We’ve reached the end of this year’s transfer portal window, and despite Michigan bringing in a mostly new coaching staff just days before it opened, the Wolverines managed to do quite the job of assembling their roster for the 2026 season.
Throughout the last two weeks, Michigan’s staff successfully recruited a handful of players on each side of the ball and on special teams that should be able to make significant contributions right away. The Wolverines also did an excellent job retaining most of their
best players.
Even with the portal season being mostly successful, there were a handful of players the staff wasn’t able to retain who will be making a name for themselves in a different uniform in 2026. Here are three players Michigan will be missing the most after losing them in the transfer portal.
LB Cole Sullivan
There probably wasn’t a bigger loss for Michigan than Cole Sullivan. The linebacker wasn’t that well-known of a recruit for fans in Michigan’s 2024 class, but he quickly caught the attention of the coaching staff during his freshman season and started serving a role on special teams. In 2025 as a sophomore, Sullivan played a bigger role on defense and looked to be an emerging star by season’s end.
With Ernest Hausmann retiring and Jaishawn Barham and Jimmy Rolder both off to the NFL, Sullivan was a shoo-in to be a starter in 2026 and would’ve come into the year as one of the better linebackers in the Big Ten. But Sullivan was actually one of Michigan’s first entrants to the portal and committed to Oklahoma despite a good fight from Michigan.
Michigan didn’t do much in terms of adding production to replace them either, adding three players to the roster that haven’t been incredibly productive in their college careers. Sophomores Chase Taylor and Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng look promising, as does Troy Bowles, but all three of those guys don’t have a ton of experience. Sullivan had the looks of a player on the rise that could’ve played a massive role in the middle of the defense, but Michigan is now going to be banking on young, unproven guys to fill the massive void at linebacker.
CB Jayden Sanders
You might start to notice a trend here, but Jayden Sanders also looked to be a player on the rise for Michigan’s defense. He was a member of Michigan’s 2025 recruiting class and found the field early on, getting his first career start in the third game of the season against Central Michigan after Zeke Berry went down with an injury. He relinquishd his starting spot after Berry’s return, but Sanders still got regular playing time throughout the year and had 23 tackles and one pass defended in 2025.
While Michigan did a good job adding to its cornerback room with Smith Snowden, while also retaining Berry and Jyaire Hill, all three of those guys will likely only be in Ann Arbor for 2026. The Wolverines would still likely want to have someone young and promising talent in the room that could develop into a big contributor and serve as a starting point for the 2027 secondary, but with Sanders now at Notre Dame, the staff will have to look elsewhere. You could also make the argument Elijah Dotson fits this description after transferring to Missouri, but he didn’t have as fast a start to his career as Sanders did.
Not all hope is lost since Michigan still has Shamari Earls, and the Wolverines can always add more players next year, but the loss of Sanders will still sting for now.
S T.J. Metcalf
Michigan lost three safeties this offseason, including Jaden Manghan and Brandyn Hillman, but T.J. Metcalf’s exit is probably the most impactful. Metcalf came to Ann Arbor from Arkansas and immediately made an impact as a starter in Michigan’s secondary. He finished the year with 58 tackles, four pass breakups and one interception.
Much like linebacker, Michigan’s safety room took quite a hit in terms of attrition over the last few weeks, but Michigan did add Christopher Bracy from Memphis to try and supplement the losses. He’s not as impactful a player as Metcalf, but it’s a start nonetheless. Additionally, Michigan is getting Rod Moore back for a sixth year, but we haven’t seen him at full strength in more than two years at this point.
With Metcalf playing elsewhere, Michigan will be putting a lot of pressure on Moore to return to form and Bracy to step up. Jordan Young looks to have some promise, and Mason Curtis has had some good moments and is heading into his third year with the program, but there are still more questions than answers at safety as of now.
