ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan football has been hot on the recruiting trail since winning its second-straight Big Ten championship, adding five of the top players in the transfer portal and three high school recruits.
Jim Harbaugh’s recruiting class has taken some criticism over the past several months, as the Wolverines haven’t turned last year’s College Football Playoff appearance into many highly ranked high school commitments.
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2023 recruiting class
Right now, the 2023 class has seven four-star recruits to go along with 14 three-star recruits. Since beating Ohio State by 22 points in Columbus and finishing this regular season with a 13-0 record, Michigan has started to pick up steam.
Since Wednesday (Dec. 14), the Wolverines have added three three-star players to their 2023 class: defensive lineman Roderick Pierce, cornerback D’Juan Waller Jr., and linebacker Hayden Moore.
Pierce chose Michigan over Illinois and also had offers from Texas, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Auburn.
Waller, a 6-foot-3 defensive back from Ohio, committed to the Wolverines over Kentucky.
Moore chose Michigan right after de-committing from Nebraska. He also had offers from Texas A&M, Wisconsin, and Iowa.
Transfer portal fireworks
More than 1,000 players have entered the transfer portal since the end of the regular season. Michigan, which typically has not been a team that makes big splashes in that arena, owns the No. 1 transfer class in the country.
It began Dec. 6, when versatile offensive lineman LaDarius Henderson joined Michigan from Arizona State. Henderson started 29 games for the Sun Devils over the past three seasons and is the No. 12 prospect in the portal, according to 247 Sports.
The Wolverines added Nebraska linebacker transfer Ernest Hausmann to the mix on Thursday. He was ranked the No. 1 transfer at the time, but has since been dethroned by Jackson State star Travis Hunter. Still, Hausmann is rated No. 2 overall after racking up 54 tackles and 36 solo tackles as a true freshman.
Josaiah Stewart, the No. 2 edge rusher in the portal (No. 26 overall), is transferring to Michigan from Coastal Carolina. He has 16 sacks, 80 tackles, and four forced fumbles across two seasons.
Stanford offensive lineman Myles Hinton, who was a five-star recruit and is the brother of former Wolverines defensive tackle Chris Hinton, also transferred to Michigan. He’s the No. 43 player in the transfer rankings and a four-star overall.
Hinton’s Stanford teammate, center Drake Nugent, is following him to Ann Arbor. He’s the No. 65 player in the transfer portal and will have a chance to replace Rimington Award winner Olusegun Oluwatimi.
