The Michigan Wolverines’ 2026 portal run did not go as planned. In fact, it backfired in their faces, all thanks to former Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore. Even with the arrival of Kyle Whittingham, the exodus didn’t stop. Word is that 24 Wolverines entered the portal while only 14 came in. That imbalance pushed Whittingham to bolster the roster in a very unconventional way: tryouts.

On January 23rd, Michigan Wolverines football page on X shared:

“The Michigan football program will hold a tryout for eligible students interested in earning a spot on the 2026 team on Friday, January 30.”

The tryout isn’t for just anyone off the street though. Participants have to be active undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan’s Ann Arbor campus. They also must be in good standing with the university and meet all the strict NCAA eligibility rules. They are pretty clear that you can’t be more than six years out from high school graduation either.

To even get in the door, interested students had to jump through a few hoops. They needed to email a specific address (johco@umich.edu) from their official university email account before a deadline: Tuesday, January 27, by noon. That email was supposed to include their transcript and current class schedule to get the necessary medical paperwork and forms. So the application process is already closed.

Although the tryout is an annual thing, this time, because of roster exodus, they might look a bit deeper. Kyle Whittingham’s expected to see who’s got that ‘Emperor Penguin’ type of desire on campus.

The Wolverines lost plenty of quality players to the portal on both sides of the ball. Elijah Dotson (Missouri), safety Jaden Mangham (Purdue), and linebacker Cole Sullivan (Oklahoma) are heading elsewhere. The offense also lost some familiar faces, including wide receiver Semaj Morgan (UCLA) and former starting quarterback Davis Warren, who is heading to Stanford.

Even though these guys are gone, the team’s biggest win has to be keeping Bryce Underwood in Ann Arbor.

Coach Whittingham actually did a great job of talking several key players out of leaving. Five important guys, including star offensive lineman Andrew Sprague, guard Jake Guarnera, and defensive tackle Enow Etta, originally put their names in the portal but changed their minds and decided to stay.

To fill the gaps, Michigan hit the portal hard and brought in 20 new players, many of whom followed Whittingham from Utah. The standout addition is edge rusher John Henry Daley, a beast who had 11.5 sacks last year and is expected to start immediately. They also added some serious talent at a wide receiver with Jaime Ffrench Jr. from Texas and JJ Buchanan from Utah to help out the passing game.

Overall, experts are actually pretty high on how Michigan handled the chaos, ranking their transfer class 9th in the country. With the portal window now closed, the focus shifts to tryouts and spring practice to see how all these new pieces fit together under the new coaching staff.

The real question is has tryouts ever worked for the Wolverines?

Michigan Wolverines tryout success story

Michigan has a long tradition of “walk-on” players becoming legendary stars. One of the most famous examples is Brian Griese, who turned down scholarship offers from other schools just to play for the Wolverines. He spent years on the bench but eventually won the starting job and led Michigan to an undefeated 1997 National Championship. His story is often cited as the gold standard for what a walk-on can achieve.

Another fan favorite is Jordan Kovacs, whose journey is often called a “defensive superhero” story. After originally being rejected due to a knee injury, he worked his way onto the team through open tryouts in 2009.

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He became a four-year starter and only the 15th player in Michigan history to record over 300 career tackles.

The Glasgow brothers (Graham, Ryan, and Jordan) created an incredible family legacy by all starting as walk-ons at Michigan. All three brothers successfully earned scholarships and then got eventually drafted into the NFL. Graham Glasgow is currently a prominent starter for the Detroit Lions, while his brothers Ryan and Jordan had successful stints with the Bengals and Colts, respectively.

Even in recent years, walk-ons continue to play vital roles. Max Bredeson joined as a “legacy” walk-on and has become a key leader and physical blocker at fullback. End of the day, securing and locking in one player should be counted as a dub here.