player down the road.

T.J. Metcalf, Wolverine

Arkansas safety T.J. Metcalf, a cousin of NFL wide receiver D.K. Metcalf, committed to Michigan on Monday night after visiting over the weekend. He and his younger brother Tevis are both now Wolverines. (I’ll address Tevis in a separate post.)

T.J. is a 6’1″, 200 lb. safety who made 57 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 3 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups playing a deep safety role for the Razorbacks. He made 2 interceptions against Auburn, which made Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze tear his hair out and publicly call out (former Michigan State) quarterback Peyton Thorne. One interception was a tipped ball that bounced up into the air, and the other was a diving catch. Metcalf’s other interception was against UAB.

Metcalf has a strong build and should be an asset both as a tackler and a coverage guy down the road. While his performances have been up and down, he should get better coaching at Michigan than he got at Arkansas. With Michigan losing both Quinten Johnson and Makari Paige to graduation, along with key backup Wesley Walker, there’s room for immediate help. I would probably pencil in Metcalf as a starter at free safety, though there is potential for Rod Moore to return in 2025, which could shake up the lineup or the depth chart.

Metcalf was a 3-star, the #51 safety, and #541 overall in the class of 2023. Michigan had offered him out of Pinson (AL) Valley, along with Florida State, Miami, Penn State, and Tennessee, among others.

Visitors: December 20-22, 2024

TRANSFER PORTAL

Troy Bowles – LB – Georgia: Bowles is a 6’0″, 220 lb. linebacker who has a pre-existing relationship with linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary. Bowles played in just two games (12 defensive snaps) this past season, his second year in Athens. He would be a redshirt sophomore in the fall. Bowles is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who went to Temple and played eight seasons in the NFL before starting his coaching career. The younger Bowles was a 4-star, the #6 linebacker, and #80 overall in the class of 2023.

Cam Calhoun – CB – Utah: Calhoun, who signed with Michigan in 2023, spent this past season at Utah. With Will Johnson and Jyaire Hill (and D.J. Waller) blocking the way to playing time, he found greener pastures out west. Now he’s in the portal again after making 21 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 interception, and 9 pass breakups as a redshirt freshman for the Utes. UPDATE: Calhoun visited Alabama early in the week and committed to the Crimson Tide.

Fa’alili Fa’amoe – OT – Washington State: Fa’amoe was a 6’5″, 216 lb. strongside end in the class of 2020, and now he’s a 6’5″, 314 lb. offensive tackle who’s supposedly the #1 offensive tackle in the transfer portal, according to 247 Sports. He’s known more as a pass blocker than a run blocker, but Michigan could use some help in pass blocking after seeing right tackle Evan Link post multiple PFF grades of 0.0 in pass blocking during the 2024 season.

DeQuan Finn – QB – Baylor: Finn is a 6’2″, 206 lb. former starter at Toledo who was injured for much of the 2024 season after transferring to Baylor. He is originally from Detroit (MI) King, so playing for his home state Wolverines appears to be a pretty strong pull. An application for a seventh year waiver is in the process, but that will likely be approved, much like it was for Jack Tuttle prior to the 2024 season. Overall, Finn has completed 60.0% of his passes for 7,390 yards, 66 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions; he has also run for 1,907 yards and 27 touchdowns over his six-year career. Granted, those numbers mostly came against MAC opponents from 2019-2023, but he has a lot of time on task as a starting college quarterback.

Justice Haynes – RB – Alabama: Haynes is a 5’11”, 210 lb. runner who was a backup to Jam Miller for the Crimson Tide in 2023. Haynes ran 79 times for 448 yards and 7 touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 99 yards. Haynes was a 5-star back in 2023 and #24 overall in the class. With Michigan losing Donovan Edwards and Kalel Mullings, there’s a void in the offensive backfield. The Wolverines have been able to feed a couple backs pretty consistently over the past several years, so Haynes would make a good 1-2 punch with Jordan Marshall, in my opinion. He’s a strong, downhill runner with some decent agility, though he lacks blazing speed.

Hit the jump for more.

Donaven McCulley, Wolverine

Former Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley has committed to Michigan.

McCulley is a 6’5″, 200 lb. player who started his career at quarterback in 2021 before switching to wide receiver for the past three seasons. He was just the third true freshman quarterback to start a game for Indiana, completing 35/82 passes for 475 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions in 2021; he also ran 64 times for 135 yards and 2 scores. He caught 18 passes for 184 yards and 1 touchdown in 2022 and then made 48 catches for 644 yards and 6 touchdowns as a junior in 2023.

McCulley entered the transfer portal following the 2023 season and had interest in Michigan, but he was convinced to return to Indiana with new head coach Curt Cignetti coming to Bloomington. Unfortunately for McCulley, Cignetti brought some of his own transfers from JMU, who ended up winning out and leaving McCulley mostly on the bench. He caught just 2 passes for 21 yards while playing in four games. If he had continued to play beyond four games, he would have lost the ability to play in 2025 and presumably finished his college career as a backup for the Hoosiers. Instead, he announced he would enter the transfer portal after four games, which allows him to play one more year.

Michigan needs help at the receiver position with top receiver Tyler Morris entering the portal and not much size on the roster. The “big” target on the squad is 6’3″, 182 lb. Amorion Walker, who was injured for much of the 2024 season, so McCulley immediately becomes the biggest target for incoming freshman Bryce Underwood and whoever else Michigan can land in the portal.

McCulley is the third transfer to come from Indiana to Michigan in recent years, joining TE A.J. Barner and QB Jack Tuttle, both of whom joined the Wolverines prior to the 2023 national championship season.

A part of the class of 2021, McCulley was a 4-star, the #24 quarterback, and #223 overall in the class of 2021.

Jayden Denegal, Ex-Wolverine

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jayden Denegal announced he would be entering the transfer portal after three seasons on Michigan’s campus. Denegal did not play in any games in 2024.

Denegal committed to Michigan in the class of 2022 out of Apple Valley (CA) Apple Valley. He was a 3-star prospect in the 247 Composite, the #28 quarterback, and #452 overall. I gave him an initial TTB Rating of 45 (LINK) with questions about his mechanics, accuracy, processing, and overall athleticism.

Denegal redshirt in 2022 behind J.J. McCarthy and then completed 4/5 passes as a backup in 2023, including a garbage time touchdown against Nebraska. This past off-season, quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell said Denegal was the most improved player, but all that improvement led to zero appearances during the 2024 season when Michigan was in dire need of competent quarterback play.

Remaining quarterbacks on the roster include:

• Davis Warren (RS Sr.)
• Alex Orji (Sr.)
• Jadyn Davis (RS Fr.)
• Bryce Underwood (Fr.)
• Chase Herbstreit (Fr.)

We may see some more movement on the depth chart, as most analysts believe Michigan will bring in a grad transfer quarterback to help smooth the transition to college for Underwood. But sooner or later, Underwood is likely to be the starter.