Tag: transfer portal

Smith Snowden, Wolverine

Michigan snagged a commitment from Utah cornerback transfer Smith Snowden a few days ago, shoring up a position that has seen departures from the likes of Jayden Sanders (Notre Dame), Elijah Dotson (Missouri), and Tevis Metcalf in recent times.

Snowden is a 5’10”, 185 lb. corner who was a 4-star, the #34 cornerback, and #331 overall in the class of 2023. In the transfer portal, he is ranked as a 4-star, the #3 cornerback, and #50 overall. Coming out of Lehi (UT) Skyridge, he played immediately in 2023, making 7 tackles while playing in eleven games. He started at the nickel position in 2024, making 48 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 8 pass breakups. He was 2nd Team All-Big 12 in 2025 while starting at corner, making 37 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 9 pass breakups. Snowden even played a little on offense in 2025, starting two games (one at RB, one at WR) and making 8 carries for 40 yards and 1 touchdown, along with 13 catches for 57 yards.

Michigan will only get one year out of Snowden, and he is likely to start at the nickel position used by Utah and new defensive coordinator Jay Hill from BYU. With the Wolverines bringing back cornerback starters Jyaire Hill and Zeke Berry (though Berry may play some safety), Snowden gives the team at least a third starter-quality corner. Throw in a couple touted backups like Shamari Earls and Joziah Edmonds, and the team should be in decent shape at corner going into 2026.

Jaime Ffrench, Jr., Wolverine

Texas transfer wide receiver Jaime Ffrench, Jr. has committed to Michigan.

Ffrench is a 6’1″, 185 lb. receiver who played in four games this past season, making 1 catch for 6 yards against Sam Houston State in a 55-0 blowout. He retains his redshirt and has four years of eligibility left.

Ffrench was a 4-star, the #9 wide receiver, and #44 overall in the class of 2025 when he was coming out of Jacksonville (FL) Mandarin. His transfer portal ranking is a 3-star and the #66 wide receiver, but how do you rank transfer players who basically haven’t played at all in college?

Texas had some quality receivers this past season in Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore, and Parker Livingstone, so it makes sense why Ffrench wouldn’t have played much. It is at least slightly concerning that he didn’t have more of an impact, but outside of the Sam Houston State game, Texas didn’t really have a lot of blowout, garbage-time opportunities in 2025.

Going back to Ffrench’s senior film from the 2024 season, he shows some excellent change-of-direction skills. He has decent size at 6’1″ and has adequate but not great long speed. If we’re going by talent, Ffrench should be the #2 receiver at Michigan in 2026 behind Andrew Marsh. He probably won’t create a ton of big plays with his speed, but I like his catch-and-run ability to be able to tack on an extra 10-15 yards after the catch using his shiftiness in open space.

Taylor Tatum, Wolverine

Oklahoma running back Taylor Tatum has signed with Michigan out of the transfer portal. Originally a 2024 recruit, he signed with the Sooners after being very high on Michigan.

Tatum is listed at 5’10”, 212 lbs. He played in eleven games as a freshman in 2024, running 56 times for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns. But he only played on game in 2025, notching 1 carry for -1 yard against South Carolina. He will be a redshirt sophomore this fall with three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Hailing from Longview (TX) Longview, Tatum was a 4-star, the #1 running back, and #48 overall in the 247 Composite in the 2024 class. He’s currently a 3-star, the #11 running back, and #151 in the transfer portal rankings, though those are constantly fluctuating and I don’t really understand how those rankings are made.

Tatum is a solid running back, but I’m not sure there’s anything that truly stands out about him. Even on his high school film, he was one of those players who had good speed but didn’t show a ton of elusiveness or power. In a way similar to someone like Karan Higdon, he will probably play well when the line is creating holes and he will probably struggle to create things on his own when the line is overmatched.

Michigan is bringing back Jordan Marshall, who was the backup to start the 2025 season and ended up starting several games, finishing with 150 carries for 932 yards and 10 touchdowns. They also signed 5-star and #1 running back Savion Hiter in the 2026 class. However, it appears that starter Justice Haynes will hit the transfer portal and play elsewhere in 2026, and both Bryson Kuzdzal (326 yards, 4 TD) and Jasper Parker (93 yards, 2 TD, now committed to Arkansas) jumped in the portal.

So here’s a look at how the depth chart has changed:

1. Justice Haynes Jordan Marshall
2. Jordan Marshall Taylor Tatum
3. Bryson Kuzdzal Savion Hiter
4. Jasper Parker Micah Ka’apana

Tatum’s highlights from his senior year of high school:

John Volker, Wolverine

Princeton transfer running back John Volker committed to Michigan on Monday morning. Volker visited Michigan toward the end of last week.

Volker is listed at 6’0″, 215 lbs. and was a captain for the Tigers. As a redshirt junior in 2024, he ran for 514 yards and 6 touchdowns. Altogether, he played in 29 games at Princeton with 245 carries for 1,183 yards and 17 touchdowns. He also caught 31 passes for 273 yards and 2 touchdowns. (Oddly, both career touchdowns came as a freshman, when he had his lowest receiving output with 4 catches for 96 yards.)

Hit the jump for more.

C.J. Hester, Wolverine

UMass transfer running back C.J. Hester committed to Michigan on Saturday. He had visited for the spring game.

Hester is listed at 5’11” and 195 lbs. As a freshman at Western Michigan in 2023, he ran 29 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns in seven games. He then transferred to UMass in 2024, ranking as the team’s second leading rusher with 119 carries for 529 yards and 4 scores across eleven games. Coming out of Cincinnati (OH) Wyoming in 2023, he was a 247 Composite 3-star, the #113 running back, and #1702 overall.

I think Hester’s size is exaggerated; he’s probably closer to 5’9″ than 5’11”. And I don’t think he’s 195 pounds, or at least he wasn’t during the 2024 season. But he does run tough. His numbers aren’t great, but he was playing for UMass, one of the worst FBS teams. There are several highlights of him running through tackles and fighting for extra yardage, and that’s a step up in a way from the type of tackle-breaking ability Donovan Edwards showed over the past few seasons. That’s not to say that Hester is a better overall running back, but at least Hester has the ability to fight through tackles. Hester also has a little bit of wiggle and a little bit of quickness, but he’s not going to be a breakaway threat like Edwards.

Overall, Hester is a notch below Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes, and that’s probably the best Michigan can hope for from someone committing from the portal at this point in the cycle. Michigan has Marshall and Haynes and then a bunch of unproven players, including redshirt freshman Micah Ka’apana and a couple freshmen.

Hester would be the only player other than Jibreel Black, who finished his college career in 2013, to play for Michigan out of Cincinnati (OH) Wyoming.