Michigan football safety Keon Sabb enters NCAA transfer portal
Two Michigan Wolverines football players have entered the NCAA transfer portal since head coach Jim Harbaugh departed for the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers, with junior safety Keon Sabb being the latest. Reserve defensive tackle Reece Atteberry entered Jan. 30. Michigan players can put their names into the database through Feb. 23 since they had a coaching change.
Sabb — who played a significant role in 2023, helping the Wolverines go 15-0 and win their 12th-ever national championship — has three seasons of eligibility remaining. He redshirted as a freshman in 2022, appearing in four games, and saw time in 14 outings with five starts in 2023. His 360 defensive snaps ranked 14th on the Michigan defense.
Sabb didn’t just see his head coach leave the program. His position coach, Jay Harbaugh (Seattle Seahawks) and co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Steve Clinkscale (Chargers) also left for the NFL. Additionally, both full-time starting safeties from last season — graduate Makari Paige and junior Rod Moore — decided against leaving for the pros, returning to Michigan for another year.
In 2023, the 6-foot-1, 208-pounder totaled 28 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups. He started three of the first four games of the season due to injuries to both Paige and Moore. His first career pass breakup came in the opener against East Carolina, before making his first tackle for loss two weeks later against Bowling Green. He returned first collegiate interception for a touchdown in a win over Minnesota Oct. 7 and followed it up with another pick versus Indiana the following week.
With Paige (limited) and graduate Quinten Johnson (out), another rotational player at safety, banged up for the national championship game Jan. 8 against Washington, Sabb stepped up and shined on the biggest stage. He missed 1 tackle early in the game but graded out as Michigan’s best coverage defender, according to PFF (81.3). He was targeted 7 times, allowing 3 receptions for 28 yards with 2 pass breakups — including 1 pass that he broke up in the end zone on third down, forcing Washington to kick a field goal. His 80.0 overall grade was the fourth-best overall and led all non-defensive linemen on the defense.
Sabb saw time late in four contests in his first season in 2022, versus Colorado State, Hawai’i, UConn and Indiana. He didn’t record any statistics that season.
Sabb was a four-star recruit in the 2022 class. Per On3, he was the No. 87 overall player and eighth-best player nationally, along with the No. 13 prospect in the state of Florida, hailing from Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. Sabb is a Glassboro, N.J., native.
