Ranking Michigan Football’s best transfer additions in the modern era
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The transfer portal has completely taken over the college football world in recent years and the Michigan Wolverines have benefitted from several high-profile transfers, who went on to have a ton of success during their time in Ann Arbor.
Here’s our ranking of the best players to transfer to Michigan football since the beginning of the modern era.
1. Olu Oluwatimi (2022)
Despite playing just one season with the program, Olu Oluwatimi is undoubtedly the top transfer addition in my mind. He was the best offensive line in the country in 2022, earning consensus All-American and All-Big Ten honors, and taking home the Outland Trophy and Rimington Trophy.
The Virginia transfer anchored the Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line and helped the Wolverines defeat rival Ohio State, win a second straight Big Ten title and reach the College Football Playoff.
2. Josaiah Stewart (2023-24)
After making a name for himself as one of the nation’s most productive pass rushers at Coastal Carolina, Josaiah Stewart opted to finish his career with the Wolverines. Not only did Stewart play a key role on the national title team in 2023, but he followed it up with a dominant 2024 season. He earned back to back All-Big Ten honors after totaling 14 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss in his Michigan career, and he also became the first transfer in program history to be named a team captain.
3. Ernest Hausmann (2023-2025)
Following an impressive freshman season at Nebraska, Hausmann was one of the highest-rated transfers available. In his time with the Wolverines, he developed into a great linebacker and eventually received All-Big Ten recognition after leading the team with a combined 203 total tackles from 2023-25. He was a significant part of the national title run and became the second transfer to earn team captaincy honors at Michigan.
4. Drake Nugent (2023)
The Stanford transfer might not have received the same awards as Oluwatimi, but Nugent was an irreplaceable part of arguably the best team in Michigan history. Not only was he a critical leader and tone-setter for a truly dominant rushing attack, but he was also the clear-cut best center in the Big Ten and a finalist for the Rimington in 2023. Nugent’s single-season performance was enough to go down as one of the best centers and best transfers in Michigan history.
5. Shea Patterson (2018-19)
Michigan has dipped into the portal for a quarterback a few times, notably acquiring Jake Rudock in 2015 and Shea Patterson in 2018. A lot of fans prefer Rudock, but Patterson deserves to be the lone quarterback on this list, as he finished his stint with the Wolverines with the sixth-most passing touchdowns (45) and seventh-most passing yards (5,661) in school history. The Ole Miss transfer was a very high-quality pick up for the program.
Honorable mentions
There are several others that deserve a shoutout, including the previously mentioned Rudock, Justice Haynes, LaDarius Henderson, Jaishawn Barham and Mike Danna.
Rudock recorded 3,017 passing yards and 20 touchdowns, and led the way to a 10-3 record in 2015. Meanwhile, Haynes was on track to be much higher on this list, becoming the first player to total 100+ rushing yards in each of his first five games at Michigan before a season-ending injury cut his 2025 campaign short.
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