A new potential transfer portal target for the Wolverines

Things are looking up for a transfer portal and a defensive lineman tied to the Michigan football staff on Wednesday.

Looking at the current Michigan football roster, there aren’t many needs heading into the 2023 season.

Fans differ on what they are. Another cornerback is what Michigan football fans are hoping for, and that’s probably most fans. There have also been rumblings about a veteran kicker, wide receiver and maybe a pass rusher.

It’s always fun to think about potential additions, but it’s worth remembering that college football has an 85-man scholarship limit and the Wolverines will need some roster cuts just to reach that limit this fall.

Nevertheless, numbers always have a way of working. I wouldn’t expect any additions to the transfer portal this spring, but there could be a couple of them.

One transfer portal player to watch

A player Michigan football fans should keep an eye on who hit the transfer portal Wednesday is a former top-100 defensive lineman Tywon Malone.

Malone’s primary recruiter at Ole Miss was Chris Partridge, who is now the Wolverines’ linebackers coach. Malone is listed at 6-foot-4, 305 pounds and hails from Oradell, New Jersey.

Partridge has strong ties to the state of New Jersey, which helped Michigan football land Rashan Gary and others once in the New Jersey pipeline.

Michigan is looking to get that back with Partridge, who is an elite recruiter and his presence on the staff is one reason why the Wolverines could be interested in Malone.

Malone has 13 tackles and one sack in his career. The talent is there, and there can never be enough depth on the D-line, but I don’t know that Malone will have a huge role at UM next season.

The defensive line is loaded. Kris Jenkins, Mason Graham, Kenneth Grant and Rayshaun Benny would be hard to beat and the situation would be similar to Ole Miss.

Malone can be good with that. If so, that might be a good fit, but if he wants to be guaranteed a starting role, Michigan football isn’t the place for him.

That being said, if he wants to reach his huge potential and still play baseball, Michigan might be a good fit, and down the road Malone could easily be a starter or a key player — it’s just not easy to do. season, so we’ll see if Michigan catches up.