Michigan football LB Hayden Moore enters NCAA transfer portal
Michigan Wolverines football sophomore linebacker Hayden Moore has entered the NCAA transfer portal, The Wolverine has learned. Moore is the third U-M linebacker to enter the portal this week, joining freshman early enrollee Jeremiah Beasley and sophomore Semaj Bridgeman.
Moore did not see game action as a freshman in 2023, but he was named Scout Team Defensive Player of the Week for his role in preparing the offense for wins over Bowling Green, Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State.
Moore has four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting on Michigan’s national championship winning team in 2023. The Wolverines finished 15-0 with CFP wins over Alabama in the Rose Bowl and Washington in the title game.
The 6-foot-2, 226-pounder was recruited to Michigan by former linebackers coach George Helow. He was coached his freshman year by Chris Partridge, who was fired in November. Analyst Rick Minter led the linebacking corps on an interim basis the final five games. The Wolverines then had a head-coaching change, new defensive coordinator and fresh linebackers coach enter the program (Brian Jean-Mary) this offseason.
Moore earned a mention from Jean-Mary during his spring practice press conference.
“Some of the younger guys I feel like have an opportunity and we want to see more from and I think they’re gonna have a chance will be [sophomore] Jason Hewlett, Semaj Bridgeman and Hayden Moore,” Jean-Mary noted. “[They] have done a good job for us but, obviously, this back half of spring as far as depth chart goes, we’re going to have to see which one of those guys are going to separate themselves.”
Michigan has two starting linebackers all but cemented in juniors Ernest Hausmann and Jaishawn Barham, who entered the program in January after transferring in from Maryland.
Moore is one of seven Michigan players to enter the transfer portal this month, joining sophomore cornerback DJ Waller Jr., sophomore wide receiver Karmello English, senior wide receiver Cristian Dixon, sophomore offensive lineman Amir Herring, Beasley and Bridgeman.
A Parker (Colo.) Regis Jesuit product, Moore was a three-star recruit and the nation’s No. 1,181 overall player in the 2023 class. He was previously committed to Nebraska before flipping. He led all of Colorado high school football with 197 total tackles (16.4 per game) as a senior in 2022. He logged 111 tackles as a junior in 2021.
