Michigan football eyeing another from the transfer portal
Michigan football isn’t looking for a roster overhaul — far from it. The Wolverines are in great shape heading into 2023 with several planning to return on both sides of the ball.
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But the transfer portal has been great to U-M. Virginia center Olu Oluwatimi was a man this year, keeping the O-line elite, and edge Eyabi Okie helped out in the pass rush game. The Wolverines have already added one for 2023 in Arizona State lineman LaDarius Henderson, who will vie for time at left tackle and other positions, and are in the market for others.
One — a former teammate of Oluwatimi’s at Virginia, Fentrell Cypress II. If senior DJ Turner heads to the NFL Draft (and it’s looking likely), Michigan will need another body here, and Cypress II would be a good one.
A Rock Hill (S.C.) native and former three-star recruit in the 2019 class, Cypress enjoyed a breakout season this year. He’s a grad transfer, so he should be able to qualify at Michigan and enroll immediately. He earned second-team All-ACC honors this fall after leading the conference with 14 pass break ups. His 1.56 passes defended per game ranked fourth nationally.
Per ProFootballFocus.com, Cypress II only allowed 18 receptions for 179 yards and was tested only 40 times. He also notched 29 tackles and was ranked 96th of 1,062 eligible corners in run defense grade.
Oluwatimi will no doubt put in a good word, but the Wolverines will have some competition here. Notre Dame is looking for help and has shown interest, and Ohio State recently entered the mix. LSU, Tennessee, and others are also in the mix.
Cypress said this fall getting healthy and comfortable was key to his emergence.
“I just feel more confident … on top of that, I feel more healthy, and that plays a big role,” he said. “Playing — it’s hard, definitely with my hamstring injuries in the past. It was hard to run full speed and cover guys like I wanted to. So, just being healthy and learning new things about the defense, your position, that just builds a lot of confidence for each player and just how I feel confidence this season.
“Off man coverage. I feel like honestly everything … I feel like I’ve got more knowledge of the game, how you’re supposed to play, how you’re supposed to look at things when it comes to the offense. A lot of offenses are similar and they want the same thing. Learning the offense really helps a lot when you play corner. You know their intentions and you’ve just to got react to it and trust your [instincts].
“We talk about having disciplined eyes because if you’re looking at the quarterback too much sometimes, you can get a double move or stuff like that. You just have to have your eyes in the right spot because that’s what’s going to tell you what’s going to happen and if you have them in the wrong spot, most likely you’re going to mess up.”
Watch for more on this and other developments in the days to come …
