Michigan Wolverine lost a couple of key players to the transfer portal on Tuesday. Depth took another big hit.
Another Michigan football running back enters transfer portal
Michigan football has avoided a mass exodus into the transfer portal thus far, unlike many other teams. If you look around college football, there are drivers leaving certain teams in search of greener pastures.
It was only recently that the Wolverines had their first defectors—running back C.J. Stokes and walk-on Sam Staruch. Now the maize and blue have lost another little-used running back who’s decided to seek another opportunity.
Leon Franklin was a preferred walk-on but in the past few seasons, he’s seen his name called quite regularly once the game was in hand —before even some others on scholarship. In 2021, he had eight carries for 33 yards, just four for nine yards in 2022, and 11 for 33 and a touchdown in 2023.
He took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce that he’s entering the transfer portal.
I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal with 2 years of eligibility.
Despite having not redshirted and having not played in the COVID year, Franklin says he has two years of eligibility remaining. According to CFBS stats, Franklin played in 12 games in 2023 (66 snaps), eight in 2022 (42 snaps), and nine in 2021 (43 snaps), with most coming on special teams.
Jason Fitz joins senior NFL reporters Charles Robinson and Jori Epstein to go behind the scenes on the biggest storylines around the NFL. The trio starts with the Philadelphia Eagles’ coaching changes on defense, as they now have Matt Patricia as de facto defensive coordinator. Were the Eagles right to make big changes despite their great record? In other news, potential coach of the year candidates Dameco Ryans and Kevin Stefanski face off this weekend, both with backup quarterbacks. Jim Harbaugh has been linked to the Los Angeles Chargers, and the trio
discuss what they’re hearing as far as whether or not the coaching legend will return to the NFL. Jori and Charles are two of the 50 voters for MVP this season, and Fitz picks their brains over who is in the lead, whether a non-quarterback has a shot and Brock Purdy vs. Christian McCaffrey. The hosts finish things off with a discussion around the Chicago Bears and their looming decision at quarterback. Charles spoke with thirteen NFL general managers to get their thoughts, and the general consensus is that the Bears should move on and take Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. But is there anything Justin Fields could do to change their mind?
