Michigan LB Ernest Hausmann announces medical retirement from football

Michigan Wolverines football linebacker Ernest Hausmann has medically retired from football, he announced in a Facebook post over the weekend. The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder missed U-M’s final three games of the season, versus Maryland, Ohio State and Texas, due to undisclosed reasons.

“From Uganda to America, with a full heart, I’m officially medically retiring from football,” Hausmann wrote on Facebook. “This game has shaped me, but now it’s time to focus on my true purpose on this earth full time. I’ll be finishing my degree at the University of Michigan.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey. The best is still ahead.”

Hausmann wasn’t spotted on the sideline for any of Michigan’s last three games, adding to the mystery of his final month-plus as a Wolverine. He indicated in a Facebook post Dec. 4 that he returned to Uganda at some point recently.

Former Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore spoke on Hausmann’s situation in a media availability Dec. 9, just days before he was fired.

“Ernest is going through some things that I don’t really want to talk on or speak on,” Moore said. “Things from a personal standpoint. He’s also been dealing with a thumb that happened in the Northwestern game. So just things that he’s been dealing with and we’re just here to support him.”

A team captain as voted by his teammates, Hausmann earned third-team All-Big Ten recognition in 2025, registering 68 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 1 sack and 1 pass breakup in 10 contests.

Hausmann spent one season at Nebraska, before transferring to Michigan and playing a significant role over the last three years, including as a starter in 2024 and 2025. During his three-year career in Ann Arbor, which spanned 38 games, Hausmann racked up 203 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 3 pass breakups and 1 interception.

In the PFF NFL Draft big board, which was updated Jan. 4, 2026, Hausmann checks in as the No. 308 overall and No. 20 linebacker. There were 20 linebackers selected in the 2025 NFL Draft, so Hausmann would’ve been in range to be picked if he didn’t retire from football. Hausmann is out of collegiate eligibility.

A native of Uganda, Hausmann was adopted at the age of two by Robert Hausmann and Theresa Hausmann and moved to the United States at age five. He became a three-star recruit out of Columbus (Neb.) High and the nation’s No. 562 overall recruit in the 2022 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.