ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Wide receiver: check. Offensive tackle: check. Safety: check.
Quarterback? Check back later.
So far, Michigan has added commitments from five players during the December portal window: offensive lineman Brady Norton (Cal Poly), wide receiver Donaven McCulley (Indiana), defensive tackle Damon Payne (Alabama) and defensive backs Tevis Metcalf and TJ Metcalf (Arkansas). Those players should address some of Michigan’s most pressing portal needs, but the Wolverines are still in the market for a veteran quarterback and a few other portal additions.
Here are five storylines from Michigan’s portal pursuits and preparations for the ReliaQuest Bowl against Alabama.
Whirlwind week for Brady Norton
Here’s how quickly things can change: A few days ago, Norton was on a recruiting visit to Wake Forest, having breakfast in the home of Dave Clawson. According to Norton’s father, the family had zero inkling Clawson was about to resign as Wake Forest’s head coach.
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“Not a clue,” Trevor Norton said.
That night, Brady Norton was back at his hotel in Winston-Salem, N.C., when he got a call from Grant Newsome, Michigan’s offensive line coach. Norton, one of the top pass blockers in the FCS this season, drew heavy interest from Power 4 programs when he decided to enter the portal. He scheduled visits to Wake Forest, Virginia, Syracuse and Georgia Tech, but when Michigan called, Norton rerouted and packed his bags for Ann Arbor.
“He had a conversation with coach Newsome and liked his demeanor, liked what he had to say,” Trevor Norton said. “Michigan being a blue-blood program, when they come knocking, you listen.”
Norton committed to Michigan on Monday — coincidentally, the same day Clawson stepped down at Wake Forest. Norton can help right away after starting 11 games this season, but he’s also a developing prospect with three years of eligibility remaining.
Norton was a late bloomer recruited primarily by Division II and FCS programs coming out of Mission Viejo High in California. He decided to stay close to home and play for Cal Poly, where he appeared in three games while redshirting in 2023. Norton became Cal Poly’s starting left tackle as a redshirt freshman and graded out as one of the top pass blockers in the FCS, according to Pro Football Focus.
Adding depth on the offensive line was a need for Michigan with starting left tackle Myles Hinton and guard Josh Priebe out of eligibility and several backups entering the transfer portal. Michigan recruited Norton as a swing lineman who can play guard or tackle, and he’s open to playing either spot, his father said.
Norton went from 270 pounds to 290 at Cal Poly and aims to add another 10 to 20 pounds at Michigan. Moving from the FCS to the Big Ten will be a physical adjustment, but the coaches recruiting Norton felt his pass-blocking fundamentals would translate well to a higher level of competition.
“The things he’s good at are the really hard things to be good at,” Trevor Norton said. “They felt like he had the opportunity to start or at least compete for a starting spot. We also know coming into Michigan, with the way they recruit, there’s going to be competition, and we were OK with that.”
Damon Payne on commitment
After some short-lived confusion, Payne announced his commitment to Michigan on Wednesday night, leaving one side of the ReliaQuest Bowl matchup for the other.
Recruiting services reported Payne’s commitment earlier in the day, accompanied by celebrations from Michigan’s coaches on social media. Payne’s representatives pumped the brakes on those reports, but roughly 12 hours later, Payne posted his commitment announcement.
Perhaps the negotiations weren’t quite finished, or perhaps Payne wanted to announce a decision on his own timeline. Either way, Michigan is set to add an experienced defensive tackle who can fortify a defensive line that’s losing All-American Mason Graham and possibly Kenneth Grant.
Payne was a top-25 national prospect and the No. 1 recruit in Michigan coming out of Belleville High in the Class of 2021. At the time, it was seen as an affront to Michigan for Nick Saban to land a five-star defensive tackle from the Wolverines’ backyard, although Michigan more than made up for it with its evaluations of Grant and Graham.
Graham and Grant, neither of whom were highly touted recruits when they committed to Michigan, blossomed into first-round NFL talents. Payne, listed at 6 foot 4 and 313 pounds, was a solid rotational player at Alabama who appeared in 31 games with 30 tackles, three tackles for loss and half a sack.
Grant, the No. 25 player on Dane Brugler’s draft big board, has yet to say whether he intends to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl or declare for the draft. If he follows Graham to the NFL, Michigan will be looking to Payne and Rayshaun Benny to anchor the interior defensive line next season, with help from players like Trey Pierce and Enow Etta. There’s no easy way to replace Graham, one of the most dominant defensive tackles to play at Michigan, but adding Payne gives Michigan another run stopper in the middle.
QB options
It’s no secret that Michigan is hoping to land a veteran quarterback from the portal who can provide a buffer until Bryce Underwood is ready to take over. Two quarterbacks linked to Michigan, USC transfer Miller Moss and Maryland transfer Billy Edwards Jr., opted for situations where they have a better chance to be the undisputed starter: Louisville for Moss, Wisconsin for Edwards. That means Michigan is still searching for the right player to join its quarterback competition.
247Sports reported Wednesday that Michigan was expected to get a visit from Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene, one of the top Group of 5 quarterbacks in the portal. The Wolverines have been linked to Baylor transfer Dequan Finn and Nevada transfer Brendon Lewis.
Each quarterback brings a different resume and skill set. Finn, who attended Detroit’s King High, was the MAC Player of the Year at Toledo in 2023 with 2,657 yards through the air and 563 on the ground. He appeared in three games at Baylor in 2024 before getting hurt and is looking to use a sixth year of eligibility at another school.
Lewis is in a similar mold as a dual-threat quarterback who relies on his legs as well as his arm. Lewis started for Colorado as a freshman pre-Deion Sanders and accounted for more than 3,000 yards this season at Nevada, including 775 on the ground. Keene started his career at UCF and has familiarity with offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey, who was the Knights’ OC in 2022. He’s not a big running threat and doesn’t have ideal NFL measurables, but he has thrown for more than 8,000 yards in his career and knows how to spread the ball around.
Lewis or Finn would add a physical element to the quarterback run game that Michigan lost when Alex Orji entered the portal. Keene is more of a distributor who can extend plays and make off-platform throws. Any of the three quarterbacks would seem to fit what coach Sherrone Moore said he wanted in a transfer.
“Experience, a guy that’s going to be a great leader, a great teammate, obviously has the ability to play,” Moore said, listing the qualities he’s looking for in a quarterback from the portal. “Gotta be a great fit. That’s got to be the No. 1 piece.”
Bowl roster in flux
Michigan players who have declared for the draft or indicated they won’t play in the ReliaQuest Bowl include Graham, Hinton, cornerback Will Johnson, tight end Colston Loveland and running back Donovan Edwards. A few other contributors have entered the transfer portal, including Orji and wide receiver Tyler Morris.
Those absences will be felt when Michigan takes the field Dec. 31 in Tampa, but players taking part in bowl practices insist the Wolverines are motivated to give their best showing against the Crimson Tide.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve only been in the playoffs, so this is new to me,” said quarterback Davis Warren, who’s sharing reps with freshman Jadyn Davis in bowl practices. “You wouldn’t notice a difference from last year or the year before to this year in terms of the intensity, the focus and everything we’ve got to do. We need to win this football game. It’s important to us as a team.”
Beyond the bowl game, several players will have decisions to make about whether to return next season. That includes Warren, who said he’ll decide about using his fifth year at Michigan after the bowl game. Warren has spoken with Moore and is fully aware that Michigan is looking for a quarterback from the portal to compete with Underwood.
“(Moore) has been clear that he cares about me and wants what’s best for me and wants me to be at Michigan,” Warren said.
Edge rusher TJ Guy is participating in bowl practices and expressed a desire to return next season, although he said his decision wasn’t 100 percent final.
“I want to come back, for sure,” Guy said.
Bryce Underwood has arrived
There has been a buzz around bowl practices with the arrival of Underwood and other early enrollees from Michigan’s 2025 recruiting class. The freshmen have an acclimation period before they can participate in full pads, but Moore said Michigan will have a “young guy scrimmage” once they’re all cleared.
“Bryce is starting to get rolling here with us,” Warren said. “He’s a great kid, first and foremost. Loves football. You can tell he’s a competitor. Humble, wants to get better. It’s a beautiful thing, the way he came in versus the way I came in. It couldn’t be any more different. I don’t know if there was even an article written about me when I committed.”
Tight ends coach Steve Casula will call plays for Michigan in the bowl game, and analyst Josh Sinagoga has been working with the quarterbacks in practice, Warren said. Even though Lindsey hasn’t officially assumed his duties as Michigan’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, he has been around the team and has started building relationships with Warren, Underwood and Michigan’s other quarterbacks.
“We’ve had a chance to sit down and just talk ball,” Warren said. “Getting to know him, I’ve learned he’s a really smart guy, really understands the game. He’s an experienced play caller, which I think is huge. Seeing what he did at Troy, and then being at UNC with (Drake) Maye, they did some really good stuff.”
(Top photo of Bryce Underwood: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
