ITF EXTRA: Michigan football to host massive portal DT this weekend

On3 imageby:Chris Balas01/12/22

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Michigan football is looking for immediate help on the defensive line after Chris Hinton announced he’d leave the program. The Wolverines are looking to the transfer portal for help, and have zeroed in on a grad transfer.

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Michigan is hosting visitors this weekend in what should be a solid weekend. A huge defensive tackle from the portal will be joining them.

Tulane tackle Jeffrey Johnson (6-3, 295 pounds) has been a stalwart in the middle of the Green Wave defense the last four years. He’s the fire hydrant in the middle, a position he’d man at Michigan (nose tackle). He started all but one game as a true freshman (2018), nine games as a sophomore and all 12 games this in 2020. He posted 92 career tackles and 6.5 sacks and nearly transferred last summer before deciding to return.

Johnson supposedly dropped weight from 330 pounds and notched 44 tackles (20 solo), 24 assists and 2.5 sacks this year. Tulane won only one game, however, and it appears Johnson is looking for a new home. Michigan is among the potential suitors.

Michigan could use some help up front, of course, with Chris Hinton leaving for the NFL Draft after his third year.

‘This is not the end, but a start to a new chapter,” he wrote in his goodbye tweet. “It took a while for me to make such a hard decision, but after tough consideration, I believe this is the best decision for me and my family. So, I have decided to enter the transfer portal as a graduate transfer with one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.”

Oklahoma and others are reportedly battling Michigan for his signature. Some believe the Sooners are the team to beat, but he’s clearly interested in U-M given he’s visiting this weekend.

Watch for more on this development in the hours to come.

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