Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and his staff have been putting on a master class when it comes to the transfer portal for the last few years. In 2021, Harbaugh brought in guys like Daylen Baldwin and Alan Bowman to provide leadership and depth on a team that needed an injection of positivity. In 2022, Eyabi Okie, Cam Goode and most notably, Olu Oluwatimi, provided some of those same things but shined on the field as well. Goode is still around in 2023, and he’s been joined by some of the best transfers in the nation.
AJ Barner, James Turner, Josh Wallace, Myles Hinton, LaDarius Henderson, Ernest Hausmann and Josaiah Stewart have all played major snaps this year and have certainly helped Michigan win games. As has veteran center Drake Nugent. The undersized, yet feisty former Stanford Cardinal has picked up right where Oluwatimi left off. He’s not going to grade out as well as Olu, who is now playing for the Seattle Seahawks, but he’s been consistent, steady, heady and exactly what Michigan needed in 2023 at the center position. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, Nugent has been on the field for 302 pass blocking plays and has only given up one hit on JJ McCarthy. He hasn’t given up a sack and he’s been nearly perfect with his snaps.
To say that Nugent has been good would be an understatement. On a line that had a lot of returning leadership already built in with guys like Zak Zinter and Trevor Keegan playing at the guard spots, Nugent immediately felt like one of the guys in terms of fit and he’s obviously gotten it done in terms of performance as well. Back in August, Keegan spoke about how natural Nugent’s transition had been, and it obviously played out all season long. “I look at him as just like an angry pitbull,” Keegan said with a laugh. “Everything he does is full go, full go, full go. Even winter workouts, spring workouts, summer workouts, everything he does is 100%. And he works his tail off.
