Michigan football transfer portal: Names to know, players to watch

Veteran leadership was a point of pride all season long for Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh as he lauded how his team may set a new record with as many as 20 players selected in April's NFL draft in Detroit.

It was also a major reason why the Wolverines are in the midst of a third straight year with a win over Ohio State, Big Ten championship and College Football playoff berth.

However, they will likely be a large swath of talent exiting Ann Arbor after this season, leaving U-M will several key roles to fill for next season.

"We have some positions where we're really looking, knowing we may or may not have some guys back," said Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter last week. "The timing of it is different than the NFL where you play the season and free agency opens down the road. With the portal, it's an on-going deal."

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Of course there's depth on the roster ready to step in, and a projected top-20 recruiting class on the way. But the quickest way to supplement rosters in today's college football is the transfer portal.

Just think about how essential the transfers were this season.

Here are seven players to watch as the Wolverines navigate what is already a tricky time, made even trickier for them as they chase for a national championship. The players are listed alphabetically with their school and class for the 2023 season:

Texas A&M offensive lineman Chase Bisontis, freshman

There aren't a lot of true freshmen who walk into the SEC and start at offensive tackle. But Bisontis just did at Texas A&M, where he started all 12 games at right tackle.

The 6-foot-6, 320-pounder was the consensus No. 1 recruit in New Jersey in the 2023 class and was offered by Michigan out of high school, with offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Sherrone Moore leading his recruitment. Bisontis had Michigan State in his final three, not Michigan, before he chose to go to College Station.

U-M offensive tackle Ladarius Henderson, who mulled his NFL options last year, is expected to depart while fifth-year seniors Karsen Barnhart and Trente Jones both have one year of eligibility, as does Myles Hinton, but it would be a surprise if more than two of them returned. If Barnhart came back, he could move to guard as U-M will lose both Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan.

Notre Dame center Zeke Correll, graduate student

U-M brought in a transfer center from Virginia, Olu Oluwatimi, in 2022 and he won the Rimington Award (nation's top center) and the Outland Trophy (nation's top interior lineman) as a consensus All-American. This year, U-M brought in Stanford transfer Drake Nugent, who is a Rimington Award finalist and is expected to be a mid-round NFL draft pick in the spring.

Correll, the No. 2 ranked center in the portal, played both center and guard during his five years at Notre Dame. He made 23 consecutive starts before suffering a concussion that kept him out of the Irish's final two games this season.

UCLA quarterback Dante Moore, freshman

Moore was a star at Detroit King, where he was the No. 4 prospect in the nation and the No. 3 quarterback in the Class of 2023. A one-time Oregon commit considered Michigan and MSU, but flipped to UCLA. After a tumultuous first year in Los Angeles, Moore is now looking elsewhere.

It's not yet clear if quarterback J.J. McCarthy will enter the NFL draft. U-M would never rush him out, but it doesn't want to be caught without a starting-caliber QB, either. Michigan does have highly regarded four-star freshman Jadyn Davis on the way in, but will he be ready to lead a Big Ten offense next season?

Alex Orji and Davis Warren are the other scholarship quarterbacks on the roster; it's hard to see Michigan having enough faith in either of them.

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Moore, the No. 3 ranked player in the portal, has reportedly already been in contact with Michigan. But how long would Moore wait to make a decision, especially if there's a chance he's McCarthy's understudy next year?

Moore completed 53.5% (114-of-213) of his passes for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a true freshman, but struggled after the first month of the season.

Indiana wide receiver Donaven McCulley, junior

Michigan fell behind, 7-0, to Indiana in the first quarter this season on a 44-yard wide receiver pass to Jaylin Lucas before it scored 52 unanswered. The receiver who threw it? McCulley, a former quarterback who made the transition to wide out and has already been offered by wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy and the Wolverines, per his X account.

McCulley, 6 feet 5 and 200 pounds, led IU in receptions (48), yards (644), and touchdowns (six) and was named All-Big Ten honorable mention this season and he would figure to have a big role to step into with the anticipated departures of Cornelius Johnson and Roman Wilson.

Texas A&M defensive lineman Walter Nolen, sophomore

Michigan lost out on Nolen — the nation's No. 2 rated player in the class of 2022 — to Texas A&M the first time around, but now has another crack at him after the Aggies' coaching staff shakeup.

Nolen, a 6-4, 290-pound sophomore, had 37 tackles, eight for loss four sacks and a pass breakup this season and could step into an immediate impact role with seniors Jaylen Harrell and Braiden McGregor expected to leave.

Nolen, the No. 1 player currently available in the portal, will be one of the more competitive recruitments.

Penn defensive tackle Joey Slackman, senior

Slackman was named first-team All-Ivy League this season after he recorded 50 tackles and became the team's first Bushnell Cup finalist (Ivy League's Defensive Player of the Year) since 2017.

He reportedly has more than 25 offers, including one from Michigan. Slackman, who will have one year of eligibility remaining, began his career as a wrestler at Penn before he transitioned back to football during the pandemic. Though he played just three years, he was a force for the Quakers, recording 115 tackles (56 solo), 25 of which went for loss and 11 sacks.

Slackman also told the Daily Pennsylvanian, he "wants to wants to attend a school where he can get a valuable master's degree that'll help him for when his football career is over."

“I'm trying not to get caught up in all the fluff of recruiting,” he said. “I know that I'm going to put my full effort into everything. My goals are my goals, and that doesn't really change, regardless of the level of football program I play: football is football. I'm excited, grateful, and just super pumped to see where I end up.”

Michigan figures to have some openings with Kris Jenkins and Cam Goode sliding out of the rotation; though Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and Rayshaun Benny are already the makings of a good interior unit.

Western Kentucky defensive back Upton Stout, redshirt sophomore

Nickel Mike Sainristil and cornerback Josh Wallace both finished their fifth yers, while Makari Paige completed his senior year and though Rod Moore is only a junior, he too is draft eligible and quite the enticing prospect.

U-M has talent in players like Will Johnson, Ja'Den McBurrows and Keon Sabb, but other defensive backs like Amorion Walker haven't proven they can take then next step, so U-M might have to go back to the portal (like with Wallace) to fill the role.

In comes Upton Stout, who recorded 29 tackles, eight pass breakups and one interception that he returned for a touchdown in just seven games. That came after his first year in WKIU (he transferred from North Texas) where he appeared in 14 games and started 11.

He recorded 73 tackles, 15 pass deflections and five interceptions in two years as a Hilltopper.

Contact Tony Garcia: apgarcia@freepress.com. Follow him at @realtonygarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football transfer portal: Names to know, players to watch