The Jim Harbaugh era is done after securing the College Football Playoff National Championship. The plan to stave off a mass exodus seems to have worked with the in-house hiring of Sherrone Moore. After both portal windows, the Wolverines have lost 17 athletes, according to 247Sports. As of May 18, Michigan has welcomed eight transfers. Aamir Hall, Wesley Walker, and Jaden Mangham were the Wolverines’ sixth, seventh, and eighth, incoming transfers, respectively.
After losing star Rod Moore due to a Spring injury, Michigan needed to fortify its depth. Coach Moore is optimistic his star safety will return at some point in 2024.
Michigan Secondary Adds a Trio of Transfers
From the FCS to the Big 10
On the 16th, Michigan added the top uncommitted player in the portal from the FCS level, Aamir Hall. As a corner, Hall was a standout at Albany in the CAA. Hall was an FCS All-American with the Great Danes in 2023 and is the latest in Michigan’s recent “quality-not-quantity” mindset in the portal.
Michigan will be Hall’s third team. He started off his career at Richmond where he amassed 106 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two interceptions, 19 pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. He played three years with the Spiders and appeared in 24 games.
Then, he jumped into the portal and landed with Albany. It was there that Hall accounted for 26 tackles, a forced fumble, and 13 pass deflections on the year. He also added four interceptions. One of which was a highlight-reel pick-six where he fought through a tackle from the quarterback and ended up dragging him 25 yards into the endzone.
According to 247Sports, Michigan has lost two cornerbacks to the portal. However, one of them – Amorion Walker – elected to come back after transferring to Ole Miss.
Starting Volunteer Experience
A second commitment on the day, the Michigan secondary added a safety from the SEC, Wesley Walker.
Walker is on the older side as his first season at the collegiate level was in 2019. When he suits up for the Wolverines, it’ll be his third team as well. Walker started off his career at Georgia Tech. In that time, he totaled 96 tackles, six pass breakups, and two forced fumbles. Walker was primarily a nickel corner for the Yellow Jackets and he appeared in 23 games in three years.
Then, he spent the next two seasons with Tennessee. There, Walker added 89 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception, a forced fumble, and seven pass breakups.
Earlier this offseason, Walker jumped into the portal and landed at Louisville. Then, after just over three months with the Cardinals in the Spring, he jumped back in and landed with Michigan.
From the Other Side of the Paul Bunyan Trophy
It’s not often a player transfers from one end of a rivalry to the other. Jaden Mangham did just that. On Friday, May 17, the highly sought-after safety decided to spurn a handful of Big 10 rivals to travel just an hour down the road from East Lansing to Ann Arbor, Michigan. This come just 10 days after his brother Jaren Mangham committed to Minnesota.
As a freshman with the Spartans, Mangham appeared in eight games with two starts. He amassed a total of 20 tackles on the year. He took a step forward as a sophomore, starting 10 games and appearing in one other. In total, Mangham accounted for 73 tackles, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, seven pass breakups, and four interceptions.
With the injury to Moore, plus the two outbound safety transfers, the Michigan secondary needed help. In just two days, they took care of business and added a pair of back-end defenders who could step in right away.
