Michigan OL Amir Herring to enter NCAA transfer portal
Michigan Wolverines football sophomore offensive lineman Amir Herring is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
Herring enrolled early at Michigan last winter before appearing in one game during the 2023 season. He participated in spring practices in Ann Arbor over the last month-plus.
Herring is one of three Wolverines to enter the portal after Michigan finished its spring practices with an April 20 scrimmage, joining sophomore cornerback DJ Waller Jr. and freshman linebacker Jeremiah Beasley.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pounder started and played Michigan’s entire spring game at left guard for the Blue team. It’s important to note that projected starting guards Josh Priebe, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, and senior Giovanni El-Hadi, were out with injuries.
Herring totaled just one offensive snap in 2023, getting in late in the game at right guard in a win over Indiana.
The West Bloomfield (Mich.) High product was recruited to Michigan by head coach Sherrone Moore, who was the offensive line coach at the time. Herring played for wide receivers coach Ron Bellamy at West Bloomfield, before Bellamy joined the U-M staff ahead of the 2021 campaign.
Herring was a four-star recruit and the No. 311 overall prospect in the 2023 class. He was ranked as the No. 19 interior offensive lineman nationally and fourth-best player in Michigan.
While Herring wasn’t projected to start along the Michigan offensive line this coming season, the Wolverines are looking for players to step into two-deep and contributing roles. Moore has long said it takes more than five linemen to get through a season, and that was on display in 2023, when the Maize and Blue used seven different starters on the offensive line in their 15-0 national championship campaign.
“You can’t go into a season and expect to play five guys and win like that,” Michigan offensive line coach Grant Newsome said this spring. “One, we’re going to try and trot out six or seven at times but you also have to be ready, hey, if someone goes down, who is the next guy up at those spots? We feel like we need to have 10 guys who are ready to play and it’s been encouraging.
“There have been some young guys who have stepped up. [Senior center] Raheem Anderson would be one, not necessarily a young guy but it’s been encouraging how he’s played and has taken command this spring. [Sophomore tackle] Evan Link, [sophomore guard] Nate Efobi, Amir Herring, those guys who are now entering the middle parts of their career, I’ve been encouraged with how those guys have played this spring.
“The freshmen have been really, really good as well for being on campus for six weeks now or a little longer than that. The short amount of time they’ve been on campus, they both have handled it really well.”
