Michigan football's run to third Big Ten title game may not happen without these transfers

None of them are household names in Ann Arbor.

They haven’t set any Michigan football records like running back Blake Corum, earned All-Big Ten honors in consecutive years like quarterback J.J. McCarthy or risen up the ranks like wide receiver Roman Wilson.

However, as the opening of the NCAA’s 30-day transfer window approaches on Monday, it’s a good time to remember that the Wolverines added nine players via the portal around this time last year: offensive tackles LaDarius Henderson (Arizona State) and Myles Hinton (Stanford), center Drake Nugent (Stanford), tight end AJ Barner (Indiana), quarterback Jack Tuttle (Indiana), defensive back Josh Wallace (UMass), linebacker Ernest Hausmann (Nebraska), edge rusher Josaiah Stewart (Coastal Carolina) and kicker James Turner (Louisville).

Now, with Michigan undefeated and set to face Iowa with a third consecutive Big Ten championship (Fox, 8 p.m.) on the line, it’s clear just how important those additions were.

ONE AWAY: Michigan football moves up to No. 2 in latest College Football playoff ranking

"That's the large majority of when you're recruiting a player or bring a player in, they have to fit," quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell said Wednesday afternoon. "It's like dating — they gotta like you, you gotta like them. You're not just taking somebody because they're a good player.

"If they don't have the intangibles you're looking for, leadership qualities, how they carry themselves, their background and familiarly with what we're trying to achieve here, then they're not going to make it."

No unit was reinforced more than the offensive line, where the Wolverines lost All-American center Olu Oluwatimi and All-Big Ten left tackle Ryan Hayes from the 2022 unit.

Coach Sherrone Moore and company used its recent cache of earning consecutive Joe Moore Awards (as the nation’s top offensive line) to lure in a trio of former Power Five starters from the Pac-12: Henderson, Hinton and Nugent.

Nugent is the only player, other than captains and fifth-year senior guards Trevor Keegan and Zak Zinter — who is out the rest of the season after he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in Saturday’s 30-24 win over Ohio State — who started every game for Moore’s group this year.

OLD FRIEND: Ex-Michigan QB Cade McNamara, now with Iowa: 'I know so much about that other team'

Henderson and Hinton, meanwhile, have shared time on the outside.

Henderson began as the backup tackle but has since taken over the role as starting blind-side protector. He missed the Maryland game two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury, but returned last week against Ohio State and has appeared in 11 games and made seven starts.

Hinton, meanwhile, has played in 10 games and made five starts.

As important as those starts and production have been, their ability to fit in with the room has been every bit as valuable.

"When I first met Drake, I was like, 'Yeah, he's like (Trevor) Keegan," said Moore last month. "Myles is a little quiet but we knew Myles really well from Chris (Hinton) being here. And then (Henderson) was a little different because we didn't know him as much but getting to meet him, he felt like just such a kind, gentle, true soul.

[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) ]

"You saw him on the film and we saw how good a player he was and figured that he'd be a guy that can sure fit with us. Those things mesh together really well."

The only transfer of the bunch to find the end zone to this point is Barner. The tight end has emerged as one of the best run-blocking tight ends in the country while providing plenty of production in the passing game.

He's among the top five Wolverines in receptions (21) and has a career high in yards (236), nearly half of which came on his career-best day against Michigan State, when he hauled in eight passes for 99 yards and a score.

"They brought us in here to fill those needs and I think all off us have done a great job of filling in spots where me might not have had guys," Barner said. "Also, complementing guys we already have here. I think it's been great to bring a couple new guys in and how we've all fit in, it's just been really good for the team."

The other transfer from Bloomington was quarterback Jack Tuttle.

Although he played the least of the newcomers, he has been productive when called upon. Tuttle has completed 15 of 17 passes (88.2%) for 130 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. He also has four rushes for 35 yards, emerging in midseason as the No. 2 quarterback.

U-M picked up an impact player at each level of the defense: Stewart, Hausmann and Wallace, who started eight games and had 22 tackles and a forced fumble.

"We had looked at some other guys at the position back to December and January, were able to get him late and his ability to come in late, be a pro, jump on Mike's hip and understand the culture here," U-M defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said. "He's been a guy who's played inside and outside ... just a huge asset."

The same goes for Hausmann. Although he hasn't started a game, has just 35 tackles (down from 54 a season ago at Nebraska), is sack-less and hasn't forced a turnover, his ability to take snaps at a high level has allowed linebackers Junior Colson and Michael Barrett to stay healthier.

At this time last year, "they were kind of hanging on by a thread" according to Minter, but now it's one of the deepest rooms on the field which has "allowed (Barrett) to play at an elite level this year, same with Junior."

Stewart's contributions aren't just on the field. The 6-foot-1, 245-pound does have 26 tackles and 4½ sacks, but he's taken a notable step back from his job as a star at Coastal Carolina to fit a scheme in Ann Arbor

"You know, look at the All-Big Ten stuff and what I think is really cool is sort of how we play defense, we have 14 different guys get recognition, which sort of just speaks to the guys unselfishness," Minter said. "It's like, Josaiah Stewart, who was an all-conference player at his previous school, freshman of the year, comes in and accepts a role of — we treat him like a starter — but he shares time.

"It's a huge selling point for the next wave of guys we try to bring in as well."

Turner, a Saline native who spent three seasons at Louisville, shined brightest this season Saturday.

He made all three of his field goals — one from 50 yards, the others from 38 and 37 yards in the fourth quarter — to help lift U-M. Tasked with replacing Jake Moody, the best kicker in program history, Turner went 12-for-14 on field goals, with both misses coming in September and from beyond 40 yards.

"It's been really cool because all the goals that we laid out for us are starting to take shape," Barner said. "Obviously we have a ton of work to do, but a lot of the reasons we came here are still in front of us, so that's extremely exciting."

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

Make "Hail Yes!" your go-to Michigan Wolverines podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify). Watch our Michigan-Ohio State reaction video above.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football's transfer portal success on display again in 2023