Tag: Ex-Wolverines

George Johnson III, Ex-Wolverine

Stuart (FL) Martin cornerback George Johnson III announced on Wednesday that he was entering the transfer portal.

Johnson was a high school dual-threat quarterback who was bound for either wide or defensive back in college. He was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #60 athlete, and #876 overall in the class of 2019. I initially gave him a TTB Rating of 73 (LINK) before eventually giving a 58 (LINK).

Johnson redshirted in 2019, did not play in any games in 2020, and played in three contests this past season, making just 1 tackle. In the off-season some Michigan receivers said he was the most difficult cornerback to shake, but that didn’t translate to the game field for whatever reason. It was always going to be tough for him to climb the depth chart at Michigan, considering the position switch and the other talent. But it didn’t help that Michigan signed a bunch of defensive backs in this 2022 class, at least a couple of whom would probably jump ahead of him pretty quickly.

Joining RB Zach Charbonnet (UCLA), OG Nolan Rumler (Kent State), LB Anthony Solomon (Arizona), WR Giles Jackson (Washington), OG Zach Carpenter (Indiana), and LB Charles Thomas (unknown), Johnson is the seventh player from the 2019 class to transfer.

Darion Green-Warren, Ex-Wolverine

Second-year player Darion Green-Warren is transferring. Green-Warren was a 4-star, the #14 cornerback, and #190 overall in the 2020 class. He was also a participant in the All-American Bowl.

Green-Warren transferred from Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei to Harbor City (CA) Narbonne before his senior year, and he was a tough, productive corner at both spots. He was never the most athletic player, but he was supposed to be competitive and technical. He played pretty well when we saw him on a national stage in the All-American Bowl, but the athleticism wasn’t anything special.

I thought Green-Warren would play well at Michigan because he had some similar traits to other successful Wolverine cornerbacks, but cornerbacks coach Mike Zordich left and so did defensive coordinator Don Brown. Green-Warren never recorded any statistics at Michigan, and I’m not sure he ever played in a game.

Green-Warren is the fifth player from the 2020 class to transfer, joining LB Osman Savage (Alabama A&M), DE Aaron Lewis (Rutgers), LB Cornell Wheeler (Kansas), and LB William Mohan (Tennessee).

Michigan currently has 94 scholarship players slated to be on the roster in 2022, so they still need to shed nine players in order to get down to the limit.

Anthony Solomon, Ex-Wolverine

Third-year player Anthony Solomon has entered the transfer portal. He was a 4-star, the #14 outside linebacker, and #223 overall in the 2019 class.

Solomon was recruited out of Fort Lauderdale (FL) St. Thomas Aquinas as a Viper in Don Brown’s defense, and that made sense with him at 6’0″ and 190 lbs. He bulked up to 6’1″ and 215 lbs. by the 2021 season, but it wasn’t enough to do any more than play in five games, almost entirely on special teams. He made 1 tackle in 2019, 5 tackles in 2020, and 0 in 2021. I ranked him at #39 in the 2021 Season Countdown (LINK), mistakenly counting on some injury issues to get him on the field. Luckily, Michigan’s linebackers stayed healthy, negating the need for a ton of depth. Joshua Ross, Junior Colson, Nikhai Hill-Green, and Michael Barrett got the vast majority of snaps in the position group.

Michigan needs to shed a bunch of players going into next season to make room for the incoming recruits and transfers, and this is just the beginning. The Wolverines are bringing in several linebackers in the 2022 class, and they appear to have their starters for 2022 already in place with Colson and Hill-Green.

Here’s a link to the scholarship count (LINK).

Aaron Alexander, Ex-Wolverine

Belleville (MI) Belleville linebacker Aaron Alexander will no longer be a part of Michigan’s 2022 recruiting class. He did not sign on National Signing Day on Wednesday, and then on Thursday, he made it public that he was re-opening his recruitment.

Alexander was offered by and committed to Michigan in June 2021. Eastern Illinois and Marshall are the other teams listed as having offered him. He’s currently a 247 Composite 3-star, the #101 linebacker, and #1013 overall. I gave him a TTB Rating of 57 at the time of his commitment (LINK).

Hit the jump for more.

Ethan Burke, Ex-Wolverine

Austin (TX) Westlake defensive end Ethan Burke flipped from Michigan to Texas on National Signing Day. Burke was offered by Michigan in November and committed on December 1 (LINK), leaving behind a chance to play lacrosse at Maryland.

Fast forward a couple weeks, and the home state Texas Longhorns offered him. Rumors started to come out just before National Signing Day that he would stay home instead of moving to Ann Arbor.

It’s hard to blame a kid for that type of change of heart. When the big-time hometown school finally comes knocking, we expect that to have some sway for kids in Michigan, like it has done with guys like Vincent Gray, who decommitted from Missouri to pick Michigan.

The reason this hurts Michigan, in my opinion, is that I think Burke can be pretty good in college. I gave him a TTB Rating of 83; though he needs some physical and technical development, he’s a really good athlete for a 6’7″, 225 lb. kid. Furthermore, Michigan needs some edge rushers in this class. Despite the fact that Aidan Hutchinson was a Heisman finalist and David Ojabo has 11 sacks, Michigan has suffered decommitments from Burke and Mario Eugenio (Cincinnati), while outside linebacker commit Kevonte Henry is not signing in December and is flirting with Washington.