Michigan contacts 2 veteran LBs seeking 5th year of NCAA eligibility

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Michigan appears to be doing its homework on a pair of experienced linebackers after a recent court ruling created an unexpected pool of potential transfer portal additions. According to On3’s Ethan McDowell ($), the Wolverines have contacted former James Madison linebacker Trent Hendrick and former Western Kentucky linebacker Jaylen Wester.

“Talks have not advanced far with U-M yet,” per McDowell.

Both players are exploring the possibility of returning to college football for a fifth season following a preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court of Colorado this past week that could grant additional eligibility to athletes from the 2022 recruiting class. The Wolverines’ conversations with both players appear to be preliminary as of right now — which is very like due to the hurdles that still need to be cleared — but they are clearly pondering the opportunity of adding experience to an inexperienced position group entering the season.

Hendrick led the Dukes with 106 tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles during their College Football Playoff run last year, earning the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in the process. He also recorded an 82.7 overall defensive grade on Pro Football Focus, including marks higher than 80 in run defense, tackling and pass rushing. He is exploring a return to college football after participating in rookie minicamps with the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns.

Meanwhile, Wester also surpassed the 100-tackle mark last season — as well as seven tackles for loss — during his lone year at Western Kentucky. The former Florida Atlantic and Colorado linebacker also had 1.5 sacks and two forced fumbles while earning a 70.2 overall defensive grade and an 81 run defense grade.

Head coach Kyle Whittingham and company clearly feel a certain way about their linebacker room heading into the season. They tried to make upgrades at the position this winter, but fell short in the portal recruitments of Rasheem Biles (Pitt to Texas) and Cade Uluave (Cal to BYU). These efforts were intensified following the losses of Cole Sullivan to Oklahoma, and Jaishawn Barham, Jimmy Rolder and Ernest Hausmann to graduation/the NFL.

Sophomore Chase Taylor is viewed as a promising young contributor, but he has yet to earn significant defensive snaps up to this point. Senior Troy Bowles, senior transfer Nathaniel Staehling and sophomore Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng have all drawn positive reviews this offseason, but adding an experienced and productive linebacker would add valuable depth and competition.

Michigan’s early interest in these two players reflects the new coaching staff’s willingness to be aggressive and try to capitalize on an evolving NCAA landscape. With more and more players more than likely to look at a fifth season of college eligibility, don’t be surprised to see more reports like this pop up over the next month or so prior to the start of the 2026 season.

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