These Former Wolverines Are Suiting Up For Western Michigan
Three top recruits who didn't get playing time in Ann Arbor are now starting for the Broncos
There isn’t a way to properly describe the chaos that NIL and the transfer portal has created in college football. Now, with literal NFL players being able to go back to the college (thanks Lane Kiffin), the NCAA's corruption has reached another whole level of absurdity.
That craziness has found its way into the University of Michigan locker room. After the shameful ending to last season leading to the departure of Sherrone Moore and Athletic Director Warde Manuel, U-M hired Kyle Whittingham, the man who led Utah for the past 21 seasons.
Whittingham brought five players from his squad at Utah with him to Ann Arbor, but that’s not what makes U-M’s week 1 matchup against Western Michigan intriguing.
Lance Taylor is about to enter his fourth season as the head coach of the Broncos. As has been the trend for teams in the Group of Five, the Broncos have used the transfer portal to target players from Power Five schools that aren’t seeing much playing time, if any.
Ironically, three players suiting up for Western Michigan this fall used to wear the maize and blue in Ann Arbor.
The first two Wolverines to defect were running back Cole Cabana and safety Micah Davis after the 2024 season. Cabana, who was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school, played high school football for Dexter High School, about 10 miles outside of Ann Arbor.
“At the end of the day, it’s just another game.” Cabana said in an interview Wednesday. “But it’s cool to be able to go against some of your buddies. I used to live 15 minutes away so I know a lot of people around and it's a huge stage so I’m really excited.”
Davis, also from Dexter, was a two-star safety who played on the scout team for most of his Michigan career before earning a starting role for Western.
“This game definitely means something to me.” Davis said, “I have a lotta good buddies on that Michigan team and I’m still in contact with some of those people. It’s going to be a really fun game.”
This most recent offseason, Western added former 4-star offensive linemen Ben Roebuck. Roebuck played in only two games for Michigan in 2025, prompting his transfer portal request in January of this year.
Kalamazoo isn’t the only city that former Wolverines left Ann Arbor for in the state. Former wide receiver Frederick Moore, who left the team after limited playing time midway through the season last year, will now be wearing green and white for Pat Fitzgerald and the MSU Spartans.
It’s almost impossible to imagine the hell that would rain down on a player if they decided to make that move 10 years ago, back when people actually cared about rivalries and being part of a program. Now, it’s all about money and playing time. It’s a slippery slope that the NCAA has sent itself down, and its seemingly only going to get worse.
