INSIDE THE FORT, PART II: Michigan football rumblings, NIL, more

Michigan football is finished with its spring session, and it was a great one. There was talent on display all over the field in the Wolverines’ spring game, showing up especially on defense.

The line is where it starts. We mentioned before the season they felt this year’s line could be even better than last year’s, one that included All-Big Ten standout and captain Mazi Smith on the interior. Our sources tell us they’re even more convinced of it now.

It starts with Kris Jenkins. The senior took his workouts to another level in the offseason, and his play followed suit. When former center Olu Oluwatimi first got here, he acknowledged he thought Jenkins was too small and too easy too move because he wasn’t big/strong enough.

By the end of the season, Oluwatimi was singing a different tune. And this spring, Jenkins proved he’d taken his game to an even higher level … and he’s not alone. Mason Graham “is probably the best interior lineman on this team.” He’ll have to drop a bit of weight in the offseason, and he’s working on it. But he’s added some muscle and strength, too, after the best frosh season we’ve ever seen for a Michigan interior DL.

“He’s just ‘different,’” our source said. “You could tell the minute he got here. He might already be the best interior lineman in the Big Ten this year.”

As a sophomore. Let that sink in.

Kenneth Grant and Rayshaun Benny also had great springs.

“Once he figures out technique and leverage, he’s going to be unbelievable,” a source said of Grant … and he made huge strides this spring. He had some great moments in the spring game, as did Benny.

To sum up —

“This is probably the best foursome I’ve seen at the position since I’ve been here,” one who has been around since the 1980s said.

Cam Goode, too, made strides under Mike Elston and could factor into the rotaton. All told — a great group.

On the edges, Jaylen Harrell is “highly underrated,” the same source said, and he made strides as a pass rusher. But Josaiah Stewart is the one who blew everyone away with his pass rushing ability this spring … and his fit.

“He looks small, but he’s stronger than he looks,” the source said. “He’s a guy who can play on run downs, too … but he can be an elite pass rusher.”

Just what they were looking for.

They feel great about the linebacker position, too, even with the injuries. Nikhai Hill-Green is getting back up to speed, but Ernest Hausmann has been everything expected, and more.

“He’s always around the ball. Always,” our source said.

He could be hard to keep off the field by the middle of the year.

As for portal movement — there are rumblings of up to three who could leave, but there could be some coming in, too. We could see another corner added, though they feel “pretty good” about what they have there after spring. The young guys have shown enough to believe they’ll be strong by mid-year.

We do expect the Wolverines to go after another special teams player, however … perhaps someone who isn’t in the portal yet but will be. And it might surprise. We’ll keep an eye on that one and let you know when it happens.

On the offense …

The Michigan offensive line looked good at times running the ball put sketchy in pass protection in the spring, which is going to happen when you split the guys up and play backups who haven’t gotten a lot of reps.

“Good, consistent offensive line play requires playing together,” our source said … in other words, chemistry is huge.

But it’s clear they are expecting a lot from Arizona State transfer LaDarius Henderson. If we were betting today, we’d pencil him in as the starter at left tackle (still). Some believe he can have an “Oluwatimi type effect” on the line.

While receiver Peyton O’Leary’s big spring game performance was “just the spring game,” as many have noted, he’s been making similar plays all spring.

“I’ve seen people say he’s the next Nate Schoenle,” the source said, comparing him to another former walk-on receiver Jim Harbaugh used to rave about. “This … is not that. He can really play, and he’s made plays on a lot of the corners.”

He seems to have really improved his route-running and he’s always had great hands. We’re going to be interested to see how much he really contributes this fall, but he’s got a chance.

Michigan and NIL

As noted in recent articles, Michigan NIL got a boost from Hail! Impact, a new non-profit organization that has already raised a significant amount of money. Between this one and Valiant Champions Circle, there’s been movement in a positive direction.

As noted on the message board, however, the William Morris Endeavor deal with a different collection not only isn’t finished, but it’s stalled completely and “looks like it’s dead.” This has been in the works since December, as noted — initially, the people working on it expected it to be done before the Fiesta Bowl — but they couldn’t get over the final hurdle.

It’s disappointing, to say the least. As we’ve said many times, they were finalizing details at one point. Now, it appears the deal won’t get done at all barring something changing (which, of course, it always possible, as we’ve seen).

As for the others, from our Clayton Sayfie …

Hail! Impact, founded by Ross Business School grads Chin Weerappuli and Andy Johnson, is the newest player on the Michigan NIL scene. A nonprofit collective, Hail! Impact will provide participating scholarship football players a stipend while aiming to enrich the community and educate the athletes. This one has been in the works for a while, and it finally launched last week.

Weerappuli told us Hail! Impact is hoping to receive an official endorsement from the school, but that in the meantime they’re going to “do what we can control.” While not aligned from a business standpoint, there’s a relationship with Valiant Management and its collective, Champions Circle. Weerappuli and Valiant founder Jared Wangler believe the two organizations can work together and create that cohesion, even without the ideal amount of assistance from the athletic department.

“At other schools across the country, you kind of have this, and quite frankly, you have this direction set by the athletic department, where it’s like, ‘Here’s our trusted commercial collective and here’s our trusted nonprofit collective, or set of nonprofits.’ We’re trying to do that organically by rowing the boat in the same direction,” Weerappuli said.

Michigan was late to the game with a nonprofit collective, quite frankly, but once it gets rolling, having Champions Circle (and other collectives, like Stadium and Main, run by former Michigan running back Jamie Morris) and Hail! Impact — collectives that serve different purposes — will be a huge benefit for the student athletes.

“Jared Wangler and I actually have a friendship at this point. I’ve known him for about a year,” Weerappuli said of the relationship. “I personally think that Jared has filled a void completely independently, and I have a lot of respect for how he has done that.

“This was never meant to replace that angle, and here’s a need for the commercial side of things. Jared’s also an extremely talented agent. That is not my background. That’s not what, frankly, my skill set is. I have a nonprofit background; I have a management consulting background.

“This rounds it out where we’re not tied together from an actual ownership standpoint, but we have a strategic partnership where, if a donor or if a student athlete is looking for commercial opportunities or ways to support on that commercial brand side, we would refer them to our trusted partner, Valiant Management group and their collective, Champions Circle. On the flip side, if someone comes and says, ‘Look, I’m happy to donate to the collective. I also care about tax deductibility, given that we get our 5013c approved sooner rather than later,’ we would be the trusted nonprofit, 5013c route for Champions Circle and for Valiant Management group.”

Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh is publicly supporting Hail! Impact’s efforts, but the group is still looking for more from the athletic department. U-M may be apprehensive because it doesn’t want donors to stop giving for development, but all Weerappuli and his team are looking for, he said, is “a healthy balance,” and to work together to find it.

Finally, on Michigan basketball …

Yesterday, we wrote that some close to it heard Hunter Dickinson would follow his former Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha coach, Mike Jones, wherever he ended up. He’s going to be an assistant at Maryland.

Some in Ann Arbor, though, believe he’s really struggling with leaving the place he’s called “home” the last three years. And to be clear, we strongly believe the Michigan coaches would take him back in a heartbeat.

We’ll know soon enough, but adding some high level transfers (Nimari Burnett and Caleb Love, also Tray Jackson) doesn’t hurt the Michigan chances.

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