Upwards of three thousand college football players have entered the transfer portal in the past year. Nine joined the Michigan Wolverines. They will look to follow in the footsteps of transfer successes like Olu Oluwatimi, Josh Wallace, and AJ Barner.
The team’s main portal desires were evident: wide receivers, defensive tackles, and defensive backs. While the Wolverines whiffed on tackle targets Jay’viar Suggs (LSU) and Joey Slackman (Florida), they found key pieces for other areas of need. Fall camp still needs to play out, but given their experience elsewhere it’s generally easier to project how transfers will fare. Let’s preview and prognosticate!
Newcomers on the Offense
Josh Priebe, Interior Offensive Line
Previous Team: Northwestern
Josh Priebe is one of the Wolverines’ first transfer portal commitments in this cycle. At 6-foot-5 and 306 pounds, Priebe (a native Michigander) has more starts than anyone else in the position group at Michigan. They just weren’t starts at Michigan. A team captain and four-year player, Priebe started primarily at left guard across his 36 games (29 starts) for the Wildcats. He profiles as a steady option who should raise the floor of Michigan’s interior play. His experience will be leaned on heavily as the season opens and the new-look line matures.
Prediction: Starting Left Guard.
CJ Charleston, Wide Receiver
Previous Team: Youngstown State
Shoutout to the YSU Penguins! Fans love a fun mascot. CJ Charleston is a 6-foot, 190-pound Ohioan who brings plenty of FCS experience and will look to capitalize on this up-transfer opportunity. A high school star athlete, Charleston played basketball and football and was also a state champion long jumper. His numbers with the Penguins might not exactly pop, but his 33 catches and 467 yards would’ve been fourth on last year’s team behind Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, and Colston Loveland. With Wilson and Johnson gone, there’s room for Charleston to step up and show out.
Prediction: Rotational wide receiver, ~20 catches for ~200 yards.
Amorion Walker, Wide Receiver
Previous Teams: Ole Miss & Michigan
Welcome back, Amorion Walker! Walker is a 6-foot-3, 182-pound rangy athlete with fascinating potential. After choosing Michigan out of high school, he bounced between wide receiver and cornerback for two seasons. After playing sparingly on the national title team, he hopped into the transfer portal to spend Spring 2024 at Ole Miss. Perhaps after seeing an opportunity in Michigan’s depth chart, Walker reentered the portal and rejoined the Maize and Blue. He will remain with the wide receivers now that Michigan’s depth issues in the secondary have been addressed. If Walker can earn snaps across from Tyler Morris, he could turn into a game-breaking deep threat for Michigan’s quarterback (whoever that may be).
Prediction: Floor is probably the same as Charleston: ~20 catches for ~200 yards. The ceiling, on the other hand…
A Look at the Additions on Defense
Jaishawn Barham, Linebacker
Previous Team: Maryland
Jaishawn Barham was a Top-150 prospect coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore. He chose to stay local with Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins. The 6-foot-3, 248-pounder now brings his considerable talents to Ann Arbor. He started as a freshman and sophomore for the Terps, showcasing the play-reading instincts that are critical to linebacker play. His film showcases the speed and power to step in as an outside rusher like Jaylen Harrell. However, it’s more likely Michigan forms an inside linebacking duo featuring Barham alongside fellow intra-Big Ten transfer Ernest Hausmann.
Prediction: Starting inside linebacker, 90 tackles, two sacks, one interception.
Aamir Hall, Cornerback
Previous Teams: Albany & Richmond
A Baltimore-area product like Barham, Aamir Hall was less highly regarded by recruiting services but has made a sizable impact at both FCS stops thus far. Hall made 60 tackles and recorded 13 pass breakups as a redshirt freshman with the Spiders. His next season was marred by injury and led Hall to the transfer portal. The 6-foot-1, 201-pound corner wound up at FCS Albany. At Albany, he utilized his fantastic body control and long arms to make 57 tackles, five interceptions, and 13 pass breakups for the Great Danes (Fun Mascot Alert!). Hall may struggle initially against dialed-up Big Ten talent after up-transferring from the FCS. Still, his experience and physical tools are cause for optimism. Hall should compete with Jyaire Hill to start, and if nothing else he provides a stable floor at corner back two opposite Will Johnson.
Prediction: Rotational cornerback, ~20 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception.
Ricky Johnson III, Cornerback
Previous Team: UNLV
Though Michigan played the Runnin’ Rebels in 2023, Ricky Johnson was absent from the contest. Unfortunately, that was a throughline during his time in Las Vegas with multiple missed games each season due to injuries. As such, he arrives in Ann Arbor as more of a project than Hall. At 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, the former wide receiver has the length and ball skills to be effective at the position but has produced inconsistently thus far at the college level. Some of that can be attributed to UNLV’s coaching turnover and Johnson’s aforementioned durability issues. Still, given what else the Wolverines have available, it’s most likely they take a year to season Johnson, teach him the playbook, and see if they’ve got a viable starter/rotational piece in 2025.
Prediction: Depth cornerback, spot-snaps during mop-up duty.
Wesley Walker, Safety
Previous Team: Tennessee, Georgia Tech, & Louisville
Wesley Walker steps onto campus with a wealth of experience both on the field and in the transfer portal. He started two seasons at nickel for the Yellowjackets before heading to Knoxville for two years at safety. He spent this past Spring session with another team (Louisville) before coming to Michigan, not unlike a fellow transfer Walker (Amorion). Standing 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, Wesley Walker’s film showcases the awareness, speed, and tackling ability you want from a safety. That’s promising for a team in need of competitors to replace Rod Moore. Sixth-year stalwart Quinten Johnson has plenty of experience in the system, and fellow transfer Jaden Mangham‘s potential is mouth-watering. Wesley Walker should hold his own in a suddenly crowded safety room. His veteran know-how and sound execution will likely be too strong to keep off the field.
Prediction: Co-starter at the second safety spot alongside Johnson, playing virtually even snaps. ~30 tackles, a few pass breakups, and two interceptions.
Jaden Mangham, Safety
Previous Team: Michigan State
One of the standouts on an otherwise lacking Spartan secondary, Jaden Mangham made the hour-ish journey down I-96 from East Lansing to bluer pastures. His 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame brings with it plenty of hype, speed, and instinctual play. In 2023, he put in 73 tackles, four picks, and seven pass breakups. He has long arms, good strength for his size, and already mentioned all-important instincts. He will likely take some time to get up to speed and learn the intricacies of Wink Martindale’s NFL-style defense. Once that happens, the sky’s the limit. Alabama-bound departure Keon Sabb flashed in scattered snaps as one of last year’s rotational safeties. The bet here is Mangham can mimic that en route to a starting role in 2025. There’s also a chance he blossoms, locks down the starting job, and is playing NFL ball this time next year. Quite an attractive range of outcomes.
Prediction: Rotational safety, starts at least three games. Around 30 tackles, two interceptions, and some razzle-dazzle highlights.
Finally, Special Teams
Dominic Zvada, Kicker
Previous Team: Arkansas State
Dominic Zvada exits the transfer portal from Arkansas State as the presumptive favorite to take over kicking duties from James Turner. As a freshman, he was a Lou Groza Award semifinalist after going 17-for-18 on field goal tries and 30-for-31 on extra points. The next year his accuracy dipped slightly to 17-for-22, though he was perfect on extra points at 41-for-41. He’s already been named to the Lou Groza watchlist for 2024. Plus, why play ’em when you can join ’em? Zvada will face his old team, the Red Wolves, in week three this Fall.
Prediction: Starting placekicker, 20-for-23 on field goals.
